Fun at the Water Park!

Today, we were blessed to get to meet up with one of my friends I have know since 7th grade. Rachel and her 2 adorable kids, Meredith and Russ, met us in Arkadelphia where they have a small, very kid-friendly water park. Rachel and I had a good time catching up as it has been many, many years since we've seen each other. We both agreed that we love the blog world because it was easier to talk after keeping up with each other by reading our blogs.
Here is Russ, who loved going down the slide on his belly:
He is a cute little dare devil who wanted to do everything!
Madeline has really learned to swim this summer and felt very grown up because she could have a little more freedom as a result. This back shot makes her look so grown up!
Meredith was great in the water too. I thought she looked like such a pro in her swim shirt and goggles!
Madeline and Meredith got along right away and had a good time playing together.
Will really splashed around and enjoyed the day a lot!
The frog slide was a big hit with all of the kids. I love how the camera caught all of the water drops!
The park was so perfect! It even had some shaded areas that were still in the water. We had not been there in 2 years but definitely need to come back more often!
Thanks Lipsey family for meeting us! It was such a wonderful day!

Happy 4th of July (a day early)

Before I get to the 4th of July activities, I thought I would share some of the things we have been up to this week.
We were blessed to have 2 play dates with our good friends Haley and Ashlyn. They both happen to be the same ages as both of my children, so they get along great and have so much fun! Madeline and Haley never get together without spending some time playing dress-up!

Ashlyn got in on the action too and made a great Wonder Woman!
In other news, we were officially opened as a foster care home on Tuesday. We haven't gotten a call yet but will be excited to welcome a little visitor into our home when we do! With all of the talk of getting a foster child, Madeline and Will have been practicing their baby care (sorry for the blurriness of these few pictures. I am still getting used to my camera).
Are you as worried as I am about Will being in charge of a stroller? I think I will stay in control of this particular chore:)
Madeline took the liner out of her baby carrier and created sort of a sling to carry her baby around.

Today, we went to our town's annual 4th of July carnival. Madeline spent the night with her Nana and Pawpaw so she could have extra time with her cousin Emma while she was visiting them, so Will had Nathan and I all to himself. We started with a tour through the car show. Will enjoyed seeing them a lot more than last year. He is such a boy!I like the background of this picture and the look of pure concentration as Will takes everything in:

They had a little section with games for kids. Will's favorite was definitely this bubble pool with wands that made huge bubbles. I think he would have stayed at this one for several hours!

There was also a bean bag toss where kids were supposed to stand behind a line to throw. Apparently, Will did not agree with the placement of the line and found his own way to be successful at this game.

Then, it was on to face painting. Last year, he was not interested at all. This year, he was still a little shy and apprehensive (as he is with almost anything new) but willing to cooperate with some help from Daddy.

Here is the finished product and also my favorite picture taken with my new camera!

Just as we were getting a little too hot and had seen everything there was to see, my parents showed up with Madeline and Emma. So, we stayed for a little while longer and did some shopping. There were lots of cute booths with fun bows, shirts, and dresses. I got Madeline some really cute stuff. I will try to take pictures and post them later. I love homemade/etsy stuff!
Here are Madeline and Emma:

They also played all of the games and had their faces painted too. They went with a much more simple design: just a star!

I love how serious and involved Madeline looked while getting her face painted as opposed to Will who looked like he was being mildly tortured:) It's amazing how different they are!

This is my second favorite picture so far. It's not as artistic looking as the one of Will but I just think Madeline looks so beautiful! I just love those blue eyes and sweet smile!


Tomorrow, we plan to go to a BBQ at a friend's house and maybe see if there is a fireworks display to watch. I don't think I'm really ready to get some small fireworks of our own but Nathan is trying to change my mind! I hope everyone else has a great 4th. God has truly blessed America!