Another Day at the Lake

The girls both love going to the lake, so today we headed out for a rather cool swim. The days leading up to this were 90 degree days, so that was what I was hoping for. However, it was only 80 degrees, making the water pretty cool. That didn't stop Gracie and Ella from enjoying the day.

Should I eat or play??? Hmmm...

Gracie spent practically the whole time out in the deeper water, so I didn't get many pictures of her. (She can still touch in that area, but she was practicing her swimming so she looks like she's about to go under!)

Ella got a good workout today as she busily carried buckets and watering cans full or water up to her "water hole."

Gracie finally came up to the shallow water to announce that she lost her goggles in the deeper water and needed my help to find them. She said she threw them away from her and wanted to swim to them, not realizing they wouldn't float. Oops!

This is the sad face I got when I told big sis that we were going to have to leave even though we hadn't found her goggles. There were tears shortly after this picture. Two kind boys went to the deep water and did a lengthy search and told her they must have drifted off. I made a big promise to find another pair exactly like them, and we were homeward bound.

Gracie's Day with Mommy and Daddy

We decided to take advantage of the tax-free weekend in Missouri today and headed to Columbia after church. The trips sole purpose was to get Gracie the few remaining items she needed before school started. Therefore, we decided Ella didn't need to go and fight the crowds with us, so she stayed at Grandpa and Nana's. While we were having fun at the mall and Chucky Cheese, Ella was having fun in Moberly.
My mom took all of these, and I thought this one was particularly funny. Ella has a cute little grin posing in front of one of my parent's flower beds, but the sun was blinding her so her eyes are squeezed shut.

Ella continues to like Grandpa's elephant. I don't really know any kid who wouldn't be intrigued with this large creature in the yard.

Nice elephant!

It looks like an afternoon of exploring the great outdoors. This little deer stands in a neighbors yard, but Ella has enjoyed it for a long time now.

The large friendly frog gets a sweet smile from Ella.

Nana's angel is kind of popular with Ella, too. The angel is holding a kitty which continues to be an animal Ella is fascinated with. She will have to enjoy them from afar since we have no plans of letting cats into our family.

More Water Park Fun

Today Mama (Brent's mom) treated all the grandkids to a trip to the water park at Centerville, IA. It was a very fun place to be! Gracie was so excited to get there and try everything out.

Ella has turned into a little fish. She doesn't want to be held in the water, she just wants to be free to flop around. She goes underwater frequently, but really doesn't mind.

Big cousin Sydney was good to play with Ella for a while in the kiddie pool.

Sydney and Ella enjoyed some time on the kiddie slide. By the end of our time there, Ella was going down alone.

Ella on one of the big floating turtles.

Ella emerging from the water after going under. She was a-ok.

Gracie really liked the kiddie pool too even though it wasn't very deep.

I think Ella was trying to crawl along the bottom of the pool.

Ready, set, go! Kalyn and Gracie went down the slide a lot!

This time Ella got to go along with the big girls. Whee!

This is Gracie, the sad pirate, at the end of our trip to the water park. Her Mommy and Daddy wouldn't spend $3.75 for a small pouch of Dippin' Dots, so she got her pout on! There were actually many tears involved since her cousins all got some. We thought that was too much to spend when they sell the same thing for $1.00 at the grocery store. You can quit feeling sorry for her, because we stopped at the grocery store in Centerville on the way home and got her a bowl of Dippin' Dots for $1.00.

She's really not too horribly mistreated! :-)

Ella and Abbie

Ella got to play with her little cousin Abbie for the first time today. We were in Unionville for Lucas's birthday party and Abbie got to come. The girls did a good job sharing snacks and toys, so it was a pretty successful playtime.

I think Abbie was saying "fish" when I took this. She was pretty impressed with the fish tank at Mama's house, as is Ella.

Gracie managed to find a fancy ballgown to wear during the birthday party. She had to stay indoors because the mosquitoes were eating her up! Gracie thinks they know when the Macon girl is there, and they think she's sweet, so they bite her. I told her that sounded accurate.

Kalyn was also wearing a gorgeous ballgown, and eyeliner!

The three princesses! One was already bathed and ready for bed. The other two princesses stayed up way to late that night enjoying their time together.

Fun Times in Moberly

Gracie had been wanting to spend the night with Grandpa and Nana without her little sister one more time before school starts. This was her lucky weekend. My parents took her to Candy Cane City for some playtime. My brother and I used to play at Candy Cane City when we were little, although the equipment has been improved quite a bit through the years!

Good thing my mom likes to take pictures like I do. She shared these with me. Grandpa and Gracie have a good time together.

Nana and Gracie are pretty fast friends too!

This slide is probably the only original piece of equipment remaining at Candy Cane City, so my parents took Gracie's picture on it. I used to love this slide.

Hello, Gracie!

Gracie posing in front of Rothwell Lake.

The balance beam is one of Gracie's favorite things to practice.

All that playing makes a little girl hungry!

Today my parents took Gracie to the library to play and look at books. This was another one of my favorite places as a kid.

Gracie found a friend to play with for a while. Uh-oh, it's a boy!

Next on the agenda was the Shriner's parade. It sounded like a very small parade, but I suppose Gracie probably still enjoyed it. She did mention the little cars with the big men in them.

Finally, to cap off the day, they took Gracie to Glasgow to ride the ferry. She seemed to enjoy it very much and thought it was cool that they got to ride it twice.

Gracie Doo on the ferry.

Thank you Grandpa and Nana! Gracie had a great time at your house. It won't be long until Ella is asking to spend the night by herself!