Bailey's First Haircut

So yesterday I took Bailey to get her first haircut. Here are a couple of before pictures.

It wasn't that her hair was really long, it was just really uneven and needed to be touched up.

Me and my big girl before her first haircut

My awesome friend Pam offered to cut Bailey's hair for me. She said that because Bailey's hair is so fine, someone inexperienced could easily screw it up. So I didn't want to risk it. Pam is a dear friend and my kids all adore her and so I was thrilled when she agreed to cut Bailey's hair.

 Bailey was an angel during her haircut.

She sat so still and I'm pretty sure she loved the attention she was getting.

(Notice the really long pieces of hair right beneath her ears? Yeah, those had to go...)

Seriously, what toddler is this content and still while getting a haircut?

Unless you did Bailey's hair everyday, you probably wouldn't notice a big difference. We only cut about an inch off, but it looks so much better. It's at least more even looking and it all flips out in the back now.

Here's the finished product. Bailey was being so serious while she held still. haha.

I feel like my baby is such a little girl now. It's crazy how fast she's grown, but she's so fun. She is such a girly-girl. She loves being pampered, like when I paint her nails or put lotion on her. It's pretty funny. Can't believe I will have a 2-year old in a little over 2 months. 

Memorial Day Weekend with Daddy

Chris was able to get off work a couple hours early on Friday and so he surprised us by arriving home way earlier than expected. Early enough that we were able to kick off our 3-day weekend by going out to eat with Nanny, Papa and Uncle Joe.

On Saturday I got to sleep in while my awesome husband took care of the kids. It was so fun to wake up to noises from them playing happily together as opposed to kids crying or yelling.

We had a nice big breakfast and then just hung out together all morning

That evening we headed over to the lake for a firework show. We had to get there really early to ensure we got a parking spot, so the kids played for about 3 hours. We met some friends at the park and hung out while we waited for it to get dark.

 

 

Love this picture of my sweet husband and our baby girl (who isn't so much a baby anymore)

Family picture- Memorial Day 2013

Then as it finally got dark, we busted out the glowsticks and waited for the firework show to begin.
Tanner and Bailey loved having the glowsticks to play with.  

 

 

Then we had a nice relaxing Sunday, during which I was able to take a 3-hour nap.
SO blissful.

 

Then on Monday we enjoyed another nice day at home together.

We did take Bailey to get her first haircut (post on that later) and then we grabbed some corn dogs and drove through a car wash with the kiddos. Tanner loved it, Bailey wasn't a huge fan.

 

Then we went home for naps. After the kids had taken nice long naps, we headed over to my parents' house to play. Papa set up his awesome slip-n-slide and the kids had a blast!

They didn't care at all that the water was freezing.

Tanner really liked being pulled down the slip-n-slide.

But I think his favorite was just running and sliding.

Check out these awesome actions shots.

Yep, my kid is awesome.

Bailey wasn't really sure what she thought.

She mostly just liked crawling on the slip-n-slide.

So I ended up sitting her on my lap and then Papa pulled us down the slip-n-slide.

She loved this so much! We did it about 5 times and I must say, my butt was so tender afterwards.

Here is a full shot of our "redneck slip-n-slide". It was such a blast.

 

I couldn't resist this picture. Bailey walking around with her towel like she's so big.

Oh and Tanner loved having his own "orange soda".

He was so cute.

Next came dinner and then dessert.

As you can see, Bailey was a fan of the cake. She was literally licking her plate.

Then we ended the evening with some little fireworks.

The kids really liked the ones you throw on the ground and they pop. We call them "poppers". They were a big hit.

Then we did "Roman Candles". Don't my kids look so big? I can' handle how fast they are growing up.

Then we ended the night with sparklers. Tanner didn't hesitate and started doing a little sparklers dance. so funny. Bailey was just thrilled she got to hold it by herself.  

 

All-in-all, we had a great weekend with Dad. It will be hard to see him leave in the morning to head back to Bentonville. But we are going over there soon to start looking for houses, so it won't be quite as hard as last week.

 

Happy Memorial day to everyone. I'm so grateful for the men (like my amazing husband) and the women who serve our country. I'm grateful for those who keep us safe so we are able to celebrate and spend time together.

Herbs in Arkansas - Take 2

Some of our awesome Oregon family flew out to visit us for the week. Chris' brother Phillip, his wife Stephanie and their two boys, Chase and Conner flew into Springfield and they arrived at our house late Saturday night. They came two years ago, when both Stephanie and I were pregnant and we had so much fun then so they decided to come again.

 Sunday morning was Mother's day. The husbands made us a delicious Mother's Day breakfast of stuffed French toast and then we all got ready and headed to church.

Tanner and Chase are both three years old and therefore they are "Sunbeams" in Primary. So they got to sing for the first time with the primary kids. It was beyond adorable. They sang "I Often Go Walking" and Tanner actually sang most of it. I was so proud! And I'm not going to lie, I may have cried just a little...

After sacrament we headed back to the house to pack a lunch and have a picnic at Cotter Springs.

