3rd of July FUN...

with cousins is always a good time!

We enjoyed a little Monkey Joe's and an Independence Parade. We don't see Titan and Ryker (Jason's bro's little guys) very often, so we were sure to squeeze in as much fun as possible while they were here visiting their grandmas.....

Morning of the 3rd...getting ready to take parade chairs over to the neighbors. It gets crowded and we wanted to be sure we had good seats for the show!

At Monkey Joe's...waiting on Ryker and Titan. 

This girl jumped right in....

Tay showing Ryker the way up....

Our one and only attempt at a group shot. Ryker wanted nothing to do with sitting and Tay wanted Titan to sit on her lap. Funny! Better luck next time!!!!

All ready and waiting for the parade!

Titan blowing bubbles. LOVE Ryker's expression in the background. He can't wait to blow bubble himself!

Waiving in hopes of scoring a little extra candy! Even Aunt Lori was getting into it!!! Fun!

Happy 3rd of July, Peanut!

Cuteness!

Love this pic! Titan joined on the action and it totally looks like the two little ones are scheming!!!

Capping off the night with a little weeny roasting and s'mores making. In the t-shirts they caught in the parade and all. Thanks, Daddy for getting the pit ready!!! A great night-cap on a great day!!!!

Thanks cousins for hanging with us for the day! It was a blast!!!! 

Red, White, and Blue Lanterns...

decorated our patio and were made by the kiddos. Trey sped through the decorating process. So fast, in fact, that I should have taken his picture first!!!

It really was a super easy craft involving colored card stock, scissors, and stickers....can't get much easier than that!!!

Tay's turn to decorate hers....she's loving the flag stickers....

Ty's masterpiece in progress...

Tay had fun gluing on the extra dots we didn't use. Not bad for a newly turned two-year old! And, yes, she's definitely going to be my lefty!!!!

Finished products!

Not sure why I didn't take any pics of them hanging up outside...but they looked great strung across the window and held up very well in three days of sunny and windy weather!

Great job on the lanterns, Munchkins! Love you lots and lots!!!

A Lovely Luau....

was had by all during our visit to Grampy and Mi-Mi's lake house a few weeks ago....

The kiddos with their Great Grandfather...

What a sweetie!

Mi-Mi planned a little luau with all the gear. She even brought little outfits for each one of the kiddos. What a fun time!

It's been forever since we have been to the lake, and even though the water was high and the beach was closed, we still planned a little impromptu weekend visit back in June....

Along with the luau, we enjoyed just hanging out and having a good, summer-time type of visit. Fishing, BBQ-ing, and boat riding were daily items on the must-do list! We enjoyed lots of other activities so enjoy the picture OVERLOAD below....

Girls enjoying manicures and pedicures...thanks, Mi-Mi.

The guys making sure the rods are ready to go....

Good job holding still, Miss Tay-Tay!

Trey's first rod re-stringing duties....

Ty waiting for her first bite....

Tay liked watching the bobbers....we all just wished that they would have gone under more often. Fishing patience is one thing that this family does have!!!

Trey got one! (Where's the fishy?!?!)

Ty and her daddy solving all the world's fishing issues....

Tay was eager to join in....

Much better....

Me and my peanut...gotta wear those sandals!!!

It did rain one of the days, so they all had fun making pretzels...

Tay's turn...

Great looking pretzel, Trey Man....

Ty posing by hers....she just pinched the middle together. "Much easier, Mommy!"

Bubble Time!

Getting ready to take the boat out!

Someone's sleepy....

Trey's 1st cast out of the boat. Line, hook, worm, and bobber all got stuck up in the ONLY tree poking out of the lake. Sorry, Grampy. Looks like we need a quick-fix already. Grandpa's don't get to actually FISH, do they?!?!

Trey busy being bossy. We may or may not be in a "disrespectful smart mouth" phase. Ugh! Hope it passes quickly. I need to learn some of my parents' patience. That's for sure!

