Jack's Baptism

A couple of weeks ago, we traveled back to Elkader on a beautiful Sunday for Baby Jack's baptism.  It was a beautiful ceremony, and as always, Jack was a sweet baby.  It never hurts to be in the company of those who love you the most and want to hold you! :)  The girls had been saving two fancy dresses for the occasion, and I didn't get a single picture of them together.  What a great mom I am! :)  If you look closely in the last picture, you'll see a sweet pea sneaking into the shot with her fancy dress on.

Congratulations, Jack!  We love you!

Benefit Day

A couple of weeks ago, our town had its annual "Children's Benefit Day", which raises money to help a child in the community with medical expenses.  The weather that day was so beautiful, and honestly, one of the best days weather-wise I can ever remember for Benefit Day.  Jeremy went in very early to help the Fire Department with the pancake breakfast.  The girls slept in (including me), and we made it into town in time for the parade.

What an awesome parade it was!  Parked in front of the fire station, the girls were in a prime spot for collecting candy.  The joy on their faces, and the loud laughter from Kate was awesome!  It reaffirmed for Jeremy and me the reason we are raising our daughters in this small town atmosphere.  Candy was abundant, conversation with friends was frequent, and our two big girls brought many smiles to our faces.  What a fun morning!

The girls wore their tie-dyed shirts they created at Dana's house that week!  

Firefighters Jeremy and Alan were in supervisory positions for the parade, since they didn't
get/have to ride in a truck this year.

Every time a loud noise would happen, Kate would laugh so genuinely and loudly (after she jumped).
 I wish I would have recorded it!

Kate's 'Do

Last week, Kate experienced her first haircut, and man, it tugged a little at my heart.  She is growing up so quickly, and it was very evident this day.  She was so serious throughout the entire experience and made sure someone was always holding her hand.  Tiffany did a cute little braid in her hair, and in a matter of minutes, Kate looked more grown-up!

We made the most of our day with a trip to the Play Station for some play and our dentist appointments in the afternoon.  It was also Kate's first trip to the dentist, and she loved it.  She had to tell how they "painted" her teeth when they were polishing.  She did a little better than her older sister did :), and we capped off the exciting day with some ice cream.  There's nothing like celebrating clean teeth by eating some ice cream with gummy worms on it!

We had to use public restrooms throughout this day, and Kate discovered how automatic paper towel dispensers sound like an elephant. :)  Now, each time we go into one, she giggles and says, "That's an elephant."  I hadn't ever thought of it before, but she's right!

This girl deemed Kate's haircut as taking FOREVER.  It's a little different when you're the big sister having to wait for the little sister!  She was blessed with her dad's level of patience.

Water Park

Another day of our vacation was spent at the water park.  I didn't take any pictures while we were there, but I snapped one of the girls in their suits.  It has been an amazing summer of growth for Audrey in the water.  She is much more confident jumping in, going down slides, and putting her head under.  We are both so excited to see how much she has changed!

While at the water park, we stuck mainly to the small pool areas, and we also went on some of the smaller rides.  It was a hot day, but it felt perfect to be in the water!  Kate also had a fun time, and she was especially excited about standing on top of small sprays of water.  Her giggles were contagious, and her smile was huge!  We love these goofy girls!

Zoo

Once again, we were lucky enough to vacation in a spot with a zoo!  I had read about the zoo (Timbavati Wildlife Park) online, but the reviews were mixed.  Surprisingly, Jeremy was concerned about the cost of the zoo, and reviews made it sound as if there wouldn't be many animals.  In the end, we were all happy with the experience we had.  The girls loved having the opportunity to feed/pet as many of the animals as we could. It was especially fun to see Audrey grow in confidence and feed many animals independently.   We also loved being able to see some baby animals up close, and of course, experiencing this all as a family!  It was fun to be able to say we were with Baby Jack as he experienced a zoo for the first time.  Hopefully next time he will be awake more! :)

You could buy carrot sticks when you arrived to use to feed the animals.  Because of the way the carrots were cut, to Kate, they looked like sweet potato fries.  She kept wanting to feed the animals "French fries."

Vacation S'mores

At the end of July, we went away for a few nights to the Wisconsin Dells.  It was the perfect amount of time away, and the girls seemed to really enjoy themselves.  The house we rented was beautiful, and the weather cooperated for the different outings we wanted to do.

One of our nights there, a fire was built with the intention of making s'mores.  Audrey became slightly apprehensive to eat the s'mores, as her first smell of the marshmallows came with the proclamation they smelled like coffee!  She was exactly right; however, the taste was fine!! :)

Geeka and Jeremy were initially worried the fire wasn't going to take off! 

To pass the time, the girls and Grandma colored.

AHHHH!  The coffee marshmallows!

Jeremy was passing on tips for roasting the perfect marshmallow.  See the high level of concentration?

Spa Night

Two weeks ago, when Jeremy ditched the three of us for a muddy night at the "GREAT Jones County Fair," the girls and I decided to go all out that night and have a spa.  The girls donned their robes, checked into the spa, took steam showers to relaxing music, enjoyed hair treatments, had pedicures, and snuggled up for a movie night.  It was a great night with my girlies, especially hearing Audrey's imagination while playing the role of a spa-goer.  Jeremy missed out on the fun this night, but don't be surprised to see him with painted toenails in the future!