Claire is 8!

                  Well, our baby girl turned 8 today. Bitter sweet moment for me. So excited to see her growing into a beautiful young lady, but so sad to know that before I know it, she will be all grown up. Trying to hang on to any moments I can with her and treasure every second we can be together.

Claire woke to her favorite breakfast on the table thanks to her Daddy! She got two donuts and as you can see in her picture, she is still trying to wake up!                   

 She was happy to open a few small presents before heading out for the day!

I love this girl more than I ever thought possible! What a beautiful gift from God!

After a half day at Club Rewind, she talked Mom into getting her nails done. This is a very special and rare treat for Claire!

Since the nail salon was right next to the ice cream shop, there was no way we could leave for home without stopping for some ice cream!

Then it was home to open a few more gifts before heading out to dinner. 

MamaLu and PapaDo surprised Claire at Texas Roadhouse! We had a wonderful time with them and they helped to make Claire's birthday extra special!

 Probably the best present ever...Claire is super involved with swim team and LOVES donuts so this shirt is perfect! It says "Swim like there are donuts at the finish line"! She can't wait to wear it to her final summer swim meet tomorrow!

Happy birthday to the most awesome daughter a mom and dad could ask for! We are so very blessed to have you in our lives Claire and love watching you grow in your love for Christ and for others. God has great plans for you and we cannot wait to see how your life unfolds! Thank you for making us so full of love and for teaching us so much on this journey! We love you more than you can ever know!

Visit from Shannon, Owen, and Ellie

We got to spend almost a week with Auntie Shannon and cousins Owen and Ellie last week and we all had a blast! We celebrated Ellie turning 13 by eating cookie cake and going to Super Yummy for some Mongolian food. Thursday we spent the day at Splashtown and got to go on every ride we wanted to. Friday we spent the day swimming and then went to Escape Now, an escape room that we had one hour to get out of. Thanks to the kids and their "thinking outside the box" abilities, we were able to get out with just 54 seconds left! Pretty impressive considering only 20.6% of people made it out! Saturday we spent the day at Claire's swim meet. She was so excited to have her cousins there to cheer her on! Sunday we went to the beach and got to try boogie boarding and making mud pools. In any spare time, the kids were found in the swimming pool! Thankful for time with family and for the fun memories we were able to make in this short time. Wish the entire family could have been together, but we will take what we can get!

The best swim meet yet!

Claire blew us out of the water today at her swim meet! She placed first in all 5 events!!!! We are so proud of her hard work and determination! It all began with her being convinced she swims faster if she eats donuts before starting the meet. I have no leg to stand on with disagreeing because she did amazing today!

 Claire and a few girls on her swim team. It is so fun watching her develop friendships this summer. Too bad the last meet is next weekend already.

 Claire swam so hard and knew she had some tough competition. When she finished the free style, she got out and said to me "I beat her!" She went against a girl who was about half a second faster than her so she knew she had to swim hard to win, and she did just that!

 Mama Lu and Papa Do came to watch Claire swim again today. It was so nice having them spend the day with us and Claire just loves having them come watch her! God continues to amaze us with the wonderful people He places in our lives!