Pat & Amber's Wedding

There was much fun to be had celebrating the marriage of my cousin Patrick and Amber this weekend! There was lots of catching up, dancing and a few drinks to be had.

A digital slideshow by Smilebox

July's End

I can't believe July has come to an end...where has summer gone? The kids and I purchased all of their school supplies this past week and have it all labeled and packed in their backpacks ready to go for the first day of school on August 15th. I can't believe we only have 2 more weeks to enjoy of summer. Sad! :(

Grandma Penny and Hadley spent a few days with us last weekend






Rafting down the river with friends











These two sweet girls entertained our kids on the float trip the entire day...it almost felt as if they weren't along. They were much more content hanging out with "cool" older girls than with their "uncool" mom and dad.

Love Bug!

Levi's Shutterfly Photo Book

I finally finished Levi's Shutterfly photo book a few weeks ago and have been waiting patiently for Shutterfly to post a discount code before ordering it for him. It has pictures all the way up through his 3rd birthday. Here is an online preview. I can't wait to get the actual copy. He will love having a special book of his own as the girls really enjoy flipping through the pages of their baby/toddler photo albums.

Click here to view this photo book larger

~ Yummy Sweet Potatoes ~

MMMmmmm! Yummy, yummy sweet potatoes!

Reid downed an entire jar of sweet potatoes for his first jar food experience. I was trying to eat my sandwich at the same time (yes, always trying to multi-task) and he was getting mad every time I put down his spoon to take a bite. I am sure my facial and verbal expressions were equally entertaining as I was trying to imitate how I wanted him to open his mouth.

~ Family Weekend ~

This past weekend was spent bearing the hot, hot temps and enjoying the company of Wes's family.

The entire crew minus Hayden (when you are a cool freshman you have much more exciting things going on...football practice)




Mama Lala treated the grand daughters to a trendy rooster feather (or as Jaidyn says, "Feaver") in their hair. Addy watched, but decided to sit this one out and said she wanted one when she turned Hadley's age (which is 4th grade).






Levi hanging out with his cousin.

Wes has been craving fried fish and potatoes so even the extreme heat wasn't going to stop his efforts. The cooler of cool drinks and "adult lemonade" made the heat bearable.


"Peace, Bro!" The pick was an added bonus in case she had a head itch! Ha!


Papa bought the kids a basketball goal but with the heat, there wasn't too much bball action going on.

July Birthday Celebrations! Happy Birthday Hadley, Heath and Lauretta!






Reid loves being cuddled!


It's not sweat dripping down the front of his shirt, but instead drool from the cutting of his 2nd tooth.

At one time Jaidyn had mentioned having aspirations of being a dog trainer. I think after hanging with Uncle Heath for a bit she realized how much work it really is.




I bet Wes can't wait for this picture to age a few years...It will be so nice when Levi is "lawn mowing" age.


Reid and Great Grandma


Just a couple extra pics from earlier in the week.

~ Busy Bees ~

The kids were invited to a carnival themed birthday party for a newly turned 4 year old friend. With a princess bounce house, professional face painter, and true carnival eats of popcorn, nachos and snow cones, even Wes and I had a very enjoyable time (the keg of beer was a nice adult treat for a HOT July evening). Of course, I hope that my kids don't up their expectations for their next birthdays because I am sure I will do my best to persuade them towards the easy-peasy McDonald's/Chuck E. Cheese parties.


The birthday girl first in line to get her bunny face on!



Jaidyn picked a fancy tiger face. It's amazing the face transformation that can take place with a little paint.

There was no question and it didn't take Addy long to pick out a princess face.

So when Levi saw the birthday girl (his crush) as a cute little bunny he didn't even need to look at the variety of faces he could choose from...bunny it is!

Unfortunately because of the hot temps and crazy bounce house fun, the kids were sweating so much that their cute character faces disappeared quickly...I'm betting there is a lot of face paint sticking to the inside walls and floor of the bounce house.
About an hour into the party Levi came to tell me that he didn't want to be a bunny anymore, but instead Spiderman. I really didn't think much of it and told him he only got to get his face painted one time. It wasn't until I saw the birthday girl parading around with a new face of Spiderman that I figured out why. Levi just follows her around everywhere and is in awe of her.


Bounce house fun! Addy's sticky body kept her from getting a good run down the slide.


Little love bug Reid!


Levi showing off his muscles! Even standing on his tippy toes, he could barely reach high enough to see.


Flying...gracefully!

CAKE TIME!



I loved this picture of her mom getting a good angle of her blowing out her candles. Just like a super-mom to always have the camera in hand. We moms go to all means to try and capture the moment.


I hope Wes isn't noticing...not only did Levi pick to be painted like a girly bunny, but he also picked the pink iced cupcake. I bet you can't guess who else picked a pink cupcake. :)







Cheeseburger anyone? What about an egg sunny side up? During a morning rain the kids played pretend restaurant.


While the rain cancelled our plans to attend a firework show on the lake during the 4th of July weekend the days were gorgeous and we managed to spend most of it out in the water.







Worn out??



So one of our family dinner conversations this week was Wes trying to convince Addy that Justin Beiber is not all that hot and that he himself is way better. Addy is convinced that JB is absolutely FABULOUS and she argued that JB is way cuter! The rest of us got a good laugh...but we will let you all be the judge. Hehe!


or this...