Ice-cream faces!

Is there anything better than chocolate (or in this case, Chocolate Oreo Volcano) ice cream-covered little faces? (Yes, Brady eats ice cream now. Two flavors, anyway.)

Zoo with friends

We hit the St. Louis Zoo with some great friends today. Brady and his friend Jacob ("he's my favorite friend, Mommy") are so cute together, and Lauren and Hannah are just at the "checking each other out" stage. It was hot, so the boys thought they'd finish the day with a dip in the waterfall...and some cotton candy (Lauren's first bite). Such a great day with our precious kiddos!

Exciting Saturday

Hanging out at Sam's Club on a Saturday morning. Next time we may try to also hit Home Depot; don't know if we'll really have time.

Oh, wow

Please don't judge me or call child protective services for posting this picture. These little bottles were purchased for the 21st bday party, and Lauren just climbed right up to the table, grabbed one and began pretend chugging it. Chugging vodka--really? (The bottles were unopened, no way she could've actually gotten any out.) This, and the fact that I watched the movie Taken, is just another reason that we are considering a move to Amish country :).

Randomness

Just some random pictures of the kids. Tonight they took a bubble bath together and I had a moment of thinking "I wonder just how long I'll get to throw them in the tub together." Lauren's started saying "chee" to take pictures. I swear I felt a tiny little flutter kick in my belly today. And Brady said to his dad, "Good night, and I will love you in the morning!" We truly treasure every precious moment with them, because before you know it, we'll be packing them up to send off to college and wondering when our little babies grew up. I have to sign off now because I'm pregnant and emotional and am about to cry at the computer. I. Love. My. Family.

Brady's swim lessons

So we attempted swim lessons at the beginning of the summer. Lesson 1: Brady shrieked his way out of the pool and refused to get back in. Lesson 2: Brady shrieked in the car and kicked Daddy in the...crotch...needless to say, they did not make it to lesson 2. So we tried again (different pool, different format), and we are so proud of him!!! He is doing SO great! Apparently, the fact that he has two cute teenage girl teachers and is the only boy in his class (six girls, one boy), and the fact that his cute little girlfriend Ava is in the class with him, has made him swim after all. And "Miss Christina" has given him some extra attention in class, which can't hurt. Man, are we in trouble with this little ladies' man.

Summer fun in KC

"Aunt" Jennifer (Heather's cousin) turned 21, and we helped her celebrate with a fancy dinner at Jasper's in KC and a night on the town that she'll never forget...or remember ;). The kids enjoyed her pink boa. We also spent time at the pool eating pickles. What a weird summer (weather-wise), and now it's almost over!

What happened to July?? (part 2)

Uncle Ed & Aunt Jennifer (Michael's sister & brother-in-law) came to visit, and we did so many fun things! Lauren decided that her uncle was her best buddy for the weekend. The All-Star game was in town, so we went downtown for some of the festivities. Cool to see, since the game won't be back here for about 40 more years. We also went to the coolest place ever for kids, the Magic House. Will the Carmichael kids be president of the United States (they could each serve a term), Supreme Court justices? You were supposed to sing a patriotic song at the podium, so Brady chose his favorite patriotic song, the ABC's. God bless America :). We also went to get ice cream, and our weirdo kid who would never eat ice cream finally decided that if it was bright blue cotton-candy flavored ice cream with tons of sprinkles, he would go to town on it. Believe it or not, all the blue came out of their clothes (and off their faces).

What happened to July?? (part 1)

Wow, I guess the summer (if you can call it that when it's mostly cool and rainy) has just flown by without any updates from us! We had a great, busy July. Here are some pictures of our little family hanging out...4th of July parade (pretty much the only festive thing we made it through this year), Grant's Farm, playing at the splashie-park thing at the MO Botanical Gardens.