Noelle tubing on Lake Nacimento at 2 years, 2 months, one handed and fearless! 

 

Anna Kate doesn’t even go near the boat, much less the tube, but is our social butterfly at 2!

 

Noelle tubing (age 7) in Texas, while Rose at 2 years, 5 months, is saying, “NO WAY!”  Rose is definitely our wild child, but is very aware of her surroundings and potential danger!  Noelle is our calm neat-freak but is a dare devil.  Kids are such dichotomies.

 

We loved everything about this amazing day, cutie pie tantrums and all!

Art with the best!  They have no idea how much people pay to sit down and paint with their great aunt, who is teaching them right in this moment!  All I’ve got to say is, lucky!  It’s amazing to have a gift and have the best teacher… beautiful combination. 

  

 

My Mom’s (Rose Mary/Rosie/Rara/The Ra, lol) sister, my Aunt Joe, spending time doing art with the Anna Kate and Noelle = awesome!

 

Rose marches to the beat of a different drum!  I love this picture of our baby in the spotlight doing her thing!  I also adore this picture of Aunt Joe Anna with our Anna Kate (namesake of Aunt Joe)… they do look like kindred spirits!

Sweet, trouble, pokey objects, smiles, kisses, imagination, LOVE!

 

Our crazy family has so much fun together!

The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah!

 

This picture of Mike and me was taken right after mom asked us to take a “kiss” picture.  When we puckered up, she just waited and waited to click the button.  Finally, we started giggling, and by that time, Rara had already put the camera down and was laughing so hard she couldn’t stop!  She thought she was so funny, and she was!  We were all goofing off, smiling and having fun!  Sweet Rara always knows how to make everything fun!

 

More precious cousin/Rara moments 

This right here… mmm, mmm, mmm!  There is nothing more precious in all the world than a newborn baby, and right now, Saylor is our guest of honor!

 

And don’t you dare forget about Harper girl… she will cuddle and snuggle with the best of them!  I can’t wait to see these precious Banks girls again!!!

Pool talk with the baby sisters, Rose and Aunt E… I think these two have a lot in common, and if Rose turns out anything like her great aunt, we are good to go!  Love you, Aunt E!!!

Anna Kate pushed over a pipe in the hot tub, and Brother Man worked under water to try to fix it.  Anna Kate knew he was trying to get her out of a jam (trouble), so his trust was earned.  From this moment on, she let him hold her, and she doesn’t let just anyone hold her.  You are guilty until proven innocent with this Pond girl.  So now, Brother Man has  friend for life!

Gary and Mary’s beautiful girls

 

The girls and I watched the ants on this step (left) for at least an hour one night, and talked and talked about families/groups of people, and how we are stronger when we work together than we ever would be by ourselves.  At the top of this step, we had no idea what the ants would do with their treasured red bug.  But, slowly and surely, three little ants, held this big bug and made it to the bottom of the step.  See how there are two ants on top and one of the ants is just holding on to the other for traction and balance.  How do they know how to work together so flawlessly?  It was insanely fascinating.  So, although this picture might gross you out, and you would never watch ants for any length of time, these creatures taught me a the girls a great deal tonight!  I’ll never forget my little stories in action while the girls were watching first hand about all the life lessons I was trying to teach them.  Hopefully they were listening and picked up something they can take with them from this spontaneous observation… and then we were back to partying!  The Thurmans have these adorable saddle bar stools and the girls love eating their snacks, pretending to be cowgirls the whole time.

 

Noelle enjoying taking pictures of Saylor (wonder where she got that from, lol), and Mike loving on his big girl!

 

Noelle enjoying being Noelle and Saylor’s great aunts doting over her! (Aunt Joe [middle sister], Aunt Elsie [baby sister] and Rara [the big sister])

 

Harper had her birthday party the week before our trip, so we anxiously awaited seeing her to give her a special “H” book Noelle picked out for her that has a pad of paper in it to color to her heart’s desire!

Love this sweet curly haired cutie!

 

Backyard babies enjoying Rara’s zucchini muffins!

Beautiful girls ready for the fireworks, which were unbelievable this year!  My camera broke right as we were leaving to go to watch the fireworks, so I’ll describe my experience.  I had Noelle and Anna Kate both in my lap on a cozy lawn chair 10 feet from the lake, with the gentle waves in the background and the wind blowing on our warm faces.  It was absolutely surreal and perfect in every way!  One of the most favorite moments of my life, for sure.  And then the tears started flowing with each firework explosion reflecting on our freedoms and our strong love for each other!

 

Beautiful brown-eyed girls!  In the right picture, I asked Harper to find a picture of a cow for me, and she flipped through the pages and did it!  So cute!  Then we all moo-d really loudly!

 

Ring around the Rosie… we are so cute!  After they all fell down, Rose kept saying, “Let try again!”  That meant lets do it again.  “I try again!”  What precious memories I’ll treasure for always.

