We have a real pool now!

I promised to blog about our pool saga, so here goes. We started with a baby pool. Ronnie was a good sport, but the water barely came up to the top of his feet. So, I splurged & got a $15 pool that was about a foot or 2 deep. He loved it, but it deflated within 4 days. I was so disappointed & Ron suggested that we get a "real" pool. I found one for $200 at Walmart that was 18' wide & 4' deep. It was marked down from $600, so we quickly snapped that up. Putting it up was supposed to be "easy" according to the box. However, if you have any slope whatsoever in your yard, this pool will not work. We found that out the hard way that our yard was too uneven. We filled up the pool & the next morning I watched as it completely collapsed & flooded the entire neighborhood! I was extremely upset & convinced my husband to find a way to fix it. Friday night, our neighborhood landscaping business was closed & I so desperately wanted it fixed NOW. Since we couldn't buy a truckload of sand, he bought bags & bags of the expensive sand ($300 to be specific) from Home Depot. He was a good sport. We spent an hour leveling our yard & back up went the pool. This time, it quickly collapsed again. So, $500 worth of money & no pool. We went out & bought a different kind of pool & put it up. It works great & Walmart graciously took back other our pool & gave us store credit. Ronnie has been very happy & has enjoyed this new pool. I couldn't be happier & more broke! I have pictures to share (that's what you are really here for anyway!) Ronnie swims every second of every day & has even started learning to do strokes, flips, & hand stands. I can't believe how good he swims (better than me!).

One more thing - Ronnie lost ANOTHER tooth. He's missing all 4 front teeth. It's so cute & he has such a hard time talking. He's striking it rich from the tooth fairy!

Ronnie's "tatoo" from Summer Camp
Why do big kids always want to play with baby toys???
Now it's Gracie's turn! (Those are not her feet underneath, but it looks like it!)
(Brother, give me back my floatie)


I LOVE my pool

Gracie doesn't like it quite as much

Gracie doing her new dance

Ronnie swims like a fish!

Too cute

I love this picture that Sarah sent me on My Space. Today is my wedding anniversary (7 years!) My parents & sister Sarah (and I understand a lot of credit goes to LeeAnn) watched my kiddos while Ron & I went away for a couple of days. It was very nice. We went to Edinburgh to the outlet mall & to Little Nashville to shop. (And boy did we shop til we dropped!) Then off to Bloomington to our favorite restaurant & a night away. Too bad Ronnie ended up getting sick the next day, but that's typical for him during allergy season. I have so much more to blog about with the new pool saga, but for now, I just wanted to put up a picture that Sarah sent me. Thanks for the picture Sarah! I'll share updates about our pool when I have the energy. This weekend tired me out!!!

Jason spends the Night

I was looking through my pictures & how on earth could I forget to blog about Jason spending the night! It was such a fun night. Ronnie & Jason get along very well & Jason laughs at everything Ronnie says. So, of course Ronnie likes that! We went to Blockbuster to let them each pick out a movie & Jason picked something he has seen a million times - Home Alone! They crack me up sometimes. I have some fun pictures of their sleepover...

Swimming in our huge pool! :)

Ron gave Jason 5 "love pats" for his 5th birthday!

Ronnie was jealous & asked for his love pats!
Jason was chillin' out on the deck!
Gracie is "drinking" diet coke. She has an obsession with coke cans.
Shake your booty!

My sister's blog

My sister, Sarah, posted a ton of pictures of Gracie, Ronnie, & cousin LeeAnn on her blog. The pictures are adorable & I love seeing my kids having so much fun with their family. I had to share the link so anyone who reads this blog can see the cute pictures!

http://eddiesarahandleeann.blogspot.com/2008/07/taking-kids-to-park.html

Enjoy! Thanks Sarah for the pictures & for helping to watch my kids. Ronnie loved the wooden puzzles he got from your rummage! :)

More Summertime Fun!

Summer is definitely more fun with my kids. Gracie likes water, but she seems to prefer to be in control. She likes the baby pool & the sprinkler, but she doesn't like to be in a pool where she cannot reach the bottom. Ronnie loved to be in the baby floats & he has always enjoyed swimming. Gracie has no desire for this. What's funny is that she tends to be the daredevil & she has very few fears, but water seems to scare her. Ronnie, on the other hand, has fears of EVERYTHING, but he can dive in & swim around without a care in the world. They truly are night & day, but that's what keeps things interesting. The neighbor girl & her friend have been coming over daily to play with the kids (mainly to play with Gracie since she's like their "doll").

Also, Happy Birthday to Grandma Roberts (in the BIG hat!) and happy 30th Birthday to "Auntie" Sarah. Welcome to the 30's! It's not so bad afterall!!!

I love summer time!

We have a pool now! Okay, it's a baby pool, but my kids love it. Gracie got it from Aunt Shell for her birthday & they play in it every day. Ronnie needs something a little bigger, but we just go visit Aunt Debbie when we need a real pool for swimming! Ronnie lost 2 more teeth. It's funny to hear him try to talk without his front teeth. He got a visit from the tooth fairy & was very pleased!

Cheese! I'm missing 3 teeth!

I just had to throw this in. I forgot last time. The aftermath of the birthday cake!

Gracie - Party #3!

I guess you only turn 1 once. But for Gracie, she got to celebrate 3 times. I have so many cute pictures of her & cousin Neva playing in the cake. They were too cute. Neither were too interested in opening presents, but both were highly interested in playing in the cake. Aunt Michelle got Gracie a little pool & she & Ronnie play in it daily & really enjoy it! I had to share some of the cute pics & videos. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my new camera. Best birthday present ever!!!

Jason's birthday party

Cousin Jason had his 5th birthday party on Saturday. I can't believe he & Ronnie will be in kindergarten this fall! He had a Star Wars theme which Ronnie absolutely LOVED! He wears his darth vader bracelet everywhere. The goody bags were awesome! I have pictures of the kids at the party. Gracie really enjoyed the bounce house. She has no fear. The kids were jumping all around her & she thoroughly enjoyed that! Happy Birthday Jason & Becky!