Caroline's Baptism

Caroline was able to get baptized by her daddy on her 8th birthday. It was a special day.

Mother-daugher time before the baptism. Caroline is beautiful in white.

What a good big brother Caroline has.

Sisters: Mackenzie really looks up to Caroline & Caroline is a great big sister to Mackenzie.

Caroline was trying to smile despite the sun shining right in her eyes. We figured if we didn't take pictures before the baptism, we wouldn't get any... and we were right! Didn't even get a picture of the beautiful birthday cake I made for Caroline: it was shaped like her baptism dress, decorated in white cream-cheese frosting to match her dress. It was beautiful & delicious. Despite not having a picture, I think Caroline will always remember that cake... it was a special cake for a special girl on her special day. The baptismal service was as beautiful as Caroline. We're grateful she has prepared herself to make these covenants with the Lord.

Party Time!

Caroline's 8th B-day party was a fun-filled CRAFT night where the girls made everything from their pizza to cupcakes for the party. They had fun learning cooking & sewing skills together. Good times & good eats!

Caroline was SO happy to get so much attention around her b-day.

We love you Caroline!

The girls decorated small cupcakes for their dolls and they also decorated flower-shaped sugar cookies to take home. They LOVED working with icing & eating their pretty designs.

Once we got upstairs, we began sewing trim on bags, ironing-on patches to their bags as well as making matching hairbows for themselves & their dolls. The girls had fun with some B-day Mad Libs (Caroline loves being silly with words) & air hockey as well. The girls were busy with their crafts and somehow we managed to complete most of the projects we started. Thanks to the help of my sisters, a few moms and yes, we ended late. Sorry!

Here's a picture of the woman behind the scenes (aka Super Mom / Cherre) that made it all happen. To see Caroline's smile & to get dozens of hugs and "I Love You"s, made it worth all the time and effort involved. In addition, I wanted all her friends to experience the joy of being a homemaker: cooking & sewing... things that make a house a home. Developing skill in the kitchen and home also develops talents and improves confidence as one builds self-esteem through knowledge. I enjoyed spending time with Caroline and her friends doing fun things in the kitchen and home together. Good times & special memories!

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Caroline's 8th B-day!

Hope, (Caroline's doll), helps blow out candles after church on Sunday. The girls had fun decorating the cupcakes. Happy Birthday Caroline! We're so glad you're a part of our family.

A sure sign your little girl is growing up: clothes, nail polish & gift cards for her b-day. As parents, we got her a craft bag/organizer, so we're definitely trying to keep her grounded.

Viva La Juicy! Caroline's aunts spoiled her with her own bottle of

Viva La Juicy perfume. Caroline LOVES saying the name as much as she enjoys wearing the scent. Thank you AUNTIES!

Big Brother: Scott wrote Caroline a sweet note about preparing for her baptism now that she's 8. Every girl needs a big brother. I sure appreciated my brothers when I was growing up. I'm glad my girls have a big brother too.

The girls had fun making flower-shaped cookies with a cookie press. Thanks to daddy, we figured out how to use it. We left the icing decor to the girls and they did a GREAT job! Notice some of the b-day decorations for Caroline... from the chalkboard to the stairwell, the kids helped put up streamers & balloons to celebrate Caroline's special day. It was a fun time.

Blowing Bubbles

So... while Mackenzie & I were watching Caroline at gymnastics last week, Mackenzie wanted me to teach her how to blow bubbles with gum. She was proud of her efforts, but the learning process was hillarious to watch.

Mackenzie's 1st bubble: Kind of small, but with only 2 pieces of trident to work with, I think she did a great job. It was loads of fun trying to teach her how to blow bubbles with gum. She's always full of good ideas... very curious & impressionable.

Water Sports

Mackenzie put her long legs to use on the paddle boat this weekend. Here, she and her friend from church, John, were paddling around the dock at Hyco Lake. They had fun playing together.

Mackenzie got brave and tried kayaking by herself. She's still working on paddling herself around, but her big brother helped get her back to the dock. Thanks Scott!

The girls had fun just swimming around. Mackenzie's favorite thing to do is SWIM. She especially enjoys swimming on her back. Caroline thought it'd be fun to put lake water in her mouth and spit it at others, but once we reminded her that many had just used the bathroom in the lake, she began to spit out the water and it's doubtful she'll gulp up lake water in the future. Live and learn.

Scott LOVES to kayak. It was an adventure loading the kayaks & getting them down to the lake, but... it was so worth it. The kids were paddling around, playing cops & robbers. Later in the day, Scott & I went kayaking to a nearby cove together. It's so relaxing to enjoy nature while on the water. He tried to start a water splashing war, but I ignored his attempts and he somehow forgot about it. Afterwards, we floated around the dock on tubes & did some paddle boating while waiting for Eric to gas up the pontoon boat. The kids did some fishing this weekend as well & mainly, just had fun with their friends. Good friends & good food make for good times.

Lucky #13

August 9th marked 13 years of marriage... time flies! We forgot to take a picture together to mark our special day, so here's our self-portrait after our anniversary dinner. I love my honey, but... Mackenzie has recently remarked that we can only kiss when daddy gets home from work. I think as she gets older she will learn to appreciate that her parents are in love. Until then, we'll just have to laugh at all the commentary.

I look surprisingly relaxed after my 1st trip on the 1100 foot zipline at the US National Whitewater Center. Our 2nd trip was later in the evening, so it was windier & quite a bit jolting to brake at the end. But, it was nothing compared to the Climb2Zip where I had to climb a 30 foot pole, then sit on a ledge and lean over to fall off. That was my 1st feat of the day and after that, everything else didn't seem so bad. I like to be active, but don't have much daredevil in me... safety 1st is my motto. But, this was a great way to bond as a couple and have fun together as we celebrated 13 years of marriage. Good times!

Eric after his 1st trip down the MegaZipline.

Our day was also full of whitewater rafting & kayaking on the Catawba River. After dinner, we took an 8:30pm climb on the rock walls. Although I had a 3-day span of rock climbing in the NC mountains while on an Outward Bound expedition the summer before my freshman year of college, I'd never actually climbed a rock wall. I did good for a beginner, though I only made it half-way up the one of the harder climbs. I was fine on the auto-belay, but when I climbed a ledge and had to lean back to dismount, it brought back some bad memories of a climb/belay on Chimney Rock, but I had no choice if I wanted to get down, so I leaned back and once again, ended up side-ways and bumping into the rock. I prefer to keep 2 feet on the ground, but I think it was fun for Eric and the instructor to watch my terror despite being 15 feet or so from safety. I would have preferred a ladder, but no one presented that option. I'm proud of myself for trying new things & really had a good time with my hubby. Not many women would opt for an outdoor adventure to celebrate an anniversary, but honestly, I've been on the sidelines for so many years with my babies and watching my growing children develop their talents & play sports (which i've thoroughly enjoyed btw) that I actually suggested going here for a change of pace for us. We need to be active to stay young and involved and this was a good motivation to get moving and keep moving. Fun times!

Summer Adventures

Scott had a BLAST at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte over summer break. While Eric & I were planning our anniversary trip there, Scott decided it looked like a lot of fun for him too.

PaPa Truelove took Scott whitewater rafting, kayaking & rock climbing. It was a fun-filled day and I think I'm safe to say that Scott wore Papa out before the day was through. They had a good time together. Many thanks to Papa for all the quality time he spends with Scott.