Another Family Campout!

Well, we made it through 2 nights and almost 3 days of camping with the boys! It was really fun and we had a great time! We're grateful to our friends the Edwards for inviting us to go with them and their family to a campground that is own by some of their family! It was nice! There was a nice fire pit, a nice deck, shade, and plenty of fun things for the kids to do! Jerry and Marla have twins that are 7 years old, Corrine and Sean, and Ian and Luke just had a blast with them! We went swimming, played a little tennis, played at the playground, ate yummy food, and got to know our friends better! It was a good time! The weather was great at night and the boys did really well in the tent! What a fun weekend we had!

Mason and Mommy at the pool!

How cute is Mason all laying out and getting a tan!?

We got a floatie for Mason! Proved to be AWESOME for everyone!

Luke the 'Noodle' ON his noodle! He loves to go swimming, but can't do it all himself yet! The pool was WONDERFULLY warm on the first night!

Luke wearing Sean's helmet, and having a ton of fun on his bike!

Dave and Jerry trying their 'feet' at syncronized swimming.... what do you think? Not really olympic material just yet! hahaha That was hilarious!

Ian and Sean LOVED jumping into the pool! They are great swimmers!

Ian, Corrine, Sean and Luke, playing a fun game of Uno in the tent!

Mason just chilling around the campfire! He was so good on the campout, but was ready to go home yesterday! Great times were had by all!

My silly kiddos

Last week the boys were particularly loopy, so I thought I'd capture a few moments.

Mason's big thing is to do this with his tongue... it's so cute - he walks around with that tongue out on his upper lip and sticks his nose up in the air! He thinks it's hilarious!

Luke loves being in his underwear.... and putting things on his head that belong on other places! Dave calls him his spaghetti noodle! So cute!

Ian wanted to be funny too, so he reverted back to his toddler days with a bucket on his head!
My kids are a little wacky sometimes, and that's just great - they make me smile when I need it the most sometimes!

We did it! We went to the Fair!

After much tribulation..... we made it to the FAIR! Yeah! I guess I am a lame-O parent who has never taken her children to the county fair! Well, I take that back. I took Ian and Luke when Luke was about one with my mom and sister, but never with our little family! I practically had to pull teeth to get Dave to agree to it, but he knows how I am when I am set in my ways... relentless... and annoying. So, again, after much tribulation and a threat to not go at all, we made it to the fair.

The boys had a fun time - we think - and they didn't even complain after we left... although they were excited to go home and play the new fishing game Dave bought for the Wii with his birthday money! All in all - and after much tribulation - we had a good time!

Luke and Ian with the Fire Truck that closed before we left.

Luke and Ian on the Dragon Ride -whoa... that was a handful. Luke ended up crying for being so scared on the third time around and the guy had to stop the roller coaster... Poor little Luke! I felt so horrible! Mason and I - Mason didn't like all the noise of the rides at ALL!

Daddy and Mason. Luke petting a baby pig.

Dave can't get away from the lawn mowers - even on his day off! The boys liked all the tractors and John Deer equipment.

Luke like the boats because they went 'slow'. He was much more calm on this one as opposed to the Dragon Coaster! Ian and I LOVED the swings! One of my favorites since childhood!

Ian and Luke rode the motorcycles first - Ian had a blast while Luke was a bit uneasy! I really don't think Luke's facial expression changed throughout the whole ride...

Feeding the potbelly pigs, and Ian rides the bumper cars. Well, he only went about 3 feet... he didn't understand how to drive it... oh well... but what a waste of 3 tickets! ah!

Val and Chris' Wedding Shower!

Last Saturday, I got to go all by myself to Val and Chris' Bridal shower! It was a lot of fun! It was nice to get out of the house for a while without the kids and get dressed up and be served wonderful food and cake that I didn't have to cook or clean up! It was so nice to see how happy Chris and Val are too! They got some wonderful things for their home. Robin and I got them some frames that I put their engagement pictures in I took for them, and Mom made them a 'signature towel cake'. (she always does a great job on those!) Congrats to Chris and Val! Can't wait till the wedding!!!

Boys+Sand+Water=FUN!

Last week, the boys decided they wanted to add a little water to their sandbox - which I thought would be fine, since one side is for sand and the other side is for water and they can do boats and stuff. So... here I am piddling away at my daily tasks inside just oblivious to what is taking place just outside my front door! It was a nice day out, so I had the windows open and the boys were playing and I could tell they were having a grand time with each other. I remember thinking, "Oh, I'm so glad they are getting a long so well for so long!" My immediate next thought was, "I better go check on them!" I walked out on the deck to this. They had been slinging wet sand balls at eachother and the ceiling to the deck and the house and the window, etc... you name it, there was sand on it! They were both completely drenched with wet sand from head to toe as well! After I laughed quite a bit, and took some pictures, I ruined their fun by making them clean it up. They didn't like that at all! Oh well, it was funny and I'm glad they found something they can do together! They really can play nice together if they want to!

One of my loves...

One of the things I love to do is to take pictures! (like you couldn't of guessed that) Anyway, I found an opportunity while I was taking engagement pictures of my brother and his fiance, to quickly get a nice picture of this! I liked it so much it is now my desktop picture. Anyway, thought I'd share my talent a little bit with all of those who care. I still wish for a better camera - I like my EOS a lot, but I think I could a ton more with a NIKON! ;)

Dave's Birthday Highlights

I'm so behind it's not even funny! Two weeks ago was Dave's birthday! We had a little get together at my mom's house with some family and good old ice cream cake! Dave's favorite! Mom made him wear the 'Happy Birthday Hat', and Dave served gianormous pieces of cake to the kids! (He was sad when he saw all the cake that was going to waste because the kids couldn't finish it all!) It was a fun time!

I knew exactly the face Dave would make when I took his picture in this hat... yep... I was right!

Blowing out the candles.

Mason really enjoyed the cake! Not a surprise!

And when these two cousins get together it's make believe time! Jenna always finds the dress up clothes box and Luke always finds Grandpa's Railroad engineer hats! They have fun together! (Although, we found Luke dressing up one day in the Cinderella dress and glass slippers! It was really funny!)
Hope it was a happy birthday, honey!

Ths saddest day... Mason's first hair cut

Words cannot explain this 'BEFORE' picture...

Right before hair cut- see those adorable 'wings'???

The first cut is always the roughest! Man I was sad!

First hair cut done... given by mommy!

OH WHAT A KISS! Mason seemed very excited to get those wings in the back cut off! (I know Daddy was!)

I really had a hard time with this... I'm not sure if this is our last baby, but something was TERRIBLY hard about cutting off those cute little side wings that Mason was growing... Dave really had to force me to do it. Mason looks SO cute and is still cute with his hair trimmed up like a 'real boy'! hahaha He looks a lot older, but I guess I'll get over those little wings. What a sad day for me yesterday was!

The Finished Cut! Ta da! Not any off the top, just those crazy wings and duck tail! You look great Mason! Love you!

Family Campout at Potato Creek!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Ian's First T-Ball Trophy!

Ian's T-Ball team had a pool party and award ceremony on Friday! Ian was SO excited to get his trophy! The coach threw a pool party and had cupcakes and awards! It was a fun time. We couldn't stay the whole time, because we were going camping the next day, but he really had fun! The pool was heated, and even though it was raining, he loved it anyway!!! First time going down a waterslide too!


Ian and Coach Strand, receiving his certificate and trophy! Coach said that Ian was one of the top three hitters! That was great to hear! Ian might do Babe Ruth league in the fall (I think that's the next level after T-Ball???) Anyway, Ian is VERY proud of his trophy and we're proud of him too!