Hadley's birthday party

I think every birthday party becomes my favorite party! Hadley's 10th birthday party was so much fun. We had been hoping for a swim party and then we started losing hope when the pool was taking so long. But Hadley decided it was worth the wait to have her party a little bit late so that she could have a swim party. It helped her decision when she found out Descendants 2 was releasing on the day we had found would work. We planned a swim/movie/ice cream party and it couldn't have been more fun! We picked out a cookie cake, bought lots of "movie" candy, and all kinds of ice cream toppings. I found some cute ice cream party bowls and decorations to make it all complete. We were ready for some fun! To top it off, every single girl she invited said they would be able to come which completely shocked us for having a summer party!

We took lots of pictures while waiting for her friends to arrive...

Everyone is here! 18 girls to be exact. And no fights. Amazing. Just lots of laughing, giggling, and screaming. 

Hudson was OVER all these girls! Thats until I talked him into jumping in and joining the fun. Then he was in heaven playing with all the girls. He competed in the obstacle courses and held his own in volleyball. And Hadley wasn't bugged at all. She loved him being there!

Pizza first, more swimming, and now an appetite for ice cream!

More swimming and volleyball.

It's finally 7:00 and what the girls have been waiting for! Descendants 2 was on and the girls took a seat in the hot tub or on the patio to watch on the 2 tvs outside. However, it didn't go as expected. Very few girls kept watching and they really just all wanted to swim instead. 

After everyone ate their candy and watched the movie, most decided to get back in the pool and play more games.

As we quickly were running out of time (even though it was a 4 hour party) we hurried to eat cake and open presents. I LOVE her sweet friends. They are the kindest girls who love Hadley so much. And there is one particular thing I noticed in all these pics that makes my heart so, so happy! In almost every picture Hudson is right by Hadley's side. He adores his big sister and was so thrilled to sing for her. He also loved being right by her side while she opened her presents. But even better than that, she didn't mind one bit when it was "her" day! Instead of being annoyed, like so many other siblings would be, she would put her arm around him, let him open a present for her, and didn't one time tell him to get away. They fight...a lot...but they also love each other much, much more!

Happy 10th birthday, Hadley! We love you more than you could ever know and we hope you feel super celebrated on your birthday. I think 10 will be the best year yet!

Pixie end of year party

The Rouse's hosted another great Pixie party! We had so much fun eating pizza, sno cones, and swimming. Unfortunately, Matt was meeting us there since the Direct TV guy was coming over and because he ran so late Matt never made it. He was pretty upset but I got lots of pictures for him. 

After eating and swimming Bary called up each of the girls to get their FIRST place trophies and say a little bit about each girl. I was so proud of Hadley. Bary commented on how Hadley is "one of the top, if not THE top defender on the team." She VERY rarely lets a ball by her and isn't scared of anything. She has such an accurate throw to 1st and her and Story make so many outs each season. She has continued to improve and loves to play her position. She especially loves getting a pop fly hit to her and getting the chance to get an out at 2nd on a steal. She is definitely struggling with her hitting confidence but we have started some hitting lessons and she is making some big improvements! I'm excited to see what next season brings.

First day of summer dance, karate, and some Giant snow cones.

Back from camp and ready for summer dance to start. We were excited to pick up Lottie after not seeing her for a couple days (ha!) and she joined us for some snow cones to celebrate our first day of class. While the girls were at dance Hudson and I were at karate after a week long break. We found this fun new sno cone stand called Coneheadz that serves the shaved ice in a pineapple. Really big (and expensive) but it was fun for a special treat!

A fun welcome home from camp...

It's never fun to come home from vacation...except for this time! Once we got on the road we all couldn't wait to get back home and swim in our new pool. Hudson swam in it for about an hour before leaving but no friends or family had come over so we were really excited to have people over. The kids had their swimsuits unpacked and were changing as we pulled in the neighborhood. They ran straight to the backyard and immediately jumped in the pool. It was fun to see them so excited. Chris and LaNeale came over with the kids and swam that afternoon. We had talked about it at camp and it was a fun way for us to all hang out and get to talk about our week. 

We (mostly Matt) spent the following days power washing the patio, cleaning the garage, cleaning the patio furniture, and getting everything ready for Hadley's upcoming party! It is so much fun to see our backyard complete. And Bauer seems to be LOVING it as well. He really loves us hanging out with him outside. We had Ryan, Lisa, and the boys over to swim on Saturday and then Erin, Tim, and Jake came over for pizza and swimming to celebrate our anniversaries. Its been a fun start to July. We can't wait for many more swim parties!