Our little ballerina

With her magic wand...
Andrew, Jordan & Caroline


Wiped out!

Today is Thursday, just a regular old Thursday and like every Thursday, we were going to Laurie's clinic (or gym as the mommy's call it) and we (well really, I) decided Caroline was going to be a princess for the morning. So she dressed up in the little tutu that Gaga (Grandma Tammy) gave her and away we went. Caroline smiled at every mirror she passed and admired the fine toole of the tutu as she sat scrunching it in the car seat. She was the star of the show at the clinic today complete with her pink ballet looking shoes. It's always fun to be princess for the day, don't you think?

Hieger Family Reunion

Caroline on the swing
Caroline, Brady & Lindsey
All the little cousins
Alex and Caroline

We attended the Hieger Family Reunion (my mom's side of the family) in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Fifty - five (give or take a few) members of my family including aunts, uncles and cousins attended from Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Switzerland and us from California and we had a blast! Since nearly half the group was kids and close to fifteen kids were under the age of 7 you can imagine it was non stop action. We went tubing down the river, to a water park, hiking and white water rafting (kids over 7 and adults). Caroline didn't know which way to turn because there was always someone to play with. Many of the nights the kids put on a "show" including acrobats, singing, dancing, you name it and Caroline definitely thought she should be a part of that action -- kicking, clapping, dancing -- it was great! Kudos to my Aunt Marlene for organizing the 12 and 10 bedroom log cabins we stayed in and for getting all the food for that many people. After doing this for over 30 years now, they have it down to a science. It was wonderful to see everyone and catch up with my family and meet some of their little ones that we had not seen. We miss you all already!!

Where does the time go??

Wow, it has been quite a while. I guess the summer just gets very busy. It has been a full month and Caroline is keeping me on my toes. She is a full time toddler now and has the cuts and scratches to prove it. How do you prevent all the skinned knees? I can't put her in pants and long sleeves when it is hot outside! We have been to the pool quite a bit and of course out on our new boat (of which Caroline thinks she is the captain!) and playing with neighborhood friends. These are just some pictures of the summer so far... with some videos below as well -- Caroline is a big shoe aficionado. She loves to try mine on!

We have a new baby....

Early Times (our new boat) arrived just in time for Independence Day -- in our front yard. Trent had quite a bit of work to do to her so she was washed, polished and waxed to perfection and she i s now finally at her "real home" in the water. Needless to say, Trent is a proud new papa and the boat is quite a beauty. It is a 26 foot SkipJack sportfisher that has a large cockpit (back deck) and a great cabin area for four complete with two bed spaces, a small galley (kitchen) and a head (bathroom) -- Mommy was very excited about this. Caroline is more excited to drive the boat as you can tell from the pictures. Enjoy the pictures of our new baby!

Happy 4th of July!!

Fourth of July turned out to be one of the more beautiful days we have had and to have it on a Friday making it a 3 day weekend -- another bonus! Our day started out with a little hometown parade and Caroline was convinced that she wanted to be a part of it. Well she could have been with her little strawberry hat -- she fit right in! Our neighbors had a big party at their house in the afternoon where the kids got to play and the parents got to socialize with drinks so fun was had by all. Caroline couldn't keep her little eyes open until the fireworks but she had a great time to say the least.