Ashley

picnic at Silver Bay Marina

The rocks were tough to navigate with a 3 year old!

My cousin, Ashley came for Grandpa's funeral and stayed with us.  We enjoyed her so much we kept asking her to stay longer, but when she couldn't swing it she said she would come back for a visit.  Everyone says that but seldom actually does so.  The girls kept asking me when she was coming back, and I kept putting them off with, "She's working and doesn't know when she can come."  To my surprise she came in August and we had a blast playing tour guide!  The girls loved the adventures with Miss Ash-a-lee as MA calls her!

Belle and Ashley were the most adventurous 

Daddy and baby

Mommy and her baby... she'll let me call her my baby now
as long as I'm her baby too!

This view was designed to give mom a heart attack!

We spent the first day up the shore to Gooseberry Falls, Palisade Head and had a picnic lunch at the boat launch in Silver Bay.  In total Moore fashion we kept going and finished our day with dinner at Lindos and a walk on the boardwalk!  MaryAlice had fallen asleep by the time we pulled into Gooseberry, so Andy opted to give her a rest and let me and Belle take Ashley down to the falls.  It was an amazing day and we should've brought our swim suits.  I'm from here and don't think a trip up the shore means swimming, but this day would've been beautiful to swim in the falls.  We waded around anyway and got a bit wet too!  It ended up being best that MA was asleep because it would've been tough for her to navigate everywhere we wanted to go.

They thought they were funny to get so close to the edge

mom is a bit wary of the height with miss independence 

my knees are shaking... 

WAY TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE!

The next day we hit the Rose Gardens for a quieter day.  The girls were obviously exhausted from the previous day and were cranky until they decided to cool off in the fountain!

I seriously thought Ashley was going to jump in and
swim in the waterfall w/ her clothes and all!

My Belle 7 1/2

Saturday Ashley spent with the Pavolas.  Andrea and Ashley went for massages... I should've been there for that one!  On Sunday we met the Pavs again after church down at Park Point for a day at the beach.  The weather was lovely and the water was about as warm as I've ever remembered it!

"I fell in... I won't do that again"
It was ice cold here on the boardwalk

Water fight at the Rose Garden!

soaked from head to toe!

Abby's love/hate relationship with the fountain

Belle and MA wanted to climb the tree 

Leif Erickson Park cooling off our toes

Park Point... I think she liked the sand?

Not a trip w/o Mexico Lindos

cousins :)

I made a point of saving some of the sights for future visits!  We didn't want her to think she had seen everything :)

baseball year 2

Some highlights from this year... 

• Belle was one of two girls on the coach pitch baseball team this year.  
• She is getting better at throwing and hitting, but still a bit scared of the ball still with catching :)  
• Running onto the field so excited to play 2nd base... forgetting her glove in the dugout :)
• showing up for practice in a cute shirt and biker shorts... not knowing the practice had been changed to a game (yes, I'm one of "those" parents)
• my little lefty going three for three!

ready... hat, gloves and t-shirt... check

a bit timid at the start of the year, but getting at least one hit every game!

The fans!  usually busy at the playground

Grandma & Grandpa were the biggest fans... with camera in hand!

4th of July

Belle, MaryAlice, Tirzah and I watched the fireworks from Skyline Parkway with a bunch of friends from church.  I'm not sure if the girls enjoyed the fireworks as much as they enjoyed going from lap to lap :)

hailey, betsy, danielle & owen, jessica & belle, calla & MaryAlice, Tirzah & Mary

The girls spent most of the night fighting over Jessica & Calla's laps!

Owen liked sitting with the friends!

MaryAlice discovered her love of miss mary!

we did actually watch the fireworks

MA is supposed to be smiling for the camera :)

Belle had to wear her red, white &  blue tie dye shirt she made in school

We had a lot of fun, but will not pick the "on the ledge seating" so soon with kids!  Thankfully there were many eyes on the kids because the few feet of ground between falling off the ledge and the road definitely made me nervous.  We stayed for the entire show and got home after 11pm.  All the girls were asleep in the car when I finally got home.  What a fun evening!

fashion party

One of Belle's friends had a fashion themed birthday party.  We had a lot of fun picking out fancy to walk the catwalk.  Belle had a ball!

Oral surgery

not so happy with mom wanting to document this

It's funny how many times Abby has been under for some procedure or another, but how nervous I was when Belle had to go through it.  It was a deja vu moment.  It suddenly brought me back to Abby's first procedure and all the nerves I stuffed somewhere came back.  Abby has issues, but Belle... My Belle.  It was all about real life and typical kids.  Belle had an issue.  She doesn't have "issues".

I find myself "giving them back to God"
over and over and over again
I try to hang on to them and forget who's really in control
I want to protect them
It's my job, right?
No... it's not

getting ready for the monkey gas

My job is to point my girl to the one who can protect her
Who will never leave her nor forsake her
To place her hand in the one who's the Rock, unchanging
To be human along with her and glorify our God together
To Reflect the God I love

I put her in His capable hands on this day
His reminder to me that He loves and cares for her far better than I ever could
Not a big life threatening deal
Oral surgery
Pretty routine, but...
I grew this day along with her and knew the moment she told me she was scared as we wrapped up our pre-surgery shopping therapy at Justice that this was what this was all about...
She needed to rely on her faith this day
not mine

recovery...

Oh how I love this girl!

Just Dance!

Friends of ours let us borrow their Just Dance Wii game and we're addicted.  We need to move the TV out of our room so it's not so weird playing on our bedroom...  Check out the action:

Miss Meg and Belle

Daddy joins the action

I couldn't be laughing harder unless I was watching myself!

MaryAlice joins Belle

Mik is on the clock so she has no choice but to join us!!

Good sports!