Outdoor fun

Since the weather has turned a little warmer, we've been spending more and more time outside. Everything is just more fun outside. We swing, blow bubbles, pick flowers, slide, swim, even eat outside. The favorite thing this year, however, has been Raegan's little pink mustang. She and Drew don't even have to go anywhere, they just like to climb in and pretend they are off on an adventure. Which is probably best, because they can both make the car go, but neither of them seem to understand the whole steering thing! Drew has an interesting technique of getting in the car.

And he knows he isn't supposed to stand in the car.

"How do you turn this thing on?"

Never fear, Princess Raegan is here.

Somehow, i don't think he could fit in the car with Raegan AND her puffy Cinderella dress.

Drew just being his cute little self, still happy to just sit behind the wheel and go nowhere. We finally got a pool set up for the kids and Raegan loves it. She doesn't appreciate the grass that trails in on her feet though, and spends a lot time trying to get it out. That keeps her busy for a good 1/2 hour.

Her graceful entrance into the pool. Take One. (the tongue must help her with her balance :)

Take Two.

Searching for more grass...

For some reason, both the kids are having a hard time calling it a day to go to bed. Maybe it's because it's still light outside by the time I'm ready for them to be in bed. Regardless, I found Drew hiding under the kitchen table the other evening when it was time to turn in. He is somehow even sneakier than his sister. Really cute, but sneaky!

Birthdays and early Fathers day

Since Tony and I will be out of town on our birthdays next week and will be traveling back on Fathers day, we decided to celebrate them all a week early. I didn't take any pictures of the cookout on Friday night, but did remember to take pics on Sunday. We spent some time with my folks and my brother's family. It was fun seeing the 3 cousins playing together. Raegan and Ben usually have a hard time playing nice, but yesterday they loved each other. They were so sweet together, and we hope it wasn't a fluke. Maybe they will get along a little better this year at the beach in August. Anyway, here are some of the pictures of our family day.

Here is the whole Yates/Roop gang.

The Roop Group :)

The Roop girls.

Check out these freckles! How cute are they!!!

The Grill master himself.

Tony and his little redheads.

Mama and Raegan sporting our cool shades.

Raegan and her nana.

Raegan and Ben actually liked each other this time!

Uncle Scott getting Drew.

Cutie pie Drew.

Ben working on his basketball shot.

Drew is such a boy... he played in the dirt and mulch the whole time.

Scott, Ben and Tammy.

The redheaded Roop kids.

We had lots of fun hanging out with our family, and no day would be complete without a bedtime story (or two). Aren't they sweet!

6 years and going strong!

Yesterday, Tony and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 6 years. We look so young, but are even happier now than we were here. Happy Anniversary Tony!

Beach bums

Last week, the kids and I headed to Myrtle Beach for a week without poor Tony. Tony didn't get to go on this trip because 1. he had to work and 2. we had a HUGE To-Do list that he hoped to complete in our absence. We also had some new tile flooring laid in our kitchen, bathrooms and foyer. I didn't think I could handle having toilets in my living room or the fridge in the dining room. Thankfully, Sonya has a beach house now, so she and I loaded the kids up for a week of fun. I must say, having 4 kids under 4 living together for 8 days was a little hairy at times, but we did have a great time. That said, we were SO happy to be home. The new floors are down, and Tony somehow managed to almost complete the nearly impossible To-Do list. Here are just a few of the many pictures of our trip. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Trip to the Zoo

This past Saturday, we headed to Asheboro, NC to the Zoo. It was a very hot day, and there were LOTS of people there, but somehow we managed to have a great time. Here are some of our highlights of the trip. Raegan took a turn "hatching" like a chicken.

Everyone's favorite part of the trip was the elephants. That's all Raegan talked about on the way down. "When are we gonna get to see the elephants?" she kept saying. The elephants didn't disappoint us either. They put on quite a show, playing in the water and squirting each other. Raegan kept asking if they were taking a bath or if they were just swimming. Not sure if you can see, but there were two elephants in this picture. One was just under the water and you can only see his back.

I believe that Drew was admiring the elephants in this picture.

Nana will do anything for these kids... even ride an little anteater :)

I think Raegan liked these statue animals as much as she liked the real ones. At least she could ride these.

Watching the elephants from another view.Say cheese...

Drew thought he was a better navigator than we were. He must have been trying to decide where to go next.

Grandad and Drew are best buddies, and as with most days, if you saw one, you were just about guaranteed to see the other close behind.This was my favorite picture of the two of them.

Tony, Raegan and I posing with the Zebras... or cows as Drew called them. Come to think of it, he called every animal he saw a cow! They are his favorite, but unfortunately they didn't have any cows at the zoo. Maybe next time, we will take him to a petting zoo.

Speaking of cows... every sign that had animals on it, Drew ran up to and yelled (you guessed it) "COW"!!!!Tony took this picture of our little train pushing through the crowd.

Raegan and Daddy posing with the giraffe.

Grandad and his little buddy admiring the giraffe as well.Drew had the most fun digging in the dirt with a stick, but hopefully we can take him back again when he will appreciate it a little more. He is such a boy!
They were exhausted when we finally made it back to the car. I don't know who fell asleep first... the kids or Grandad :) We had lots of fun, and hope to actually go back and see the other half of the zoo in the near future.

Drew's big boy haircut

It took me a little while to work up the nerve to actually get Drew a real haircut, but today I finally did it. He just has so much hair, I thought he would feel better for summer. So anyway, here is the before picture (and keep in mind this was after I trimmed his bangs. He was getting really shabby looking) And here is the little punk rocker sporting his new "do".

I left it long enough on the top to spike it up a little, but the sides are really short.

You wouldn't believe how much hair was on the floor after his haircut. He had more than Tony usually does :)

I LOVE his new haircut, but am a little sad that he looks like such a big boy now. Just another reminder that my baby is growing up. Just like that, the baby fever kicks back in!