Well, summer is in full swing that means a lot of family together time. For the most part, it has been really great all being together, but also has its challenging days! All the together time has resulted in some pretty funny stuff happening around here. I will share a few:
1. Ella is terrified of anything dressed in a costume. Recently it has been a person dressed as a bear at VBS, a person in a firefly costume at the library and a person dressed as a Wild Thing also at the library. She shakes and clings to me for dear life and cries until they are out of sight and then talks about them for days afterwards. So, I was talking to her about the bear the other day and this is how the conversation went:
me: The bear is a nice bear. It is just a person in a costume. Like your ladybug costume at Halloween.
Ella: I was ladybug. It costume.
me: Yes, you were a ladybug for Halloween. What do you want to be next Halloween?
Ella: A watermelon!
2. Isaiah, OH, Isaiah! This child never ceases to amaze me with the things he comes up with. We were heading to VBS one morning this week and Isaiah and Ella were already in the car. I went inside to get my purse, snacks and whatever else I forgot the first time around and to hurry Alyssa up. I was probably inside for 3-5 minutes. When I got out to the car, Isaiah was standing up in the back seat and said "Mom, I had to go pee, but instead of going inside to pee guess what I did? I peed in that water bottle right there." He points to a water bottle that someone had left in the cup holder in the back seat. Yep, he sure did.
3. Alyssa had a friend over to play yesterday afternoon. The girls were upstairs playing and Isaiah and I were in Tim and I's bedroom watching a movie. I hadn't checked on the girls in a while, so when I heard them come downstairs I walked out to find Alyssa and asked what they were doing. She walked around the corner and was wearing a pink, spaghetti strapped tank top stuffed full with wadded up toilet paper. That's right, she had made herself some good old-fasioned toilet paper boobs. She said "Claire has some too". Sure enough, here comes Claire looking just as well endowed as Alyssa. They said "We're playing a game. We are pretending we are friends, we are teenagers, and we have boobs." I couldn't do anything but crack up laughing!
Sisterly love! 
Eating lunch at the pool! 
They built a bed in the middle of the kitchen floor!
Father's Day photo shoot!
Beautiful girl! Check out the makeup. I have to check her face every time we leave the house to make sure she hasn't tried to sneak some on!
Eating some ice cream.
Ella at the covered bridge in Elizabethton. 
We went on a nature hunt at Sycamore Sholes. This is Isaiah next to the river.
Ella and Isaiah at Sycamore Shoals.
Uncle Zach passed down his John Deere ride-on toy to the kids (THANK YOU). They have LOVED it. YOu see the parasols. Hilarious!
All 3 living it up on the John Deere!
Isaiah blowing bubbles out the sun room window.
Alyssa asked me to put "some pickles" on her eyes before I painted her fingernails and toenails. So, I cut up this cucumber and put them on her eyes. 0.5 seconds after I took the picture, she took them off and ate them! 
Alyssa performing in the sun room. Please note her left foot. She puts on about 5-6 socks on top of each other and then performs. Not sure why! I say it is her "Michael Jackson glove look" except on the foot! Cracks us up!
Alyssa eating lunch at Field Day at her school. She LOVED Field Day.
Alyssa and some of her friends at Field Day pushing Ella.
Isaiah and one of his teachers, Ms. Christa. He was making a frito/cracker sandwich.
The cutest pig ever to walk the earth!
Being a little nervous at the beginning of the porgram.