Are you ready for some football?

Football or should I say flag football has entered our house. Living in Texas, it is a rite of passage to live and breathe football. Graham's whole life he has watched his Dad go to ATM and watch football religiously every football season. Last year he even went to a game with Brian. So it was envitable that Graham would want to play. Thankfully, it is flag football! They do not start tackle until second grade.

Graham is part of the Eagle team this year. They practice twice a week and their first game will be August 29. What a way to celebrate my birthday!

Of course, the girls had to entertain themselves while Graham practiced. They snacked, read books, ran races, cheered, and danced . I hope they can continue to entertain themselves for the next couple of months.

Here they are practicing their dance moves! Look how together they are :)!

Hot in Houston!

We spent the second half of our Houston trip at Grandma and PaPa Doffing's house. It was quite hot while we were there so we tried to find activities that involved air conditioning or water. So, we took the kids to the Children's Museum. They really enjoyed all the activities but it was just so crowded. Graham, Bryce and Layne also really love having their cousins, Haley, Hunter and Abby around to play with. 6 children all under the age of 6 keeps everyone entertained and busy!

Here are a few pictures from the museum and backyard fun.

On a side note, Graham rock climbed 3 different times while we were in Houston. I was surprisingly shocked to see how good he has gotten at it. I think the Rock climbing camp he did in early June really paid off.

Surfs Up, Dude!

We finally made it to a beach! The kids having been asking to go to the beach all summer and so we made a day trip down to Galveston. Hurricane Ike destruction was still present but you can definitely tell that Galveston is working hard to get back to normal as soon as possible. Graham, Bryce and Layne had such a good time with their cousins, Jacob and Jordyn, Aunt Aimee, Grandad and Nona. The weather was perfect! Not too hot and we had some cloud coverage so we did not feel like we were baking in the sun. They are already asking when they can go again! Surfs Up!

The only picture with all 5 kids all together!

Layne

Graham and Grandad enjoying a snack.

Jacob and Graham

Bryce running from the waves.

Jordyn and Jacob

Bryce

Graham

Bryce and Nona

Layne

Graham

Layne

Layne, Bryce and Jordyn relaxing after a wonderful day at the beach!

Crafts at Casa de Doffing

The kids spent the entire morning making bracelets and necklaces. This was the easiest craft project to date and it took up the most time. They loved making the bracelets for themselves as well as gifts for others.

Happy faces

silly faces

sad faces

Independence Day

We were so busy celebrating our nation's independence that I only took 4 pictures the whole day. I was really bummed that I did not take more. We went to our friends' house, Rach, Gabe and KK and swam and ate all afternoon and evening. Graham declared it the best party ever and I do not have any pictures to prove it! Afterwards we went and enjoyed some fireworks. This was the first time we let the girls stay up and see the fireworks. Everyone loved it! On our way to the party~Layne took a cat nap to get her energy up for all the partying she was going to do.

Graham. Bryce and Layne watching the fireworks atop our car. They thought is was so neat that we let them crawl through the sun roof and sit on the roof top.

Ms. Mimi makes us SWIM!

Graham has been taking swimming lessons for the past 3 years from Ms. Mimi. The girls joined in on lessons this year since they are now 3. Everyone was very excited to start. Graham knows the routine so he had no problems starting where he left off last year. Layne followed suit and was AWESOME in the water from day 1. Bryce loved the first 10 minutes of the first day and then Ms. Mimi made her go underwater. Bryce plus underwater equals crying and lots of it for about the first 4 classes. AND then it happened...Bryce would go underwater without crying and now she swims confidently underwater! Thank you Ms. Mimi, you work miracles!