Summertime - June

Our June has been very very busy! We packed in a lot this month including a trip to the zoo, gymnastics, two 4 day weeks of swimming lessons, Father's Day, VBS, Strawberry picking and a little family getaway to Michigan (separate post to follow)!

One of the highlights at the zoo for Jade is feeding the parakeets! At first she would just throw the stick when a bird would land near her, by the end she got the hang of it! We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch, played at the park, and managed to see almost every animals on Jade's list. The last stop was the giraffes (not really visible, but pictured behind Jemma and I in the last picture) before heading home for naps!

Swimming lessons did not go so well last summer, so I was nervous to tell Jade I had signed her up again. She assured me she would do a good job this year if she could just have a rainbow swimsuit. Luckily, I found one! She wore it to every lesson and did such a good job! Jemma was a trooper and hung out on the sidelines for the 40 minute lesson and never ran into the pool! ;)

Jade's biggest accomplishment this swim session was becoming more comfortable and going underwater! She still needs a lot of work on the whole swimming part, but she now LOVES going underwater and has made significant improvements with her floating. I'm so proud of her, she truly gives 110% to everything she does!

I don't have any pictures, but last week Jade attended VBS at the church affiliated with her Preschool! She went in without knowing anyone and had the best week! The theme was Cave Quest. She came home singing and telling me all about it every day. She was so bummed when it was done and asked if she could do it again!

We also had a blast at our 3rd Annual Strawberry picking day with Grammy! Weather was perfect and many strawberries (and donuts) were enjoyed by all! 

Amidst all the running around, we've been doing lots of playing outside! A new family moved in down the street with a little girl Jade's age, so that has been fun! Also, the "big girls" right across from our house have come over to play with Jade and Jemma, and even invited them over to play on their swing set (this was a big deal)!!! They are going into 4th and 6th grade, so Jade and Jemma are basically obsessed with them!! :)

Flower Girl

Jade had the privilege of being one of the flower girls in Nate's cousin's wedding last weekend, and she LOVED every minute of it! Here comes picture overload, SO many good ones!

First stop was the salon to get her hair done!

Dressed and ready for pictures!

Receiving a special bracelet from Amy!

Pre-Wedding smiles!

My favorites!

The Wedding Party! 

Jemma joined us early for pictures and the ceremony, then headed back to our house with Grammy & Grampy!

Terrible lighting, but cute picture!

The flower girls and junior groomsman (Nate's youngest cousin Michael). He was the ring bearer in our wedding!

These two were running around like a bunch of crazies for about 2 hours prior to the start of the ceremony! :)

The only photo I could snap during the ceremony as I was also wrangling Jemma!

These two!

Gorgeous couple!

The venue had the most beautiful country views!

Jade was a party animal and was nonstop eating, dancing running etc. until we cut her off at 10 p.m.

Congratulations to Matt and Amy! Your Wedding was beautiful and we are so happy for you! Thank you so much for including Jade in your special day!

The Big 3-0!

Just a few pictures to share from my birthday celebration last week!

Day began with amazing donuts from Mariano's and coffee from Starbucks!

Jade picked out a candle and a bag of Hershey hugs for me on a trip to Target with daddy! So sweet! :)

Nate & I got out for a delicious dinner date at my favorite restaurant, Wildfire!

Such a fun day with my favs! I also had a girls night the day after my birthday with 3 of my closest friends from high school and have dinner with my parents and Grandma to look forward to on Friday! Thanks for making my day so special everyone! :)

Last Day of Preschool

I can't believe Jade has completed her first year of Preschool! Here is a look back to her first day of Preschool alongside her last day! She has grown so much in so many ways this year! I loved seeing her love for her teachers and preschool shine through each and every morning as she hopped out of the car and ran inside!

She made a lot of new friends this year and is already bummed that certain friends will be in different classes next year! Some highlights for Jade this year were definitely Godly Play on Tuesdays with Miss Karen, Music on Thursdays with Mr. Todd, Kid's Kitchen, learning to write her name and the playground!

On the last day of school families were invited to come the last hour of the day for "The Last Slide" and popsicles. Here is a video of Jade's "Last Slide" with teacher Ms. Lori waiting at the bottom!

:)

 With friends Tegan and Maddie enjoying freeze pops!

Joined by a few more friends, Chandler and Kara!

With teacher's Ms. Pam and Ms. Lori. These two were so loving and the perfect first preschool teachers for Jade!

Next year Jade will be moving on to the Pre-K class at the same preschool....but for now, we're just gonna enjoy the summer!!! :)