The kids had a blast running around together but you can bet,with four kids under the age of 4, it was crazy!

After our picnic we went home for naps and then over to my parents' house for dinner. Once again the men outdid themselves. It was delicious and the evening was beautiful. The kids had a great time playing in my parent's big backyard.

at some point in the first 24 hours after Phillip and Stephanie arrived at our house, Bailey fell in love with her Uncle Phillip. When I tried to put her to sleep that night, she started crying and asking for Phillip.

The next day we played while the Dad's went fishing. We played in the backyard for a while. The kids played t-ball, soccer, catch and did lots and lots of bubbles.

 

Then we went inside for a movie and popcorn party. While the kids watched their movie, we packed up for our camping trip and made lunch.

Then we ate and the kids napped.

After they woke up we loaded up and went over to the campgrounds. The kids made themselves quite comfortable with the toy basket.

Then we went down to the river and let the kids play while the dads fished some more.

Oh and we played on the swings and the playground

Love the pictures of them walking around and holding hands

 

For dinner the kids roasted hot dogs.

Love the cousin shots- these kids love their hotdogs!!

Family camping pic

Bailey made sure to get some "Aunt Fanny" snuggles before bed.

before bed we busted out the "Glow in the Dark" bubbles. Tanner was in heaven and it was so fun!

The next morning we ate breakfast and the Dads took the big boys fishing again. (lots of fishing on this trip)

After they got back we checked out of our cabins and loaded up the cars. Then we drove down to the river and let all the kids play and fish for a while.

My little fisherman!

Bailey of course loved the cold water and loved splashing.

Oh and then Chris caught the first fish and it was so exciting. The kids all gathered around Chris and wanted to see the fish.

Tanner was the first to hold the fish, but after that all the kids wanted to hold it.

Bailey really loved holding the fish. It was a bit weird how she snuggled it and it broke her heart when I finally took it away. But it did make for an awesome picture.

After we got back from camping, we ate lunch and showered. Then Stephanie and I went shopping while the Dads took a turn watching the kids. After our shopping, we went out to eat and then home for ice cream and baths.

There's nothing like four crazy kids in one little bathtub.

Then it was a bedtime story and off to sleep.

 

The next morning the Dads left early again to do more fishing (shocking, right?)

The kids played and we did laundry and packed for our Branson trip.

We drove up to Branson after lunch and the kids slept the whole way. We arrived at our hotel- "The Welk Resort" and checked in. The reason we decided to stay here was because they had a indoor/outdoor water park.

The kids had so much fun playing in the water, the slides and the sprinklers.

 

Tanner even went down the water slide with his Dad! He loved it and was all smiles but did not want to do it again.

 

 And here is Bailey looking like she kicked me in the face, while in reality it was just me throwing her into the air. Tanner discovered he loved jumping into the pool, as long as Dad was there to catch him.

Oh and I love the little goggle geeks 

 

 

After playing in the water all afternoon, we checked into our hotel room and got cleaned up for dinner. We ate dinner at a wonderful steak house and then took the kids back to the hotel for bed. Then Steph and I went shopping at the outlet mall.

 

The next morning we ate at IHOP and then headed over to Silver Dollar City to spend the day there. We got there right as it opened and it wasn't as warm as we originally thought it would be. So we put sweaters on the kids and headed into the park.

The first thing we did was ride the train. It was so fun.

The kids are at such a fun age for this kind of stuff.

The kids loved "being robbed" and handing over all our money. haha

 

An awesome group shot. I seriously can't believe everyone is actually looking at the camera.

Tanner loved the train and didn't want to get off after our ride around the park was over.

Here are my babes sitting by the train station.

Then we snagged a picture of my troublemakers all locked up...

 Then we did the half-dollar holler and let the kids do the carousel and the rope tree house

 

 

Then it was over to the "Grand Exposition" for lots of rides the kids were big enough for.

The Dads took the big boys on a few more rides while the mommas hung out with the kiddos who weren't tall enough for the bigger rides.

 

Oh and the kids loved this big water ball...

 

 

Then we ate lunch and headed over to the ball pit. This was probably the kids' favorite thing in the whole park. We stayed here for almost 2 hours.

Oh the balls...so fun!

 

 

 

Then before we left, the kids played at "Geysers Gulch" and they got all wet. They had a blast.

 

 

After they were soaking wet, we changed them into their dry clothes and headed back to our hotel.

We all showered and got cleaned up and then headed over to our last fun activity-

"The Dixie Stampede"

So fun. Its a dinner show that pits the North against the South in a friendly competition. The food was good and the show was awesome. The kids were totally engrossed!

Before the show started Tanner had to get a picture with this "Southern Belle". He called her a "princess"

Oh and we walked around the stables and got to look at all the horses.

Here is a family picture before we left. We sat on the south side and we dominated. It was awesome. A perfect ending to our wonderful week with our Oregon family.

The next morning, we ate breakfast together and then Chris took them to the airport.

Thank you so much for coming to visit us. We had a blast and can't wait to see you all again!