SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMER!!!!!

We've been having such a great summer. I love having time to do things with the girls, not having to hurry to bed for school and the quiet mornings when the girls sleep in (it's 8:15 and even Maggie is still in bed).  Lots of playing outside, biking, softball, horses, golf and swimming.

We've been biking a lot. Maggie's initial goal was to be able to ride 10 miles by the end of the summer. We've decided
to try and do the Owl Ride in Omaha in a few weeks, so right now we're training hard on hills. Maggie's been doing
AWESOME. I'm still undecided about whether or not I'll be able to pull Gracie up all the hills on the ride....she really wants to go, but HOLY MOLY that's hard work!

Maggie's softball team is doing great this year. It's amazing how much better they are with another
year of age. She's had lots of hits and seems to really enjoy playing catcher.

And she SCORES!

First base Maggie and Coach Dad

Maggie worked hard to get a quilt top done in time for the fair. She did a great job!

Great job!

Music in the park!

It's been raining so much that there is NO way to keep Jude clean. So we just roll with the mud!

Last weekend Arnie competed in the 1st annual Norfolk Iron Rib Fest.

Maggie and Gracie were happy to be taste testers :)

 

and assistants!

I think she's full!

Not everyone can pull off this look :) for swim lessons. Excuse the dumpster backdrop. Lots of rental house
work going on!

multi-tasking at it's finest!

She always has to make her own way.

Gracie has a new best friend named Breezy. Every time she sees her she asks when Breezy
can be her horse.

I wish I knew what she was saying. They make a cute team!

Maggie and Jude are working hard. Thankfully it hasn't been too hot
yet (at least not when we've been in the barn). Yesterday Maggie rode for 2 hours and she'd of kept going
if I let her.

We're headed for the O'Brien family camping trip in Minnesota after swim lessons this morning. I'm praying for great weather and stretchy pants :)

Camping and a tough Good-Bye....

We FINNALY went camping this weekend. We spent the weekend in Yankton with Teri & Joe and their kids. We always have a great time camping with them, and this was no exception.

Gracie, Jayde and Ashton. Gracie has officially added Jayde to her list of BFF's :)

I guess we don't need to bother putting a swimming pool in at the new house, we'll
just get a bigger Rubbermaid tub!

Jayde-5, Gracie-4, Danika-7, Maggie-7

Camping in the 21st century!

Saturday morning the girls and I drove back to Norfolk for Miss Lauren's bridal shower. It was also a bit of a going away party. She packed her car and headed for Dallas Saturday afternoon :(

It was a really tough goodbye for all four of us. This wonderful amazing woman has grown up in our house. She has spent countless hours loving and nurturing my kids. I'm so very very grateful for her. She has been an outstanding role model for my kids and a true blessing to me. It's still hard for me to imagine she may never wander in through our garage door, kick off her shoes and scoop up my girls again. Thankfully we can Facetime with her and she'll have to come home in October to get married. Maggie's been trying to talk Arnie into visiting some customers in Dallas soon, so she can ride along.

Nate & Bri get hitched!

The day after we got home from the beach it was time to start rehearsing for a wedding! The girls were honored to be Nate and Bri's flower girls and Arnie had the privilege of being a "grooms maid" (at least that's what Maggie called it). It was a beautiful and fun wedding and most importantly when it was all over I officially had another girl cousin! Welcome to the family Bri!

Yep, this pretty much sums up my children perfectly.

At one point during the reception, I couldn't find Gracie....I walked out in the hall to find her making small talk with
the bar tender and....

....taking a minute to sign the guest book!

"Gracie Tato Robinson" She's going to be really sad someday when she realizes her middle
name isn't actually Tato!

I know, I know, there is so much wrong with posting this picture....but it cracks me up every time I see it, so I thought I'd share!