*Still no camera, and these are the last pictures our camera that we’ve had since Noelle was born will ever take again, but guess what?  The last two days of our vaca, I took pictures with Mike’s phone… so, he loaded them on my computer tonight, and lo and behold, there were 200… so folks, we’re back in business a little bit longer, lol!

Couldn’t pass up these cute short bikinis with little gold buttons after the 4th of July last summer on clearance for them to wear this year.  I found super cute ones after the 4th on the sale racks last week for next year too!  We’re able to do cute little festive outfits like these, because I always buy ahead after each holiday and get at least 50% or more on most everything I buy.  I think these swimming suits were $5 each.  Enough about shopping, these girlies are adorable from head to toe!  I love their happy little attitudes and how they are so proud to match each other.  They really are a team, and I love that they have each other and will always be best friends!  Their love for each other brings me so much joy!  You can see their excitement just being together, sharing something as simple as matching swim suits.  I love it!  I love them with everything I’ve got!

The Banks and The Pond Girls.. this picture could not be more perfect!  Love.these.girls!

We always have a blast at the 4th of July parade each year!  We’ve always decorated the Thurmans golf cart and ridden in the parade (even made the newspaper with our “float” one year!), but this year, we thought it would be fun to watch all the floats, catch candy/prizes, and be together!  From left to right: Brother Man (my little brother, John), his wife, Fancy Nancy with baby Saylor in sling, Aunt E (Rara’s little sister), Noelle, Harper (John and Nancy’s first little girl, age 2), Melissa, Rose, Aunt Joe (the middle sister), Anna Kate spinning around (lol), Mike, Uncle Jim (Aunt Joe’s husband), and Uncle Andy (Aunt Elsie’s husband).  Rose Mary/Rosie/Mom/Rara is taking the picture… which was such a sweet idea!  Thanks Mom!

 

My 4th of July girls waiting for the parade to start (in the bright morning sun), and Anna Kate and Harper dancing in the street!

Nancy, Sayloe, Harper, me, John, an dAnna Kate waiting for the parade to start!

 

Brother Man and I (honestly) cry and our bottom lip automatically sticks out (even though he is just making fun of Rose in this picture).  Anyway, all of our girls inherited the bottom lip cry.  It’s really cute, but I only do it when something is so terribly awfully bad that I don’t realize or care that I’m doing it (like finding out someone has passed away or something like that).  Genetics are so strange!

These may be my three favorite pictures from this trip.  This was a spontaneous moment of pure bliss!  I love that stinky baby!

 

More dancing in the street, with candy from the parade this time!

 

The girls love their great aunts!  They are the best!  Rose, Anna Kate, Noelle and Harper had a blast meeting the firefighters and hanging out on their truck! 

My sweethearts!

 

Remember the purse Noelle made last year for the 4th of July?  She was so proud to sport her creation again this holiday!  I think Noelle can truly be titled “The Fourth of July Princess!”  This is her favorite holiday, right next to Christmas.  She cannot get enough of all the fun and is always right in the middle of all the action.  I love watching her excitement.  This is truly heaven on earth for our awesome family-oriented diva!

Anna Kate, Noelle, Harper, and Rose enjoying posing around this motorcycle.  Anyone spot a green shoe holding Harper Grayce on her seat?  That’s our Rara!

Rose, thinking about sharing her water!

What a lucky little girl to have a famous artist who just so happens to be her awesome great aunt do her face painting for the 4th of July!  There just so happened to be an open booth just waiting for Aunt Joe in the activity center… it was such a special moment for Noelle!  Anna Kate didn’t want her face painted, and Rose was too busy chewing on candy from the parade.  I’m telling you, Noelle doesn’t miss a thing during our annual vacation.  The littles have a blast too, don’t get me wrong, but our big baby eats it up.  I just can’t describe her joy!  It is definitely contagious to watch. 

  

Mike and I enjoying Rose and Harper, both age 2 and looking a lot alike in this picture!  Girls, girls every where… we LOVE it!

Not only does Rose decide to share, but probably gives Harper more than she asked for… they were hilarious this visit, and we enjoyed watching them love/fuss like only two-year olds can do!  They are so blessed to have each other and will be in heaven having each other in the years to come!  It brings me to tears counting our blessings… and next year, crossing our fingers, we may have the Ebert cousins (my big sister Michele’s kiddos) in the mix!!!

*Still over 100 pics to post and so little time!  Doctors’ appointments all this week!  Maybe during nap time I can finish posting trip pics, but no camera yet!    To see the most updated pics (although few and far between), we have an Instagram feed to the right.  If you’d like to read captions and see the pictures larger, just click on a picture, and it will show you the Instagram captions and comments.  I’ll try to keep taking pics every couple of days until we get our new camera, but I’m enjoying taking it easy right now.  We are having lots of sleep overs, swim dates and chapter book read-alouds.  Summer is in full-swing at the Pond house!

