We've been telling Radley the whole summer that he could swim, but he finally believed us and took the plunge! I told him at the beginning of the summer I wouldn't give him and kind of floatie or puddlejumper. The first few times we went swimming he hung out in the kid area; it didn't seem to bother him. But when all of his cousins got together and the boys his age were all in the deep end and going off slides he felt left out. He was much more motivated to test his skills after that! Now he is doing awesome! He still mostly doggy-paddles, but his under water swimming is improving and so is his confidence. And now my stress level at the pool has drastically decreased!
He was nervous to jump off the diving board but having Dad close gave him the courage he needed.
He was trying to push himself down to reach the bottom of the pool, but he didn't quite make it.
Radley and Bruce were showing me their front flips, and then Bentley decided she would jump off the diving board too!
Here's a little of Mackenzie and some better swimming by Radley
MJ likes to splash around in the pool too.
It never fails, someone will always be there to mess with a happy baby.
Luke and Damon
Kyler, Tyce, and Bruce
Bentley refused to let me take a picture of her
No toys, so she chewed on her toes!
After getting a shipment from Sam's Club, the boys decided to camp out in these boxes for a few days!!
I really feel like Mackenzie would have been crawling a week or two ago if we hadn't left for the beach. She was really close before we left, but while we were gone, she was held a lot. She loved being held, but she didn't progress in her crawling. However, since we have been home she is on the move!! She loves the independence of being in control of her body. All the kids get excited when she does something new, and it's fun to watch!
I love these planks she does while trying to figure out how to move!
She wanted one more milestone before turning 7 months, so she started crawling!
Getting Longer
Now for the real party!
And what happens when everyone bugs her.
Sisters!! Same bow, same outfit, and almost the same age
Much like Damon, this girl is hard to hold! She jumps and crawls and twirls while being held. It's a miracle she hasn't been dropped!
She's getting closer and closer to 'real' crawling. However, she can get where ever she wants now.
She gets on her knees then backs up, then gets on her knees then backs up, but she's not really moving forward on her knees just yet.
We came to Childress Wednesday evening to see the Schade family. We ended up staying over at Kevin and Kerry's house because we knew we would just be coming right back the next day anyway, and our kids have been begging us to spend the night at their cousin's house for a while. We spend the entire next day with them. We made cookies, played Playdoh, the Nintendo Switch, rode 4-wheelers, ate some good food, got festive tattoos, watched and set off fireworks, and just talked with everyone. It was a great 4th of July!
Taysom and Bentley 'helping' with the sprinkles.
The only picture I got of Mackenzie in her cute patriotic outfit. She pooped all over herself and Savanna before I could get a better picture.
Even MJ got two little stars on her cheek.
Fun on the driveway
This girl loves her Daddy!
The best we could get of everyone
Hey I was there too!
Firework fun. I didn't pictures or video of the kids with sparklers this year because I was inside feeding the baby and Kenney was making sure the 19 kids weren't lighting one another on fire!!
Bentley's festive hair
Everyone loves to ride on the 4-wheelers
There's always dancing involved with the fireworks
The Finale. I have to admit, the fireworks show in Childress has gotten so much better over the years.
We came home from Galveston right into the unofficial Keys reunion. Shayla and Tamra's families were in town and we got to hang out with them for a few days. There were a lot of kids and lot of continued late nights! As usual the kids loved being with their cousins. Kenney had work so his week was extra crazy! We all hung out on Sunday after church. Sunday night the boys stayed in Childress while we brought the girls home. Monday morning we got MJ's 6 month shots and then went to be with everyone else. We headed to Kevin and Kerry's for dinner where Dad met up with us. Nana and Papa rented out the city pool for all of us to swim Monday evening.
Bentley and Emma
Some of the grasshopper catchers
The water slide is always a hit
White dresses with flowers seemed to be a theme on Sunday
It's not a cousin get-together without some Pokemon battles and trades.
Bentley and Carter
Hair flips were a cool trick that night
The current babies, soon to be dethroned in September and November.
Grasshopper catching
This girls was loving the kitchen toys!
She seems to always be moving so some part of her body is usually blurred in pictures.
Ashlyn, Emberly, and an uncooperative Bentley.
I've refused to give Radley any kind of floatie or puddlejumper this summer so he was working really hard on swimming so he could keep up with everyone else!!
She loved the water and kept splashing herself.
Nana and Mackenzie
The Keys family can make any space feel small and fill up quick
Love all these boys, Conner, Kyler, Bruce, Radley, and Asher
The 3 Amigos: Bruce, Radley, & Asher
Everyone loves Kacy as much as they love Mackenzie
22 of the current 23 grandkids in age order, just missing Landry!! That's a lot of kids, and the number doesn't seem to be slowing down!
The kids are always doing something active and usually loud!! This was no different.
It a good thing Kerry has a lot of space and a lot of toys for all these kids, but like always they end up doing something dirty like collecting bugs, haha!
A short video of trying to get all these kids lined up.
