TA DA…July!

 For sheer cuteness
 Our edible cell (it was nasty looking to me).  We were supposed to be able to dump it out and see it better but that didn’t work so we just scooped from the bowl and enjoyed it.
 Malachi has discovered dipping.  Dipping in ranch dressing that is.
 We were able to go to a water park in July.  On the way is a bakery that is nothing short of AWESOME.  This is their cinnamon bread of loveliness.
 I have no words.

 We have frogs all around our house.  I mean all around it.  I came down the stairs one night after the kids were asleep and this caught my eye.  This was at eye level for me and he was looking earnestly at the light trying his hardest to get the bugs swirling around it.  Alas, a week later, we found a squished dead frog at our door step.  Not sure what the cause of his early demise was though.

 Oh yes we did.  Cow Appreciation Day is a family holiday in our home.  The rule is:  If you don’t dress up, you have to take a sandwich from home.  So far, we’ve had nine happy and fun participants.

 This is the local riverwalk after record rain fall this summer.  It’s been unbelievable how much rain we have received after several years of drought conditions.  That covering is supposed to have a stage underneath it.  Not a river.

 Mark got creative while Zoe and I were out on a bike ride and hooked Malachi’s tricycle on to the fancy long handled one we have.  Unfortunately, it was not as secure as we thought and Malachi took a tumble after this picture was taken.  He was fine.  It just looked like he had gotten in a fight with the road for a couple of weeks.

 No long hallway to climb up but the kids finally figured they can climb up our archway.  Pillows are always placed by little ones to aid in the big jump at the end.
 Melt.  Your.  Heart.  These two will do it so fast and then turn around and sock each other in the face.  It’s true sibling love.
 Grandmere whipped up this cutie pie dress for our cutie pie and she just absolutely loves it.

This is a Science experiment and phys. ed all rolled in to one.  I think they were running with an egg in a carton full of water.  It should have cracked but it didn’t so we “helped it along” after a couple of laps from every one.

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Let’s Party!

Bryant and Ace’s party was another pool party because, well, it took very little planning.  Except to get everything there.
 That’s Bryant wearing Malachi’s float as a hat.
 The party goers.
 And the moms
 The boys wanted a dinosaur cake.  I made the landscaping.
 They decorated with dinosaurs.
 This is Dumbo the elephant a favorite gift form a friend.
 And who could resist frog dinner ware?
 I believe this gift from Uncle B and Aunt B.  Uh huh.  Thanks.  Remember you guys have one more kid than we so we have more opportunities to provide loud noisemakers in your home.
 Note the musical accompaniment Bryant provided while Ace opened gifts.
 The party goers partying…pool style.

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Happy Birthday Ace!

Ace turned nine this year.  Yes, NINE!  My beautiful “rainbow” baby that we were blessed with so soon after our first miscarriage.  He’s growing up in to a fine young man and we love to see him grow and change each day.
Bryant and Ace had a joint birthday party this year and so we celebrated their birthdays with just our family on their actual birth days.  
 A drum pad and Ninjago set.  Just what he wanted!

 Ge & Granddaddy came up during the week and brought this sweet find.  Ace loved it and it took him less than 15 minutes to figure out how it worked without having to pull out the instructions.  It burps, dances, and says really silly things and every one has gotten a kick out of it.

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Happy Birthday Bryant!

Bryant’s birthday was first up in the kid birthdays for July.  We have always said that Bryant has a greater grasp and understanding than any of his other siblings at that age.  We’re not saying he’s a genius but his brain seems to understand things differently than they do.  I’ve always thought he had “wise eyes” even when he was born and he just looked at me and was so alert for so long.  He turned three this year and we are pumped about watching him grow and learn this next year.

 He loves animals and Diego is right up his ally.  So this dinosaur and  Diego set was a great find.

Ge & Granddaddy rocked it with a puppy guitar.  It’s odd hearing songs I heard growing up to puppy dog tunes.

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How we do the Fourth!

