chores and rewards

I started Bryce on some chores a while back with just a plain chart to put stickers after he did things.  We kind of all fell off the wagon so I decided to make a real chart for this summer.  We started last week once we were home from vacation.  We had a weird schedule last week so we were kind of hit or miss, but this week we're on fire! 

 

 

We really didn't impose any rewards with the completion of the chart other than the fact that Bryce could get time on the Wii or play Angry Birds Go on my phone if he did "learning time" with me.  However, we were at Kohl's yesterday and they had a Ninja Turtle sprinkler that Bryce has wanted but I've been waiting for it to go on sale.  Well he was in luck!  The sprinkler was 50% off and I had a $5 coupon for my birthday this month so we paid $1.83 for the sprinkler.  We went ahead and called that a chore chart reward!

 

We tested it out yesterday afternoon after Emmy's nap.  She wasn't a huge fan, but Bryce loved it!

 

Summer sweeties!

oh, hey there!

I'm in summer mode which apparently means LAZY!!  I'm bad about taking pictures and even worse about checking my email.  However, Barbara is great about taking pictures and emailing them to me!  I sat down and caught up on emails this morning which contained quite a few pictures from Barbara!!  So, all you who need your Bryce and Emmy fix, you're in luck!

 

 

Last Thursday we met the Shipleys at story time since we hadn't seen them the previous week since we were at the beach.  The boys were so glad to see each other.

 

Preschool friend, Paige, was there and she just adores Emmy.  Not sure if you can see Emmy's braids, but I was pleased that she actually sat still long enough for me to do her hair!  We headed to Chick Fil A for lunch and then everyone came back to our house to play for a while.  Look at that tan girl.

 

Gracie had so much fun playing dress up with Emmy!

 

Thanks to Barbara, friends and family can see our cuties even when I'm in lazy summer mode!

let freedom ring, it's independece day

We had a full day of fourth of July fun!

After a day of shopping and the pool, we headed to our friends the Shipleys for a cookout and fireworks.

The kids enjoyed popsicles while they waited for s'mores!

 

This may be my favorite part of summer and the fourth!

 

Once fireworks started in the distance, this little girl stuck to me like glue.

 

The kids had fun with the glow bracelets/necklaces.

 

Emmy loosened up once she was armed with her headphones and plenty of glow stuff.

 

She even braved a sparkler by the end of the night!

 

I think the headphones were my favorite.  There seriously weren't any loud fireworks, but the kids felt better about it all.

 

Happy Fourth Ya'll.

a day at the lake

My parents stayed up at the lake this week so once we recovered from our beach trip, we packed up again and headed to the lake for the day on Wednesday.

 

 

The kids decided they like the lake water better than the ocean.  It was much calmer and warmer!

 

Bryce had so much fun.

 

I need to get this girl in swimming lessons.  She loves the water!

 

Bryce had fun watching the fish in the water.  Every now and then he would reach out and try to catch them.  Silly boy!

 

The ride back in put her right to sleep!

Nags Head - when we're not on the beach

We spend almost all of our week on the beach, but when we do take a break, we still have fun.  I posted a link to Kelly's blog in my last post so you can see Putt-Putt fun, but I did manage to get pictures of the race car and bumper car fun!

 

 

Bryce loved riding in the car with Jason.  He's a brave boy because Jason is a crazy driver.  Always trying to win!

 

After race cars, Bryce did bumper cars for the first time.  He had SO much fun.  Every time he hit someone or was hit, he laughed hysterically! 

 

The girls enjoyed watching.  They cracked up when someone would run into the wall by them.

 

Emmy wasn't able to participate in the car fun, so we let her ride a little toy in the inside arcade.  That's all she needed!

 

If these boys aren't two peas in a pod, then I just don't know!

 

We had a great week and are lucky enough to be going on another beach vacation at the end of July!

Nags Head - Kelly and Dave's 10 year anniversary

Kelly and Dave were married on the beach in Nags Head 10 years ago.  Jason's parents threw them an anniversary party to celebrate.  Look how things have changed in 10 years.

The guys brought their shirts from the wedding to recreate some pictures.  Even Kelly wore her rehearsal dinner dress to the party (10 years and 2 kids later - lucky girl). 

I think Jason looks like such a kid 10 years ago and I have crazy bags under my eyes now!

Some of the members of the wedding party were able to be there this year to celebrate.  The weather for Kelly and Dave's wedding was horrible so guests were lucky this go around!

 

My how 10 years brings many changes!  Jason and I will celebrate 11 years this summer!

 

Cousins.

 

The boys

 

The girls

 

The kids had lots of fun at the party!

 

 

This silly boy keeps me laughing!

 

Happy Anniversary, Kelly and Dave.  For more party fun, click HERE.

Nags Head 2014

We spent last week in Nags Head with Jason's family.  We had tons of sun and lots of fun!

 

 

Matching suits.

 

These girls stick together like glue.

 

Kelly did something different with their hair each day!

 

 

Hello Kitty cookies.  Where's Emmy?

 

 

The boys were there too!

 

They spent most of the week playing baseball.

 

Cooling off.

 

There was lots of snacking on the beach.

 

Apparently, there was lots of drinking on the beach.

 

Cutie pie.

 

 

Even cuter from the back!

 

 

Sweet siblings.

 

I posed the kids for a few photos one day.

 

They were good sports about it.

 

Who doesn't like jumping up and down?!?

 

The water was really rough at the beginning and end of the week, but it calmed down one day so Jason took Bryce out on the paddle board.

 

 

Brave boy!

 

His hair sure did lighten up this week.

 

The kids shared a room this year.  Some nights went well and they all slept in there and some nights Emmy was a party animal and the dispersed.  Somehow, Emmy managed to get stay in there each night! 

Stay tuned for more beach fun!  In the mean time, click HERE to see what Kelly captured this week.