We started out the month with Austin taking swimming lessons! He has taken lessons the past few summers, but they have always been group lessons. This summer, we were lucky enough to be able to get him into some private lessons and he did AMAZING! He is swimming by himself now and is doing so GREAT! Mom took him to my grandparents house a couple weeks ago and he was able to jump off the diving board and swim the entire length of the pool by himself! Now, we just have to get Kayla into some lessons...that girl has no fear and has to wear her floaties whenever she is near a pool because you never know when she'll jump right in!
We also finally took Austin's 5 year pictures-two months late! The photographer that we use set it up where we could take pictures with an old airplane-which Austin LOVED! I made him a bomber jacket with some of my grandfather's old patches on it and he truly looked the part of fighter pilot! After we were done taking pictures, the owner of the plane took Austin up for a flight! I was SO nervous the entire time he was in the air, but he loved EVERY minute of it and kept talking about it even after we got home! I can't wait to see the finished pictures...but if you want to look at them, go to www.marksykes.com. After you enter the site, it is the "session of the month" (if its still up)...he did a GREAT job!
This is Austin before the actual photoshoot...don't you love the aviators?!
...and if this isn't a "Top Gun" shot, I don't know what is...
Here is Austin during his private flight...my stomach was in knots at this point!
...and right after he got out of the plane!About mid-June, we went on a Family vacation to Branson, Missouri with most of my family...what a trip! We rented a house on Lake Tanneycomo and had a BLAST! The kids loved being able to walk right into a little inlet of the lake and enjoyed "floating" in their tubes...and lifejackets! We went to a waterpark, an amusement park, had a funfilled day on the lake and just generally enjoyed each other! The only people missing were my grandparents and one of my cousins...we sure missed them!
We of course got the obligatory matching tshirts and had to do pictures in them!
This was the part of the lake right in front of our house. There was a firepit and we built a fire to roast marsmallows on it most nights...so much fun! The kids had a GREAT time, and so did the adults! I hope we get to do something like that again soon!
Finally, as we weren't crazy busy enough, we have a house guest this summer and are loving it! Bryan has a Texas Collegiate Baseball League team (the Brazos Valley Bombers) and we are hosting a player in our house for the summer! His name is John Cannon and he plays at the University of Houston. He is a great kid and the kids just love him so much! He comes from a big family, so little ones climbing all over him all the time are not a big deal at all-I hope! We have gone to many of his games and have a great time at them...we're going to be sad when the summer ends and the season is over!
When the Bomber's win, the kids get to take a "victory lap" around the bases! This is both of the kids crossing home plates on one of their several jaunts around the field! Kayla is usually the last one in, since she doesn't quite get the concept of "running" the bases yet! 
We hope your summer is going well...I can't believe its already the middle of July! We leave on Saturday for a week in Disneyworld!!! We're going with another family and are really looking forward to it-I think me more than the kids!! My goal is to take my computer and update periodically during the week, but we all know how good I am about doing that!Happy July to everyone...try to stay cool!!!
