Adie Bear turns 5!

How is it possible that our Little Adie Bear is 5 years old?? Well, we decided to celebrate to the hilt!! This birthday was sure to mark many new and exciting changes for our girl!!
All the family gathered, we ate, we laughed at candles that would not blow out, we swam and we rejoiced in the blessing of our little girl.

I had 2 favorite moments of the day. Moments that I wanted to hold onto.

The first was Adalie's smile when her candles (to all of our surprise.... I just picked up the pink ones!) magically relit! Adalie has a smile that can light up a room. Her eyes dance with a perfect mixture of pleasure, mystery and mischief!! She invites you into her heart with her smile.

The second moment was when she opened the gift her sister had picked out for her all on her own, (a "best friends" necklace that breaks in 2 so they can each wear a charm, but then magnets back together when you place them near one another) and she reached over and gave her sister the sweetest of hugs.... the epitome of my hopes and prayers for our girls, now and forever!
So thank you to all the family that travelled far and wide to celebrate with us. We were blessed tremendously my your presence, just like the day she was born!!

Happy 5th Birthday Adalie Joyce Waltner!!

Adalie Bear

I put together just a few pictures of Adalie in her 4th year. Each one brings up a memory that makes me smile. Learning to love water skiing especially with one hand behind her back, watching her little legs peddle her tiny bicycle as fast as they could making her head look like a helmeted bobble head, preschool days with Mommy and her never wanting to stop, playing in the sand for hours, blowing everyone away in her snow ski race, learning to ride her snowmobile, loving on her sister, surfing with Mommy, being the tiniest one on a soccer team where elbows might come in handy to get the ball, loving her chickie and not being afraid, joining in with the crowd at the Dodgers, finding fun in anything and everything!!

Adalie is such a gift to our family. Because her name was one Seth and I created, it can't be found in baby books and therefore does not yet have a meaning associated with it. But, Adalie herself is defining her own name and we are finding that process quite exciting to watch. To us, Adalie means... pure joy, uncontrollable and absolutely contagious belly laughs, sharp wit and quick humor, paradox, quiet sweetness and never being left behind!!

I was so lucky to have her all to myself for one last year. Such wonderful memories that are treasured in my heart!!

Water Slides

Yet another new summer adventure to experience..... water slides!!

They were way too much fun!!
A hot day, good friends and no crowds.... couldn't have been any better!!

Just a Joke??

Could it have been that Adalie was just kidding when she put "Adalie horseshoes while Josiah double skies" on her birthday list??

Well, all things are possible with these 2 brave girls. They are both willing to try anything once... and so we then hold our breathes in hopes that one chance goes well!!

Drum roll please....

Introducing the DOUBLE STACK!!

Star Gazing

There is no better venue for watching the stars than GG and GPa's party barge. We load our sleeping bags, swim suits, toothbrushes and flashlight onto the barge, swim until dark and then anchor out in our secret spot. Once snuggled into our sleeping bags, we watch the sky for shooting stars until our eyelids are too heavy to stay open. The breeze blows softly over us, the water laps at the pontoons, but the fun does not end there..... Once the sun rises, we pull up anchor and head for the bakery.

What a treat!!

Family Weekend

What an incredible weekend!! Despite having a few casualties like lost anchors and broken necks, we had way too much fun with our family we are so blessed to have!!

Summer Project

Dinner time is a toss up for me. Always fun to try to rise to the challenge of making nutritious foods that everyone will eat (or at least taste), but a bummer because usually I am the only one who peals out of play time to create a meal.
So, one day the light went on..... what if..... they help me make it?? Not only will they learn to cook, but then our fun time together continues and (gasp) they might actually eat it!!
So it began; a summer of cooking. They got to design their menu, make the shopping list, pick out the groceries and then prepare it. As for me.... I was just the helper.
It was fantastic!! I had an enthusiastic chef each day, helpers in the grocery store each week, they learned alot about preparing food and about what is healthy for their bodies, and everyone ate it!! We made tacos, fried chicken, pancakes, waffles, french toast, smoothies, bacon avocado cheese burgers, homemade macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, BBBQ beef sandwiches, salads, appetizers, salsa and more!! What was once a chore, now has become a fun activity together!!
Can't wait til next summer!!