So Proud, Izzy's Birthday, and Marco Water Fun

I'm so proud of my daughter...yet again. She's always given us so many reasons to be proud. Out of 600 kids from around the country at the CONA (Conference on National Affairs) convention in NC, Kate got one of 36 Outstanding Statesmen awards and was picked (1 of 6 kids) to get the highest honor of Presiding Officer for next year. She and the other 5 college students will run the convention for the high school students next summer. She's only the second Missouri student to ever receive the honor of PO and the first girl from our state. There is a video of her in action, but I will have to hook you up another time. Apparently the Youth in Government website got hacked and is down right now.

We celebrated Izzy's birthday today with the family. We went to see Toy Story 3. This was Jake's first movie theater experience, and I had no idea what to expect. He watches very little television, so I thought I might be spending the movie out in the lobby with him. You just never know with this guy. He ended up doing really well. He had a few potty trips...thanks for the help, Mom! He got out of his seat a few other times, but I was able to coax him back in pretty quickly.  Close to the end he kept saying, "Is it cake time?" rather loudly. The picture taking was interesting. Of course, I wasn't using a flash, but I was still pretty satisfied with the results. No flash and no tripod could mean disaster, but my 50mm 1.4 came through for me. By the way, this was a love day.

Look at these two checking out the candy.

Jake brought Woody along for the show.

I just love the look on George's face in this next shot.

Yep...definitely an Izzy/Jake Love Day. Happy Birthday, Isabella! We love you so much!

Marco Water Fun
We weren't sure what to expect with the pool this year. Jake would not go in the water last summer. He liked going to the pool, but he spent his time playing on the deck surrounding the water. I'm happy to say that Jake loved the pool! He loved jumping in off the side. He loved swimming around and kicking his legs. He got more and more brave as time went on and would even put his face in and blow bubbles. I think I will look into lessons this fall.

Of course, Kate enjoys the water, too. I was glad to grab a few shots of her in the Gulf with Dan...just like old times!