Our little fish

I know this is a little out of order, but Evan has become such a fish over the past couple of weeks.  I finally got a little bit on video, so I wanted to make sure to get it up before our life gets too wild with moving!

Happy 2nd Birthday Gracie!

Aunt Mal came up a day early to celebrate at the lake cottage.  The kids loved having another person around to play with!

Since it was a tad cold to do bath time in our bath tub (aka the lake), Gracie and Evan squeezed into the sink!  They thought it was pretty awesome.

And, since daddy was at the lake this time, the fishing boat made an appearance!

The weight was clearly very evenly distributed.  Uncle Phil also took e out for a ride, but he stalled it, which prompted Evan to tell him he would never be riding with him again if he did that again.

Gracie started her party early!  Mommy fail for not bringing all the gifts wrapped...she spotted it and next thing I know, she is dragging it into the kitchen.  It was a bed that my dad had made for my dolls that Bret painted white.  I made a quilt and re-covered the existing mattress and pillow my mom made using Gracie's flannel receiving blankets that she used when she was a baby.

And...the party officially started!  At first, I think Gracie thought she ad to wear/use all her gifts as she opened them which is why we are riding in the coupe with a helmet and a bitty baby bjorn!

Reading new books at her new picnic table

Gracie's America cake!  When I took her to the party store, she wasn't super into any theme they had, so I determined that it would be a 4th of July party since that stuff was already marked on sale!

She was a huge fan of her cake!  She also like the chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip ice cream, Oreos and chocolate sauce cake too.

Opening presents can really tire a gal out!

Walking advertisements

Evan noticed that I was wearing a Mancino's shirt one day.  This prompted him to remember that he also used to have a Mancino's shirt that he had outgrown.  Later that morning, my mom called while we were out for a run/stroller ride, and Evan immediately asked for the phone to ask her for a new shirt.  Grammy and Packaw did not disappoint!  Here are the kids sporting their new shirts!

House Improvements and House Hunting!

I am one very lucky lady.   I have a wonderful father-in-law.  He drove to our house to help Bret do all of the little things that we needed to do to sell our house.  He jumped right in the second he rolled into our driveway.  In just one short weekend, the guys painted the kitchen and dining room ceilings, painted our fence, repaired tile in the basement and mowed/detailed the entire yard.

While the boys were busy working, Gracie played in dirt

And she watched the neighbor mow...she is obsessed with all things yard work 

After we wrapped up our projects, we headed to Indy to start the house hunt!  While Bret and I were hunting, the kids had a blast with Kristen, Kyle and Lydia...Evan was pretty disappointed when Bret and I came back because he is very fond of Kristen

Gracie's pool hat!

And of course, there is Maggie...the giant horse/pony. Both my kids were obsessed with this giant dog.  This is them attempting to sit on her like a horse.

Busy Days of June

And...now June has come and gone!  We have been very busy this June too!  Once the house was officially for sale, I pretty much kicked the kids and I out of the house.  If we were awake, we were outside.  After having 4 showings in the first 3 days our house was listed, I was exhausted.  We got a small break (about 1 week) then we were back on with showings.  On the Monday before the 4th of July our 6th couple came through the house and LOVED it as much as us!  After coming back two more times, they decided to make an offer, and with limited negotiations, we sold the house!  We are scheduled to close on August 9th.  It will be a very sad day, but we are also very excited to move on the next new adventure!

Here are a few pictures from the few weeks our house was for sale...

Our future neighbors have HUGE shoes to fill.  We have absolutely the best neighbors...ever.  We play all day almost every day with them, and they have opened up their house to us (whether they are there or not) when we have to leave our house for a showing.  Gracie loves some of their toys too...specifically this trike..

And this giant bear chair

Both kids are crazy about having neighbors with a pool!  Check out Gracie's look of pure thrill, excitement and happiness!

Because of the countless hours that e has spent in their pool, he has improved leaps and bounds with his swimming skills! He loves swimming around with a life jacket and he has started swimming back and forth across the steps o the pool...under water! 

Did I mention that the kids love our next door neighbors?