the $5 elephant pool

So mom bought this elephant pool for the kids. it's bright pink and sprays water out the back of it's head.

i know i know. but it was FIVE dollars!

and they love it. grace wanted to sit on the edge of the pool. like i said before... she wades.

elliott actually liked being in the pool. when i took him out he would cry, if i put him back in he stopped. UNTIL grace started splashing... then he was done. It was the best 5 bucks ever spent.

that was yesterday. today i took Grace to the beach again with some of our friends. fun but.... she wanted to help mommy put sunscreen on, and well mommy didn't want grace's kid super duper sunblock. but grace insisted so I now have handprints on my arms and legs. thanks grace, it's not like noone knew i was a mom. while we were playing in the sand and this little girl comes running up to us crying and grabbing christy's hand saying "I'm lost and I don't know where my mommy is!" and so Christy starts walking her down the beach and doesn't get two steps before her mom saw her and came running. as they walked away we heard "i'm sorry... i was chasing a seagull and got lost!" poor girl will remember that for the rest of her life. oh and then tonight mike made my box that i've been begging for.... AND we had a dance party with grace... she's such a good dancer. ha ha. so fun week. hope everyone else had a good week. hm... guess that's all for now.

More stuff...

well darn it, I had something I wanted to blog about and forgot. how silly. I guess I was distracted.

Can I help you?

TOO CLOSE!

Grace! what was I wanting to blog about? you don't know?

hm........

oh yeah! We went to the beach! Gotta post some beach pictures. It was the first time this year Grace went in the water, and Elliotts first time ever in the gulf. It was a GORGEOUS day! full of fun and excitement. I gotta tell you some pointers if you ever go to the beach with grace.

She loves to play in the water, but only goes out up to her ankles. she's a wader.

Be prepared she is way too cute for her own good, and she knows it!

And most important.... there will be a time when you have to collect rocks.

and sift sand.... that's just how she rolls.

Elliott is much easier.

slather him up with sunblock and let the girls drool.

It was a good day at the beach!

Fun and Games with Mike

okay, so my last blog was quick and i would have more time, but it didn't work out that way.... so......... i was dying to post these pictures of mike.

This is just the beginning of the game "pile the most on mike"

WOW that's alot of stuff!

GO SETH! I think he might win with the stapler add.

After everything was taken back off, and he's still sawing logs... I love him.

So I am the worst blogger ever! I need to apologize for not blogging last week. I was helping with a concert at the church and completely forgot. Last week was a very busy week. I started Zumba class and it is so fun! I feel like a complete idiot in there, but it's fun. I tried out the Salsa class and well...while Alfredo (yes that's his name) is an amazing dancer, I have a hard time watching a guy shimmy and shake his butt better than most women ever will. And that's what I've been up to. No wait! I forgot to mention that I was working with Christy on the church nursery and busted out an old fashioned Katie mishap. I electricuted myself, and then got my fingers stuck in the rocking ottoman! it was awful! Mike this week has been busted his butt to get the house ready because.... Mama bear was making a visit! she's rocking Elliott as we speak, or I guess as I blog. He was also running the sound for the concert at the church. There is more for the mike update this week... My sweet darling amazing wonderful husband fell asleep in the recliner at my parents on a visit over there. I wasn't going to do anything, and I didn't... (got that mike) but mom and seth wanted to pick on him. Originally they were going to throw things at him, but it turned into a much more exciting event. He was so asleep that they decided to play a game. To see who could stack the most objects on him without him waking up. After 40 things or so it got boring, so then they tried to take everything off him before he woke up. and they did...ha ha. he had no clue until I showed him the pictures later. I'll post the pictures on the next blog. I need to go put the babies in bed. more in a little bit.

update on the family

So we have increased our family by one more. Mike, Katie, Grace, and now Elliott.

He was born February 8th, at 1:40 in the morning. 7lbs 15 oz. and 21 inches long. He has dark brown hair(which is almost due for a cut) and blue eyes.

He's growing and at about two months is starting to respond to talking. not much, but some coos and smiles. I like to think he's a mama's boy, but it might be too early to tell. Grace is definatly a daddy's girl though.

She is becoming such a stinker. She is throwing fits, and causing mommy and daddy quite the headache, but they are becoming shorter, so i'm hoping this phase will end someday. We still love her! She is learning so much.

Her favorite past times now are coloring (with pens or markers) and watching cartoons, especially blues clues, dora the explorer, and the backyardagains. She is also a fabulous dancer. She'll dance to anything! the spin move is her favorite.

she also loves the beach.

Our dog Charlie is still Charlie. big, stinky, and dumb. he's very good with the kids, and when he's not sleeping in the nursery with them, he's taking over grace's princess tent.

Mike is still working for Brinks. hasn't fallen through an attic yet. He's doing just fine. and I am just a stay at home mom for awhile. Keeping busy with the kids, the house, and selling paintings when i get the chance. So my new goal is to keep updating this blog on a regular basis, so we can keep everybody up on what's going on with the vangessels. Hope everyone is having a great night.