Tay wasn't quite sure she wanted to touch the fishy. Think rubbing her eye sounds much more appealing! Ha!

Boat rides!!!

And, of course, the visit couldn't end without a little boat drivin'....

One...

Two...

and, THREE....

Thanks for the awesome visit, guys!!! We love you lots and can't wait to make our way back to the lake sometime soon!!!! 

XXX's & OOO's

Back in Biz...

(for the time being) and I want to start by saying we just wrapped up a wonderful visit with Nana.

My grandma...

My mom's mom...

The munchkin's great grandma--or Great Gran Nan...

She came up and visited for 12 days over the 4th of July holiday and we had a blast. The kiddos ran straight up to her at the airport when she got here like it hadn't been 361 days since they had last seen her in person. And, that's a LONG time for a 2 year old!!!! Seeing them so eager to greet her and bear hug the heck out of her legs, just melted my heart. My kiddos surely do seem to know that they are super loved by so many amazing people!!!

Thanks, Nana for the wonderful visit. We are soooo glad that you finally got the chance to make it up to our neck of the woods!!!! It really was perfect...

We love you lots and already miss you like crazy!

Coming soon...

I PROMISE to catch up on posts those week....

I'm having too much fun...

Going to Trey's baseball games.

Playing with the kids.

Organizing drawers.

Watering my flowers.

Hitting the gym.

Visiting with friends.

Going for evening walks.

Doing laundry.

Visiting Principal Park.

Pulling Weeds.

Visiting the library with the kiddos.

Sitting on the patio.

Having extended family visits.

Watching the Home Run Derby....right now!!!

I know I'm behind....very behind.....

But, it will get better!

Thanks for being patient, Munchkins!!

Hugs!

Summer is just too much fun!

Miss Re-Vamp it....

might be Ty's new nickname....especially after our little find yesterday.

While Jason was at morning football strength and conditioning, the kiddos and I quickly watered the flowers & set out for a little walk around the block...

The walk led us to a little garage sale around the corner where Ty spotted a baby bed she could use for her babies. It wasn't marked, but she asked the young girl working the sale with her mom how much she'd take for it.

The girl's answer??

"One dollar."

Ty's eyes lit up & the deal was done.

So, after a day at the swimming pool, we started our little project.....

A PINK baby bed...

A coat of primer put on by Ty, Tay, and a neighborhood friend, and a coat of pink paint from me, our project is almost done....

All that's left is a trip to JoAnn's where Little Miss Re-Vamp It will be able to choose her own fabric for the foam base.....

Easy, peasy & I have one little happy and excited 4-year old....

POOL TIME!

I'm sure most of you know just how much we love to hit the pool in the summer. Today marked our first visit...

And, it was as fun as it's always been!!!

Tay-Tay joined us this year...and had a blast (once she finally worked up the nerve to get IN the water!!!)

Guess who's finally tall enough to ride the slides?!?! He seriously was like 1/4 of an inch too short last year! 

Here goes nothing!

Sassy Pants!

Getting brave...believe it or not, this getting the foot in the fountain action took 15 minutes!

But she figured out quickly just how much she liked floating around on her belly....

This one spent the WHOLE time working on her swimming underwater skills! She said she's getting better than ever before! Cutie!

My newest little fishy!!!

I definitely had fun watching these three hit the water, like I knew I would. 

BUT, unlike last year, I did not buy pool passes for this summer. I had been kinda bumming about not buying them, thinking about how much fun-in-the-sun action I'd be missing in the next few months. I have to admit though, after today, that I am GLAD I didn't buy them. Not only did I not get anything done around here, but I also ended up with two girls missing a nap (which made for a grouchy late evening) and a sore neck from trying to keep my eye on all three at the same time. I know they had a blast and I know we will be back again soon, but we will not be going every day like we did last year. 

And, this sun bunny isn't too upset about that!