Happy Father's Day.....

My husband is the best father in the world. I am a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to posting, but I am doing it nonetheless. Every morning before Josh leaves for work, he gives me a kiss (mind you I am asleep and only half remember it....). He comes home every day almost always before 5 and the kids are always excited for him to be home. He jumps on the trampoline with them and they have so much fun. He puts them to bed every night telling them stories, praying with them, and reading them books. The kids love their dad. He is very interactive with the kids and always willing to take at least one of them with him when he runs errands. I couldn't have asked for a better father to my children.

Happy Father's Day Sweetie, even though it is a month late, I love you and am so thankful for all you do with the kids!

Teaching our son a lesson...the hard way

Okay - so for the longest time, Josh has given the kids a choice of how to take their bath.....they can get in the shower, bath tub, be hosed down outside, or be licked by Couper.....The kids always laughed at the other two thinking we would NEVER do that.....well, tonight Caleb, dear sweet Caleb, decided that he didn't want to shower, take a bath, but wanted to be hosed down outside....and Josh very nicely obliged....

Caleb quickly decided that the bath and shower were much better and warmer. He didn't get upset, but he really didn't like how cold it was. Thank goodness he decided on hosing down in the summer instead of the dead of winter.

Trampoline Fun

Someone gave me the idea to put the sprinkler under the trampoline and let the kids jump. I was a bit worried that it would be slippery, but the kids had a BLAST. It was just the thing they needed to cool off after a hot day. Luckily, our neighbor's trees are big enough now to shade the entire trampoline from about 4 on. So, here are some pics of the fun the kids had.

Keira loved being bounced around. You know it is hot when she loves the cold water all over her...
Last but certainly not lease, I thought you should all enjoy a picture of our fearless dog, Couper. He is getting older, but still loves to play outside and he actually enjoyed the sprinkler too...

Weekend at the lake house

Okay, so I consider myself to be truly blessed. I have a spectacular family, and awesome friends, what more could a girl ask for? So, this past weekend, we went to our friend's lake house for a long weekend. We were joined by 7 other families and had a blast. We went out early on Thursday to help get the house and dock ready for the group. When we arrived, the kids were just itching to get in the water, Caleb didn't hesitate to get in, the girls, were just happy to get on the boat (which didn't happen, couldn't get it started, but got it started the next day, so it wasn't a big deal). So, here are some pictures, I did great at the beginning of the weekend, but as it went on and I got tired, the pictures became few and far between, but I think I got some good ones.

This is Halie - her parents' family owns the lake house. The kids really get along well with each other - BONUS

For some reason, Chloe thought she couldn't get on the boat with her shirt on, so she decided to go shirtless....

On Friday, we pulled all the patio furniture out, put up breakables, gassed up the boats and jet skis, went for an open water swim (that was an experience), and tried to entertain the kids until the crowd arrived.

Sarah was very smart and bought some fun games for the kids to play
Keira tried to play horseshoes...
I got some cute pics of Chloe, don't you think?

Not the greatest picture as far as lighting goes, but they had so much fun playing together

Keira loved these little green chairs. She sat in them most of the weekend.

On Saturday, we spent most of the day on the lake. Amazingly enough, the only one who got burnt was Caleb and it was just a little burn on his face.....it was hot, and the water felt great.

Josh and Chloe rode on the hot dog with Melinda, Carter, Sarah, and Halie....well, this was the second time, the first time, Josh and Chloe fell off....needless to say, she didn't like that too much.

This was also another highlight....Caleb loved jumping off the dock and playing in the water. He would have much preferred to be on the boat or jet ski, but when it wasn't his turn, he satisfied himself with jumping off the dock.

Chloe LOVED the jet ski....she would have lived on it all day if we would have let her.

Caleb and Lane - best buds.....

Okay, so I have to share this story....not as funny reading it I am sure, but I will do my best. Caleb wanted to go on his 4th jet ski ride and I just didn't want to take him, so I asked Paul to take him, and he did. When they returned (about 45 minutes later), Caleb told this story, "Mr. Paul let me drive, I was going really fast and when I saw the boobies, I had to slow down"....Sarah was confused and finally clarified that he had seen bouys (sp) and that is why he needed to go slower. It was much funnier coming from his mouth.

Anyway, after the long drive home (it took longer cuz we went the wrong way) - we stopped by at Tanner's birthday party and the kids played there for about 2 hours. Needless to say, we were all whipped and ready to be home.

This week we are doing VBS and trying to relax in the afternoons....hope you are having a great week!

Grandma is done working!!!

And this is why she retired.......Her love for the kids is amazing. She has the patience of Job with them and always reminds me of how lucky I am to have my wonderful kids (yes, even on the days I feel like pulling my hair out), and especially how wonderful a mother-in-law I have. God really blessed me with Carol. It was a long road at the beginning of our relationship, but God knew we needed each other, and we eventually worked it out (it didn't take too long once we figured it all out). Now we do really have a nice relationship and the kids can't get enough of their grandma (and grandpa too, can't forget grandpa, but this is a tribute to grandma).
Jeremy and Cindy brought a few "essentials" for retirement like this book "How Not to Become a Little Old Lady", and Memory mints. Sadly for all of us, there were several things in the book that we (us 30somethings) already do.....yikes, I guess we are all getting older and there isn't much we can do about it.

We went out to Olive Garden for dinner and then came back to the house for dessert. The kids played outside and enjoyed the evening (a little cooler than the afternoon, but not much....and we have some shade in the backyard after about 4) by blowing bubbles, swinging, and jumping on the trampoline.

Happy Retirement Carol. I am sure these kids will keep you looking and feeling young! They love you dearly and are so blessed to call YOU Grandma!

Concert in the park

On Monday nights during the month of June, Allen has a famiy concert in the park night. We went with our good friends, Paul and Sarah. We had so much fun. The theme of the night was Salsa music. It made me want to take salsa lessons....doubt that will happen. Anyway, Sarah made stromboli and salad and we had a picnic while we enjoyed the music.

The kids finished eating and went down to the front to dance. They were so tired at the end of the night. They ran and danced for nearly two hours. We did end up going down and dancing with them, but we got tired out way faster than they did. Can you find my two kids in this picture???? Can't wait to go again.Chloe is wearing a bright green shirt and Caleb is wearing a red shirt...hope that helps.

Keira's walking......

My baby girl has been walking now for a couple of weeks (at the time of this picture) and now the fun is just beginning. She thinks she is much faster than she really is and has frequent falls....She continues to be the light of our lives at the moment (as do our other two kids), she is pretty cute isn't she???