Beach FUN!

We woke up earlier than usual on Monday morning since the kids were sleeping in the same room, (we changed the sleeping arrangements the next night), and decided to head to the beach. We packed all the necessary things: lunch, snacks, drinks, snacks, sunscreen, snacks, towels, snacks, etc. Before we headed out, we took a family photo courtesy of our camera's delay start.

Beach fun here we come!

The wagon's all packed,

here we go!


We spent about four hours out in the sand and waves before we headed back to take a much anticipated nap! We went for walks, built sandcastles, jumped in the waves, and enjoyed God's beautiful creation.

My kids favorite books at the library are called, "Whose skin is this?," or "Whose nose is this?," etc. So to keep to their titles,

"WHOSE FEET ARE THESE?"

Off to the Beach We Go

A few weeks ago, our family went on our summer beach vacation. We went to a new beach this year, called Holden Beach courtesy of some church members. As usual, the kids had a wonderful time. We went unplugged for three days and it was fantastic. The house we stayed in didn't have a clock anywhere in sight, so we didn't even know what time it was, no time table was so relaxing. Here are some pictures from our first night:

We got to bring Calvin with us, he loved being with the family!

My big girl!

More to come.....

2nd Annual 4th of July Neighbor Cookout

Because the 4th of July is such a BIG day in my family, my sweet neighbors and I decided to have a cookout last year. It went great and thus this year we did it again. It was a very fun time with our neighbors, the Rusnacks, and some of our church family!


Me, Sheryl, and Suzie getting ready to eat!

The Lampheres, Glenna and Blayne, and Glenna's niece, watching the Frisbee game!

Suzie and Justin cooking the hamburgers. What a handsome man on the grill, and yes, he is all mine!

Karis filled her plate with what she likes best: a hot dog, not in the bun, Cheetos, fruit, and jello. At least there is some variety!

Joseph, another one our church family, playing Frisbee with the kids!

Steve Lamphere and "neighbor John" as my kids call him, enjoying some Frisbee too!

I made our annual flag fruit pizza this year. My favorite thing about the cookout, the dessert of course! Glenna made a ice cream sandwich lasagna thing, YUMMY!

The kids dressed in their flag shirts!

Karis loves helping "neighbor" decorate the tables, so when she finished, her and Noah got to sample some food before the guests arrived! Who knew fruit in a cup would be such a hit!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful church family and neighbors. God is good to allow me to continue to celebrate the freedom of our country with such special people. I did miss my family, but not near as much!

Thank you to all who serve our country.

Sharing an Ice Cream Sandwich

Books are the BEST!

There has been a lot of reading going on in our house this summer, which is no surprise here. Both of my kids have loved books since they were old enough to sit and look at them by themselves. I often find them in their rooms looking at books. Karis can "read, recite books," that we have read her only a few times. I so enjoy listening to her read to Noah. He adores her and will sit and listen for a long time. Here are a few pictures of our book time!

Karis reading to Noah!

The "librarian" reading to Noah!

Looking at books together while Mommy makes dinner! The library is such a blessing to us! I so enjoy library day, getting them new books, reading every last one of them, and then watching them enjoy looking at them by themselves! Books really are the BEST!

My Silly Boy!

About a week ago, Noah was sitting on the potty trying to go (number 2), and he kept acting like he was falling in the potty.

"Be careful, Noah, I don't want you to fall in the potty." I said.

"I won't Mommy." he replied.

After a few more times of him doing the same thing, I said, "if you fall in the potty, you might get flushed down the little whole."

"We can just go buy a new Noah, " he replied with the cutest most sincere look on his face.
I spent the next few minutes trying to explain to him that we can't go buy new people, and telling him how special he is, one of a kind, no other Noah like you ever in the world! It was a great teaching moment for me, after I stopped laughing at his hilarious reply. I am not sure why he said that because if things break, we don't always go and buy a new one. It is neat to see how his mind works and what an imagination he has!

Toy Story 3

Last Friday, Justin and I took the kids to see Toy Story 3. I am not sure who was more excited, them or us! After arriving early, we had to wait awhile for the movie, so we got some popcorn and the kids sat and talked to us as they ate! The movie was great and seeing Noah sit still for the whole thing was a crazy. He had a hard time with the 3D glasses, since they aren't made for kids.

Thanks to Grammy and Pop Pop, the kids had Toy Story 3 t-shirts to wear. Yes, Noah looks really excited here!

We are all sporting our glasses!

Karis is making a "mean face" as Noah calls it, not sure why though.

The Pool is Cool

Go Mudcats!

A Summer Saturday

"Look at this Mommy!"

Upon arriving home from the pool with the kids, Karis excitedly exclaims, "Look at this Mommy!" As usual, I was the last one in the door. When I turned to corner to the hallway, this is what I saw:

all of Noah's cars in a row (you know your son has too many cars when the row is this long!)...

toy story 2 characters at the end of the row....

and Daddy's picture and note hanging from a barrel of monkeys!

What a fun surprise to come home to. The kids got a kick out of it, and I got to see a very creative side of Justin. It is nice to know how much "Daddy loves us." WE LOVE YOU TOO!

Side note: (the pictures were taken by our old camera because our new very nice camera is missing, I wonder where it could be?)

Our Little Photographer!

Karis Ann got a digital camera from her Aunt Courtney for Christmas last year. I wanted to share her pictures with you. It looks like we might have an upcoming photographer in the family!

Noah is her favorite person to photograph!

Karis also enjoys taking pictures of Calvin and us being silly!

She has a fetish with her feet, and I think she was taking pictures of herself when she was supposed to be napping!

Fun at the Park

Outside Day

Team RED!

Here is the team picture of my basketball girls. It was a blast playing again, especially realizing that I am no longer 18 years old and I move slower than I used to. I so enjoyed getting to know all the girls on my team. The best part of each game night was when the game was over, and my kids would run as fast at they could to hug me! It doesn't get any better than that! I am so thankful for Justin being supportive and allowing me to play. Thanks babe, you are wonderful!

BizzyBalling

Post from Justin:
I wanted everyone to see a few pics from Jeanna's basketball season. The kids and I had a great time watching all the games. The kids cheered, "Go mommy Go." And I helped the refs out by alerting them to the calls they missed, and sat in the stands proud to be the husband of the best player on the court.

Jeanna's team made it to the final game and lost by 4 points. Jeanna made the most 3 pointers of anyone in the league and played some wicked lock-down defense.

On the final night, we all wore our red in support of mommy's team.