in the good ole summertime

now that all is well in our home, we are able to swim again!  what torture for the kiddos to deprive them for a week. we were all having some cabin fever in the summertime.

waiting on daddio to swim, the kiddos enjoyed some popsicles. 

 what a face mr. ben!

  & we now have some new window decor all throughout the house & in the van.  thank you cook family for the window crayons!  the kiddos are lovin them!!



sicky no more

the kiddos had their vaccinations & physicals last week. gracie wanted hers too, saying it would only tickle she thought.  that was, until she saw the needles.  screaming & crying & crying some more!  man, oh man.  benj was a brave one & didn't even shed a tear.  it was a pretty funny doctor visit though... the nurse gave them both cups to urinate in & told them to see who could fill it up more.  not a good idea - i was cleaning up pee from the floor & was very thankful i had a spare pair of clothes for gracie.  but, ben was the winner & he was very proud of that fact. 

a few hours later, the sickness started.  & it was no fun.  a week of yuck for sure.  we even went to the er one night.

he wasn't too sick to play his ds though.

actually, he didn't look sick at all.

unless it was "that time" again. (photo taken by beano himself)  4 containers full.yuck.

lots of sanitizer was used for sure.  he loved that stuff.

& he loved taking shots of random things in the room.  made the 4 hours just fly by!

we really did have fun in the er room, having some good talks about life & love.  he's pretty deep for a 5 year old sometimes.  we talked about how he will likely have more than one "love" in his life (not just miss b from his first year of preschool) & someday he will find that special one.  he asked if i or justin ever had other gurlfriends or boyfriends & i said yes.  he was so interested in what they looked like, so i told him i'd show him the next day.  well, i did & he goes on to tell me that daddy's old girlfriend was a lot prettier. thanks, buddy, love you too.  i think ben's a sucker for brunettes, that little stinker. 

anyways, the tests came back that he just had a virus, so that was good news & we are now able to be around friends.  hallelujah! 

summertime a flyin by

this summer is just a flyin by & i have really neglected writing down some of them memories in the making.  ben finished his t-ball career, much to everyone's relief.  half the time on the last game his hat was cocked to the side, but thank goodness daddio was there to help straighten him out.

when he was on first base, he'd often chat with the other team, depending on if they were "interesting" or not.  i don't quite know how he determined that.

getting his trophy with his proud daddy!

gracie celebrated her 4th birthday with lots of family & friends. she has on her "i;m crabby like my daddy shirt" from her auntie, her new favorite shirt!

her birthday wish was "for everyone to be happy!"

all the kiddos had a blast playing on the water slide! cowabunga, dude!!

by the end of the party, i think she was a bit tired out.

the next day, while daddio was "sleeping," we gave him a beautiful pedicure. 

he had socks on until it was removed.  what a good daddy!

 & i celebrated 33rd birthday with my very favorite kiddos & hubby.  we went & ate at charlie's mongolian barbeque for dinner.  ben asked why we took him there, because it was so good & made him too full!! 

some of the other random fun memories of the past few weeks:  gracie eating her tomatoes (favorite food) with ketchup - "totally good", as she would say.  "totally" has become her totally favorite word in the world i think.

ben learning to swim & jumping in the pool.  big time!! of course there are lots of rules we have & they have both been very good abiding by them.

every time he jumps off, or does a trick, he yells "did you get that mom?'' he is always making some hand gesture too.. what a clown.

ben has also learned to snap, whistle & has a loose tooth.  that boy is growing up faster than i could ever imagine.  kindergarten is right around the corner.  yikers!

i wish i would write down all the things they say on a daily basis that make my cheeks hurt from laughing each day, but i'm not that good.  they keep growing & growing into their own individual selves & this momma couldn't be prouder!  i love you my sweet kiddos!!

the best night ever!!

we had our first sleepover with some of the kiddos' friends this weekend.  they had a blast!  especially jumping on the air mattress / trampoline!  they were all saying "this is the best night ever!!"  miss a & little a were so good, couldn't ask for a better first slumber party for the kiddos.  we even made it to church early on sunday!  i had some super fun pictures from the night, but my computer ate them...
but it sure was fun!

mr. sweetie heart

my little beach bunny fell in love with a dead jelly fish on vacation.  she named him mr. sweetieheart. i learned something new there too.  these jellyfish on the beach didn't have tentacles, so they didn't sting (as least that's what the beach guy said)

see the heart she has drawn around him

we brought him back to the beachhouse for 1 day, until the smell was just a bit too fishy for mommy to take even outside.  then her & daddio had a burial for her pet jellyfish. 


onto my little mr. sweetieheart.... he found a gurlfriend first day out on the beach & an older one at that!  8 years old!   she gave him a couple of hugs & would always say hi to him when we were at the ocean. (i'm not supposed to talk about it though, of course!) she gave me a little shell with a hole in it to make a necklace.  what a sweetieheart!

pretty pictures of you

my miss gracie faye, i love to dress you up & take your picture.  i know soon you won't let me either.  i grabbed the opportunity at the beach one evening when we were flying the kite aunt donna got for ben & you were a trooper.  thank you, my beauty.

but sometimes you can be a sassy cat!

but i still & will always love you as far as the ocean is wide & all the way up to jesus - just like you tell me. 

& that's the end!



these are a few of his favorite things...

from vacation:

root beer.  they only get sodas on special occasions, so it is a real treat!!

monopoly.  really it is, despite that look there.  it was early in the morn & he was ready to play.

namaw was a major trooper & played a looong game with him!  she is the epitome of paitience.

riding the waves!!

taking random pictures on momma's camera...

playing- or tormenting big cousins & other family members!

flying a kite (& trying to get us with it!! - that's daddio behind that froggie kite)

his daddio & sissy (& momma of course)

hanging with his namaw & poppy & rest of the fam

that boy is a hard one to serious picture of!

life is a highway, i wanna ride it

all day long.  yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.  especially with a almost 4 & a 5 1/2 year old!!

what did we do in the van on the way to saint simons?  nintendo ds, movies, eating, eating, eating (mainly me),  some fussing, potty breaks, riddly riddly ree, read some books, made some potholders, teased each other, slept & said "are we there yet" a bazillion times.  ben's favorite thing to say!

chillin

eating - gets it from momma

cheese teeth

her elvis look with food in her teeth

they were so happy when we just stopped at the hotel after the first leg of our trip.  ben told poppy he "was happy just to be somewhere!"   it was so nice to break up the trip into 2 days.  gave us fun hotel time 4 sure!

you're busted!!

mr. zackers got caught while we were outside checking out the baby turtle daddio rescued from the pool skimmer.  cleaning up the kiddos' lunch leftovers.

the turtle has yet to have a name from gracie, but i'm sure that's coming.  & so are our pictures & memories from st. simons!!

prayers for little ones, mommas & daddys & safe travels!!

so much exciting news was abound yesterday! please pray for our friends traveling to get to hold their precious son, kad for the first time.  .