Noelle is our girl that loves to try new things!  She’s held a tarantula, eaten an anchovy, loves tubing on the lake (she started lake sports at 2 years old, younger than Rose is now), tried zip-lining without hesitation, and absolutely loves to kayak!  She’s definitely our adventure girl, along with Rara and Aunt E, who seem to enjoy a little life on the edge every now and then too!  I look up to all three of these gals for going for it in life!

 

We had a blast swimming our first night on vacation!  Anna Kate and Rose were busy cheesing it up for pictures, but Noelle was under water most of the night!

Aunt E and Uncle Fred have the neatest back yard.  After the pool, they have a gorgeous yard that leads down to the lake.  The girls loved having a picnic by the lake in between swimming and more swimming!

 

These are our girls!

 

 

Loving.every.minute.

 

 

Feeding the ducks bread crumbs has become an exciting tradition!

 

Daddy and his girlies, and Rose trying to yell at the ducks to come get their food!  She is hilarious.  You have to hang out with her to fully appreciate how totally awesome she is!  She’s the sweetest, craziest little 2 year old all bundled up into one adorable package!

Well, what do we have here!!!  Anna Kate tried the Buddle Jumper floatie and LOVED it!  She was all over the pool, and it kept her head above water while she kicked and pulled the water with her arms!  She was so proud to be off of the steps, and we were so relieved to see her happy in the water for the first time ever!  She was more comfortable in this floatie than she ever has been with someone holding her, and it’s coast guard approved as a life jacket, so it is an extra safety precaution.  Hopefully she will get used to the swimming motion this summer and then next summer we will go all out with hard core lessons (the kind you have to sign up in March to get into).

 

Noelle is enjoying swimming on her back this summer, and Anna Kate had fun watching her sissy swim all around her in the middle of the pool (so excited for her)!  Rose enjoyed Uncle Andy’s ice cream sandwiches, from head to toe, lol!

*I’ve still got over 100 trip pictures from last week, but no new pics this week!  Okay, just a couple with Mike’s phone, lol!  I’m waiting on a new Canon that’s not in stock right now… I’m still not in any hurry to take pics.  This is the part of the summer that all of us Mommies need some renewed energy!  Right now, if I can keep the house going, and everyone clean and fed, I’m doing good!  So far, so good!  I’m thinking it will be at least two more weeks before we’ll have the new camera.  Nothing’s really going on with us right now, except for trying to beat the TX heat (and doctor’s appointment every day next week, sometimes two in one day… busy check-up time)!  We have parties and play dates this weekend, but I’m looking forward to just living in the moment.  It’s different, but a nice break.

 

After a 4 1/2 hour drive, we were finally in the Hill Country for our annual 4th of July trip to the lake!  First stop, the hotel to drop off our stuff before heading over to Aunt E and Uncle Andy’s!

 

We always let the kids jump on the bed when we get to a new hotel.  It’s a fun tradition that we always look forward to!

 

Anna Kate is our jumper!  She loves to be a monkey!  The girls were SO excited to run into Elsie’s house and hug her right off the bat!  I clicked a quick pic, and we all went outside and jumped in the pool!!!  It only took a matter of minutes before this vacation was in full swing!

After swimming their little hearts out, we went back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep!  The girls were so tired from the day of travel, but they were all smiles, looking forward to the days to come!

Everyone kiss the middle child!  I love these pictures!  Some of my favorites, for sure!  I don’t know where Anna Kate got this, but she calls Noelle and Rose, “side childs (that’s her plural form of children, lol).”  I overheard her telling Noelle the other day, “You’re a side child, and I’m the middle child!”  And Noelle quickly said, “No, I’m the first child, and you are the second!”  I told them everyone has a special place in our family.  Noelle is the big sister, Anna Kate is the middle child, and Rose is the baby.  Birth orders are so funny, and tonight, Anna Kate was needing some extra lovin’ from her sissies!  We try so hard to make everything even and special for each of our girls.  The most important thing, is that they know our love for each one of them is off the charts, no matter what!  I tell them all the time, “I love each one of you, as if you were the only one!”  And there is nothing more truthful than that!  These girls are precious, and we need each one to make this family go round!

We love you, little sparklers!!!

 

I just had to post both of these pictures, because Rose is such a little crack-up!  We took some quick pics before we left for our little summer vacation to Aunt E and Uncle Andy’s beautiful house on the lake!  Okay, on to the good news, bad news.  The good news is, I’ve got tons of 4th of July pictures to post!  The bad news is, half-way through our vacation, my camera literally broke; I felt a huge thud mid-flash.  I’m going to take it to a camera shop, but we’re pretty sure it’s a goner, as in, it would cost more money to fix than what it’s worth… so, all that is to say, I’m going to take a little break from pics and rest.  I’m tired guys!  But… we have so many awesome memories from last week to post, and I’ve said I’m going to take a break from pics before, and it doesn’t last long, so we’ll see.  Right now, we’re researching cameras and trying to figure out what we’re going to do.  I have only looked through the trip pics once, but there are some priceless ones.  I’ll probably just work on them a little bit every day, so the grandparents won’t be without their Pond girl fix!  Lol!