A Boy and His Dog

Maddie is such a great dog.. we could not have asked for a better four legged friend!  Matthew adores her too. He is probably her biggest fan - she scores most of her treats because of him and she knows exactly where to hang out during meal times.  If he doesn't accidentally drop something, he'll do it on purpose.  Sometimes I wonder if Matthew thinks he is a dog too.  I've even caught him dipping his mouth into the water bowl for a quick drink!! YUCK!!   They do get along so well ... there is just something special about a boy and his dog.

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I Heart Faces: Beautiful Eyes

I heart these big brown eyes and the person behind them too. 

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I Heart Faces: Friendship

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Before Matthew was born, I wasn't sure how Emily would take to becoming a big sister and not being the youngest anymore.  And to complicate it even more, I was having a boy!  We all thought he'd be a girl since I already had two girls.  We were all a little shocked!  But since he was born (he is almost 2 now!), she has been an AMAZING big sister...

This picture exemplifies their special friendship.  She is always trying to make him laugh or smile and she can make him laugh like no one else.   They dance, play and read together.  They love being just plain silly together. Emily could entertain him for hours.  She kisses his boo boos when he is hurt and hugs him if he is sad.   I now know that she was meant to be his big sister.  I love watching the bond between them grow each and every day!  

Be sure to head over to iheartfaces.com to check out more awesome 'friendship' photos!

Off to school

My favorite little girls (a.k.a. Katie and Emily) are growing up so fast. They started school this week.  4th grade and 1st grade - yow-sa!  But they are off to a rockin start!  So far so good.  I think it is going to be a good year!

Water, Water!

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is "water"!  We have been in the water A LOT this summer, making it hard to choose just one photo!  I picked this one of my little guy - he is so focused on the splash he just made with his hand.  Less than a minute later, he was off chasing his sisters around the pool!  Such a fun theme!  Be sure to check out the other "water" entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/.

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Reed Visit

I am originally from Michigan - a state which I hold near and dear to my heart.  After 16 years in North Carolina, I still miss Michigan.  Even more, I miss my family and friends that I left behind (although I was successful in recruiting my parents and sister to NC!).  We especially miss the Reed family.  Pam is my aunt, my mom's sister, and she is like a sister to me.   She is married to Keith and they have two awesome kids - Jennifer (12) and Jordan (9).  My kids adore them.  I think Katie and Jordan would be best friends if they lived closer together.  They all made the long car trip (including Jennifer's friend, Savannah!) to visit us for a few days at the lake!  We had so much fun ... especially the kids!  Swimming, tubing, skiing, marshmallow roasting and just hanging out together pretty much sums up our time together.  We can't wait to see them again!

Summer Fun

We are into the second week of our four week break (year round school).  It is really hot here .. almost too hot to be outdoors.  Needless to say, our pool is getting a lot of use!  Here are some photos that were taken after a recent swim team practice...