4th of July Weekend

We spent the 4th in Fort Smith. It was a great time. Here, Millie is helping Ops with the secret ingredient for his famous pancakes.

Esther jumping into the DEEP end!

Aunt Allison and Aubri

My parents, Jenny, and Aubri are now with us in Cave City, helping to take care of my girlies while I am in inservice this week. In this photo, my girls had stolen Aubri's car seat and strapped in a stuffed animal, so she was left to watch us cook dinner from this little basket.

My Birthday

So, today was my birthday. As it is a pretty big one, I'll not mention a number here, but suffice it to say, I woke up this morning with a catch in my hip that can only be attributed to this birthday. John arranged for us to spend last night at the cabin on the river. We cooked dinner, played a little ball, and enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the river before settling in for March of the Penguins, which we all loved! I was awakened this morning with breakfast in bed and an amazing gift, so thoughtful and sentimental that I can't even explain it fully in a blog post. Let's just say that John replaced something very dear to me that I had lost to the hurricane. We took our time getting ready as the girls sang and danced to some Mamma Mia! We then headed to Blanchard Springs Caverns where we donned our jackets and descended into the earth 216 feet to the amazing caverns that are a constant 58 degrees. After the tour, we went in search of Blanchard Spring and found ourselves on a trail that WAS NOT suitable for children. We kept thinking that it was about to come out at the road, so we kept going, through dense brush, downed trees, and along steep embankments. It really was a memory. Once we got back to the road, we found the actual entrance to the spring -- a nice paved walkway! We then drove back to Sylamore for a riverside lunch at Angler's before heading to MeeMee's pool. By the end of our cannonball contest, I was not feeling [a certain age] at all! We finished our fun-filled day with grilling out and eating on the back porch. It really was a great day. I appreciate that John took the day off and did so much to make the day great. He's so much more than I deserve!

Esther's Ear Piercing!

The big day has finally arrived! Esther has been looking forward to getting her ears pierced for quite some time, so we took her today for her birthday. It's hard to see the earrings in the photos, but they're pink flowers in white gold (I expect her to be allergy-prone like her mother!). She did great and is still in shock: "I just keep looking at them! I can't believe my ears are really pierced!"

I think she'll do great with the care they require. She's already corrected me. When we were doctoring them for the first time after her shower tonight: "Wait, Mom, the lady said to use a different cotton ball for each ear." I guess she was paying closer attention than I was!

Happy Birthday, Esther!

Esther is 5 years old today. We are taking a trip to Jonesboro later for the dinner of her choice and the long awaited event-- getting her ears pierced!

First Basketful of Blooms

This morning I cut my first basket of zinnias from the yard!

The Big Day!

To the After Party

In a big girl's carseat.