A Trip to Huntsville

We took a long weekend trip to Huntsville to visit family and explore the Space and Rocket Center. We crammed as much as we could into our short visit and the girls just loved spending time with their cousins.

Before it got too hot we headed outside to check out the few rides that the center has.  This little one was the only one too short to ride one of the rides, so Daddy bought her a coke.  Instant sadness medicine for her.

 

She made it to the top!

But this one didn't. 

 

 

 

 

The Space Center was really neat and we learned a lot about the space program, but we were worn out by the end of the day. So what did we do? We went to a local carnival that night. :)

On the swings there were a couple of teenagers squirting water at the riders as they swung by. Macy LOVES to be wet and so Marc asked them to get her soaked.  They did a good job and Macy was thrilled.  Brooke on the other hand does not like to be wet if she is in regular clothes.  She made the worst faces at these girls as she flew by.  I wish we could have captured her expression on camera, but we were all laughing so hard. When she got off the teens apologized and said they tried not to get her wet.  Apparently her looks did not go unnoticed. It was hilarious though.

They were outgrowing some of the rides, but they didn't care. 

We (the kids and dads) had a water balloon fight.  It was HOT outside so I know this helped cool them off. Aunt Tanya bought them some really cool balloons that you fill a bunch at a time.

We came home tired but hearts full of family time.

Random Summer Happenings

This summer has been so enjoyable.  I can't remember another summer that where we were all just content to hang out out at the house, but we have managed to squeeze in some fun things too. I have many random pictures that I needed to post, so I'm going to group them all together here. 

Someone has found a new place she likes to read.

 

Brooke loves to help out in the kitchen, especially if she is helping to make cookies.

Marc and Brooke went out one night and he took her to Krispy Kreme.  I find this progression of pictures so funny.  Soon she would be jumping over the glass wall.

 

 Sweet sisters.

 

Headed off to day camp.  This was Brooke's first year and Kayla's last year.  Therefore it will be my only year with all three of them in camp at the same time. I love my girls to pieces, but I also thoroughly enjoyed my week. 

A stop at Bahama Bucks makes every day just a little better. 

4th of July

We always enjoy going to our local 4th of July parade. It's a hot time out in the sun, but the girls have a good time.  It's not a huge parade, but if candy is being thrown what kid wouldn't enjoy going?

This is the picture where I realized my baby is probably too big for me to hold in pictures anymore.

Selfies with my girls. Daddy photo bombing each one. 

We also enjoy fireworks in the evening.  About 5 years ago we decided to try watching the fireworks from a local school.  We were tired of the traffic in our little town when fireworks were over. We thought we had discovered this secret spot that only a handful of families knew about.  Turns out some of our best friends had been watching fireworks from here for years. Every year since we meet up with them and a few other families.  The kids enjoy having the playground pretty much to themselves, and we enjoy being able to spend time with our friends.  The fact that there is no traffic to fight when we are finished is an added bonus.

Special Day with Family

Here a just a few pictures from lunch with family after Brooke's baptism.

A Special Day

Brooke has been asking if she could be baptized for a while.  We kept explaining to her that baptism was an act of obedience after accepting Christ as her Savior.  And every time she would brush it off and go back to what she was doing.  We continued to pray that the Lord would open her eyes to His salvation.  Last Sunday night around 10PM she came out of her room and said, "I just asked Jesus to be my Savior." This was the first time she talked about salvation outside of baptism.  Marc and I talked with her and asked her some questions.  She prayed again with us and asked Jesus to forgive her and to save her. Marc and I were thrilled, but watched her over the next few days to see if there was a change in her heart or if this was just her way to get baptized. All praise to Jesus because she was a different child! There was less arguing and more loving from this little girl! While she is still our spirited little Brooke, we have seen a change in her that only Christ can give!

Because we have talked to her so much about baptism and how it is an act of obedience and shows others that you have trusted Christ, she was ready for this next step immediately.  What a joy to know I will spend eternity with all of my children.  There is no greater joy that this!

Thank you Lord for your saving grace, and for opening the eyes of all of my girls to know You. Help us to continue to teach and guide them to trust you in every moment of their lives.

Coca-Cola Museum

It's no secret we are a Coca-Cola family.  Not that we drink a lot of it, but it is definitely far superior to Pepsi. Over the summer we took the girls to the Coca-Cola museum.  They had never been and it has been many years since I had last visited.

The museum is interactive and the girls enjoyed playing with the different displays.  This is one where the logo disappears and you try to recreate it on the screen.  The logo then reappears and you can see how close you were. 

Some of us love coke more than the others. 

Designing a coca-cola bottle.

And of course everyone's favorite spot, the tasting room. We managed to get Marc and Brooke to try the Beverly, but no one else would try it after Brooke let them know how awful it was. After enjoying many samples we saw the "normal" drinks in the corner.  I really tried to not drink much of the soda, but these machines had the best cherry coke I've had.

She gets away with more than she should with these eyes. :)

This is what her idea of heaven is like. 

We enjoyed a great family day even if we spent way too much time in Atlanta traffic. Par for the course I guess.