Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

We had planned to go swimming this week but, with the rain and cloudy skies, the weather didn't cooperate with our plans so we decided today to have our own fun in the water falling from the sky. The boys had a blast playing in the rain. Matthew wasn't too sure about it at first. He stood in the garage yelling "rain, rain", but after he saw Tyler running around outside, he quickly joined in. One of the boys favorite things to do outside in the rain was to fill buckets up with the water pouring out of the drain. When we came back inside and were all dried off, the first thing Tyler said was "Thank you, Mommy, for letting us play in the rain." My heart just melted. Sometimes the simple things we do mean the most to our kids.

Summer Reflections

It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm wide awake. School starts a week from Friday and I have so much running through my mind. I get this way every year, I guess. So, since I can't sleep, I've sat at the computer for the past 2 hours looking through the pictures I've taken this summer and reflecting on what a wonderful summer it's been. Here's a quick slide show of some pictures that didn't make it on the blog. These are pictures, for the most part, of our every day life at home during the summer. And, yes, I did get a little emotional but what do you expect??? It's late, or should I say early?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Last night, Jason's company treated the employees to a night at the Birmingham Baron's game. They even bought us matching t-shirts to wear. The boys had a great time. Matthew enjoyed seeing the Baron's mascots. They hung out with us while we ate dinner and Matthew followed them around the pavilion.

Tyler, of course, would not get near the mascots and wouldn't dare let me take a picture of him with his brother and the dogs!

Matthew didn't care much about the game, but he did enjoy the snacks...especially the popcorn! He was a trooper and allowed us to stay until the seventh inning of the game.

Tyler enjoyed playing in the Kiddie Zone before the game and eating his ice cream in a mini helmet. I remember eating these at Barons games when I was a child. He even managed to watch a few innings of baseball while he ate his ice cream!

By the time we got home, after 10:00, both boys were covered in dirt, ice cream, and popcorn, and were ready for a bath and bed. What a fun way to spend a summer night with the fam!

Frog Catching Fun

If you're looking for our family when the sun goes down, you can probably find us in our yard looking for frogs. Tyler is a little skittish around them and doesn't go very close unless the frog's in a cage, but Matthew absolutely loves them. He chases them around the yard trying to catch them. He hasn't caught one yet, but has come very close to squashing them with his feet!

We've found all sizes in our yard this year. A baby frog even managed to make it in to the garage one night. You'd think with all the chasing they'd find a new home very soon!

Beach Photo Session

Here is a slide show of the pictures from our beach photo session. You will quickly see that Matthew was all about playing on the beach and having his picture made. He even fell face first in the sand and managed to come up smiling. Tyler, on the other hand, was exhausted and wanted no part in taking pictures. You can tell how tired Tyler was by looking at his swollen, bloodshot eyes. He played hard at the beach all day! I made one slide show for each child and then put them together so you will see some duplicate photos. Enjoy!

Vacation, Part 2

After Jason was finished working in Bay Minette on Wednesday, we headed over to Seaside, Florida. We thought by letting the kids play in the pool that morning, they would sleep during the 2 and half hour drive but we were wrong. Matthew slept for about an hour and then resumed his road trip car behavior which is terrible. He hates sitting in his car seat for long periods of time. Even putting Elmo and Barney on the DVD player did no good. I know he was probably bored and didn't understand why he had to sit in his car seat for so long but geez...it was exhausting. Tyler, on the other hand, was an excellent car rider. He watched movies and played with his transformers and only asked a few times if we were there yet. If only Matthew liked the long car rides better!

We arrived to Seaside to our Love Me True beach cottage and were ready to begin the second part of our vacation. Tyler and Matthew both enjoyed the beach this year.

Tyler had fun riding the ocean waves with his daddy and playing in the sand. He also had fun running from the camera or making goofy faces whenever I tried to take a picture of him.

Matthew didn't really like getting in the ocean but he enjoyed walking to the ocean's edge and letting the waves hit his feet. He also had fun playing in (and eating) the sand and playing in his shaded baby pool on the beach. He definitely had it made with his set up. He even managed to take at least an hour nap on the beach every day.

One of the highlights of the trip to both boys was playing in the outdoor shower at our cottage. I'm not sure why this was so fun but they both loved it.

Overall, we had a great family vacation and enjoyed spending time with our boys. When we got back home, Jason said something to the effect of "that wasn't a very relaxing beach vacation". I have to agree. With two small children, our beach vacations aren't very relaxing anymore but they are still fun watching and helping our children enjoy God's beautiful creation. We are blessed beyond measure.

Vacation, Part 1

Last week was vacation week for our family. Jason had to work in Bay Minette the first part of the week so the boys and I tagged along. We stayed at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear and had a great time! The hotel had a big pool with a water slide and the boys loved it. Tyler could go down the slide by himself wearing his floaties and I think he slid down over 50 times in two days.Matthew loved the slide, too, but, obviously, he couldn't go down by himself so we were exhausted from carrying him to the top and sliding down numerous times.The hotel is located on Mobile Bay so the boys enjoyed playing in the sand and bay as well. Jason and Tyler took a ride in a kayak and Tyler thought that was so cool. Of course, Jason was exhausted because his kayak partner wasn't a very good paddler!We even made it over to Gulf Shores one night to play Putt-Putt...one of Tyler's favorite things to do on vacation. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone behind us for a long time. Tyler likes to play every hole over and over again and he always tells us how many strokes it took him by saying "Hole in 2" or "Hole in 5". He didn't quite understand that you only say that when you make a hole in one!Tyler enjoyed the putt-putt while Matthew enjoyed the jungle safari car. He couldn't figure out what that monkey was doing sitting beside him!

We had a great time at the Grand Hotel. Hopefully we can tag along with Daddy on a work trip again sometime soon.

My Little Ring Bearer

Isn't he adorable in his little tuxedo? Tyler performed the duty of ring bearer at Uncle T and Haleigh's wedding last Saturday and he did an outstanding job. We are so happy for Taylor and Haleigh and are excited to welcome Haleigh into our family. Their wedding was gorgeous and absolutely perfect. Check out their picture slideshow done by our most favorite photographers Cory and Erin Nolen. It makes me want to go back in time eight years and redo our wedding so we can have pictures like these!

Here are some pictures of our family during the wedding festivities. The first is a picture of me, Jason, and Tyler before the rehearsal and the second is Tyler sprawled out on the church floor playing baseball men after his part of the rehearsal was over.

The next two are from the day of the wedding. Unfortunately, I was sick with some kind of stomach bug the day of the wedding but I still managed to get a decent picture of the boys.Congratulations Taylor and Haleigh! We love you!