The Circus Comes To Town

It's no joke- spend about 10 minutes at Meme and Grump's house with this crew and you'll see, it's fairly close to a circus. 

The girls spent last weekend in Birmingham and as always, we had a blast!  We hit up the zoo/splash pad and the park, did lots of swimming, and had picnics.  I continue to be amazed watching the triplets grow up into these 3 drastically different personalities.  Brooks will follow along and do many of the things Frances does.  Irene tends to be VERY nervous and cautious with everything.  Anna pretty much does her on thing and is quite a little diva. Frances and Brooks will eat anything you give them.  Irene and Anna, not so much.  We were sad to see them go home on Sunday...although Frances seemed pretty happy to have all the toys at Meme's house to herself on Monday :)

Story time with Uncle Will...this didn't last long.

Franny and Brooks riding the train at the zoo.

Fun at the zoo

Irene not so sure about the splash pad.

Frances and Brooks

Irene being brave on the slide.

Brooks and Meme

Anna, Uncle Will, Fran

Irene not so sure about the seesaw- however, she ended up loving it!

Possibly the best $30 spent at Target.  Grump may disagree.

Brooks 

Kat

Anna, likely about to do something mischievous. 

Kat and Frances

Irene

Tired and hungry after lots of swimming

Pizza picnic

Don't be fooled by their excitement.  Neither of them actually tasted the popsicle.

This is what happened when the mean Aunt AR touched the popsicle to her lips.

Brooks and Frances 

Semi-settling down watching Frozen (before Frances went to timeout for pushing Irene)

Kat is such a good older cousin- the little girls adore her!

Just Keep Swimming

I just really love summer.  I much prefer the hot (even nasty unbearably humid) weather.  We have hit the ground running with summer fun already, and we have so much more to look forward to.  Gymnastics classes ended for Frances and she started swimming lessons (you've probably seen the video!).  Frances LOVES swimming; however, she loves swimming on her terms and not when someone is telling her what to do.  She has quite the toddler attitude these days, which can be both charming and challenging. The first couple of lessons entailed lots of crying and dramatics, but as evidenced by the video, the lessons are obviously effective!  Frances and I spend a lot of time at the pool during the week, then the real fun comes with Daddy at the pool on the weekends.   

Frances and Miss Anna negotiating on the first day.

Lots of progress by lesson #4.

Just one of many reasons I love swimming- wipes her out!

Graduation Day!

The day that seemed so far way back in 2011 finally arrived on May 18, 2014.  Frances is now a Bell Center graduate....officially done.  I still can't quite figure out where those 3 years went, but holy moly, The Bell Center was a huge part of it!  Frances started at The Bell Center when she was a teeny tiny 4 week old peanut who weighed 6 lbs.  The support, knowledge, and love from The Bell Center staff is immeasurable.  They are friends and family to us, and we will forever be grateful.  And, for you Bell Center folks reading this....you're not getting rid of us that easy.  We will be crashing your Wednesday lunch time often!

Frances and her best buddy Quinn (ok, so its her boyfriend).

These two are something else.  Frances LOVES Quinn!

Getting her diploma! 

Frances, class of 2014 and Kat, class of 2006. 

Ethan and Frances having a serious discussion over goldfish and cupcakes.

Meme and Grump!

Aunt Amy: world's best friend, godmother, and teacher!

Proud of our girl!

Just Beachy

We spent Mother's Day weekend down at the beach with Meme and Grump, and had a great time.  Frances has always been a big fan of the beach, and it was a different world this year since she is walking now.  The main highlight of the weekend was......Frances did NOT eat sand!  Maybe a little taste here and there, but nothing like in the past.  I think *maybe* we have gotten over that fun habit.  She was very busy on the beach- meeting new friends, digging holes, picking up shells- I love watching her learn and explore.  It was just a fun, relaxing, and much-needed escape for the weekend...toddler dramatics and all.  We can't wait for our summer beach trip with ALL the family!!!

Yay, the beach!

Playing with Grump 

Sharing some sandy crackers with Grump

Love the little footprints!

Will and I went out to eat (alone!) and the road was closed due to a bridge washout, so we just parked it and walked....thank goodness the car was where we left it after dinner!