Summertime at the Lake

The boys had a great time at the lake! They loved being able to play in the sand, walk into the water at their own pace, climb the rocks, ride on the boat,and go tubing!! Going to the lake was better this time for me since I was not pregnant or had recently had a baby, but that also means there are 3 kids that do not know how to swim to keep track of at all times!!  It can be quite stressful, but I guess watching the kids have so much fun makes up for all the stress (as long as we all come home without injury).

Kyler and Avery did everything together while we were there!

They were quite the pair!

Kyler was pretty nervous the first time he got on the tube, but I couldn't tell if he was having fun at first.  When he kept asking to ride again, I knew he was having fun! The smirks on Conner and Kyler's faces were cracking me up!

Yep I think he's having fun!

Nothing like tubing!

This little guy had to wear an infant life jacket to ride on the boat.  He really had more fun than it looks!

His favorite part was driving the boat with Papa.  He was racing all the other boats and got mad when Papa wasn't going fast enough!

Damon was not quite ready to get on the tube, but he was enjoying the ride!

These two were having so much fun!!

Papa was giving them quite a ride!  Kyler kept trying to go faster and Avery wanted to go slower.  He got on the boat and said, "I did this (he showed a thumbs up) and Avery wanted to go slower."

Can't go to the lake without a rock climbing adventure!

Believe it or not, he really wasn't scared.

Yep Damon was not far behind once he saw everyone else climbing.  He did great going up, but coming down he needed a little help.  That of course didn't slow him down or make him think twice before going up there again!

Gentry was really cute with Radley.  She treated him like a baby (which he is, but doesn't think he is)  so it was pretty funny watching them interact.

Damon and his rocks!

This little boy had way too many cookies.

He thinks he is just so big!

He got a hold of some pretty big rocks!

Who needs hands when you have two lips?!?

He didn't stop the entire time we were at the lake.  He was busy, busy, busy!

Kyler started to get brave on the tube.  He kept sticking his foot off the side of the tube to drag it in the water!

I got on the tube with Damon hoping he would warm up to the idea once he was actually taking a ride.  He wasn't screaming scared, but he was not really having fun either.  I didn't want to push it so we took him off, but maybe next time will be better.

Time to go home!!

4th of July

The boys had so much fun on the 4th of July. Being at Nana and Papa's house is fun enough for them, but add cousins, fireworks, and ice cream and that just makes it a total blast!! We actually made it through the fireworks without any major meltdowns and not too much screaming this year!! It was definitely a success in our books!

It's fun being with family for the 4th, but I really do miss the big fireworks shows I watched as a kid.

Aunt Kerry made a festive cake for everyone after dinner.  It was red, white and blue on the inside too.  Can you tell the kids were just ready to eat the cake rather than take a picture with it?!?

Time for some backyard fireworks!!

Radley was EXTREMELY curious about those fireworks.  He wasn't a big fan of the loud ones, but he was still intrigued.

He was really trying to figure out what was going on!!

They were all ready for more!

Kyler has gotten more brave since last year.  He was so scared of the loud noises last year that he hid inside while we did fireworks.  He still doesn't like loud noises (fireworks or not), but he watched all of them!!

Running through the green smoke bomb!

Radley with his first sparkler.

Damon had fun with the sparklers, but he was quite dangerous.

Kyler still a little nervous about sparklers.

Little Asher slept through all the fireworks.  My babies would have never done that!!

He is just too cute!!

Watching the big fireworks.

A typical family picture

The kids were excited for it to get dark and dance in the fireworks! Damon was excited until the moment came and then he decided to watch. He still had fun watching!

Swimming with Cousins

We were able to go to Nana & Papa's house for the 4th of July this year. Before the fireworks, we were able to go swimming and spend time with everyone at the pool. Kyler has turned into a little fish! He does not quite have the hang of swimming on his own yet, but he did finally learn how to use arm floaties and started to get around on his own! Can I tell you how nice it is that at least one child doesn't need constant attention? It is so nice to have a little reprieve from the stress swimming brings to me. Damon is now somewhat scared of the water which good and bad. He won't listen to anyone to try and swim, but he wants to play so badly! Radley is fearless as ever! He is the scariest of all to have at the pool. He is not scared of anything and doesn't know he needs to be careful. My boys are becoming little water babies!!

He was having a blast!

A baby on a mission...

Finally he started to get in the water.  He was very proud of himself.

Kyler was brave and decided to go on the slide with Daddy.

He wouldn't go on the slide by himself, so he thought it was a better idea to jump in the deep end on this raft.  Luckily he didn't fall off!

Papa tried get Damon a little more comfortable, but Damon had to decide for himself that he could do it.  He won't let anyone tell him what to do!

Kyler finally put some floaties on (thanks to Gentry being done using hers hence the pink) and went down the slide by himself.

It was so fun to see Kyler gain some independence in the water!

He had so much fun doing the slide and knowing he could do it by himself!

Meanwhile, these 3 needed to take a snack break.  Gentry was kind enough to share her Cheetos with Damon and Radley and even fed them!

This little Diva... I couldn't help but get a shot of this pose!

Kyler loved that his floaties helped him to float on his back.  His teacher tried to show him how to do this in swim lessons, and he could do it much better with the floaties.

This guy has incredible aim with squirt guns!  He can shoot and hit anyone he wants.

Kyler thought he had to hold his breath from the top of the slide!!

Right before we left, Kyler thought he was pretty cool when he went down the slide head first!

Radley's 1st Birthday

I can't believe my sweet little boy is 1 now!! He was not what we had planned for our family at the time (let me just say, plans never work!). However, I could not imagine our family without this adorable little guy! He thinks that he is just as big as his brothers and will not be left out of ANYTHING!! He thinks he can do whatever his big brothers do and have whatever they have.  His smile can light up a room, and his laugh is rare but the sweetest thing you have ever heard.  I am so glad he is part of our crazy life!!

Since my family was coming through during the week of Radley's birthday, I thought it would be fun to have them here for the celebration!!  They have never been here for any of the boys' birthdays.  I was really excited because my mom volunteered to make the cake and Papa Dude was pretty much coerced into decorating it.  I really didn't have to do much of anything!!  Maybe they can come back in August for Damon's birthday too!!  Thanks for all the help!

The cake decorators!  Kyler was mostly a taste tester, making sure all the different colors of frosting were approved ok for eating!

So cute, right? Much better than what I would have done!

He didn't get a lot of time to work on the presents alone.

He had plenty of help opening presents!

All of our boys have gotten a ball for their first birthday.  So far it has been a hit with all of them!

He was excited about that candle! 

I love this!!  Who needs hands or utensils?!?

Oh yeah, getting all in!

Once he got the ice cream, he forgot about the cake!  He loved the ice cream!

He was serious about the ice cream!

Once the ice cream was gone, he moved back to the cake!

And he had enough!