We celebrated the fourth of July the same as we always do with a little twist.  First, we attended a local army post’s fourth of July celebration the 3rd.  Then on the actual day we grilled out and Mark set off the fireworks he got for his birthday.  However, after we had done our “meager” ones, we noticed some neighbors shooting off theirs and asked if we could come over and watch.  We bribed them with more sprinklers.
 Sprinkler fest with the neighbor kids!

Sprinkler line.
 Totally going to grab the plastic cups next year.  It will definitely save some hands from getting ouchies.
 Checking out the show.
 After this, Malachi was done and ready for bed so off we went.  Mark, all the kids and our neighbors headed down to do some bigger fireworks in an undeveloped part of the neighborhood.

My kids are so silly.  Bryant and Ceili Rain after climbing on the back of an army vehicle at the fort.

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June 2013 Randomness

Photo dump of the cuteness of our kids…here we go:
 Nothing cuter than a Papa and a cuddly Malachi!
 Okay, maybe a cool Papa and Malachi.
 Malachi met a splash pad and his brothers and sisters were all in!

 Fun with Zoe’s hair and Lilla Rose.
 All the rain in June and no thunderstorms meant a fun time in the mud!
 Mother-Son Date Knight at Chick-fil-a.  I have the most handsome knights hands down.
 Let the dogs out one evening and was treated to this.  I was in awe of God’s artistic work!
 I found a pretty shawl at Goodwill but soon realized it would be the perfect cape.  It’s still a tad big for Bryant but he loves to put it on and fly away.  I cut a seam and stitched the hanger up things in at the top to tie it.
 This is how we get our kids ready for bed.
 Large twice a year plant sale at a local wholesale nursery meant I kept Mark busy getting plants in the ground one weekend.  He had plenty of helpers though.
 My jailed Malachi.  It makes me so nervous seeing him go up and down the stairs but he’s done surprisingly well.
 Oh look!  More Lilla Rose play.
 Reading time with Grandmere.  Always a fun time.
 T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  That’s all I have to say.
We rocked it on our trip to Atlanta.  Singing and grooving to Bible Bee songs.
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Our Zoo at the Zoo

Our Staycation continued with a trip to the zoo.  This was, hands down, one of the best purchases we have made in the past year.  It was a zoo membership.  We had to renew it when we went this time and we upgraded to the wristband membership so we have unlimited access to all the fun stuff including…

 Feeding the giraffes.  (Random guy in yellow is not with us.)

 And the sky high ropes course.  Which all of the kids old enough to participate LOVED, thereby proving that they are my little monkeys (not that they are from monkeys…sorry, no evolution around here).
 Ace stayed with Josiah and had to give a bit of moral support.
 Liam never hesitated, never looked down.  He just took off and had a blast.  I don’t think he would have come down if Mark told him he could stay up there.
 Aside from  having to see the elephants, Bryant enjoyed the gorillas.  They indulged us by lounging by the observation window munching some food.
 Malachi loved the fish.
 That would be Liam at the top of the rock wall.  It took a couple of tries but he was persistent and made it to the top.
 That’s Zoe at the top there.

Josiah made it to the top eventually too as did Ace.  All in all, we had a wonderful time.  We can’t wait to go back.

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Happy Birthday Sir Josiah!

We live in a great neighborhood and for a small fee/deposit, we can rent out the pavilion for birthday parties.  That makes life so easy for us since there are three within a month of each other.  Josiah’s up first on the birthday train.  He requested a knight cake but then I found a cool pin on a castle cake.  I asked him if I could surprise him and he agreed.
Here is how it turned out.  The only thing I have to say is you need A LOT of chocolate icing to glue things together and such.  I layered it three layers.  It was also a TON of chocolate which didn’t bother me a bit but may have been a bit too rich for the kids.

Enjoying pizza and friends!

 He is such a cool kid.

Josiah loved the cake but wanted it to look a bit more realistic so they brought knights to the party and decorated it.  I thought they did a great job with it.

Ge & Granddaddy didn’t get to come to the actual party so they came a bit earlier and created their own party.  Josiah didn’t mind (actually they love when grandparents have to come at a different time than their party…it makes it feel like it lasts longer)!

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Just Imagine

June began our summer Staycation.  We plotted out several places to go and things to do in and around where we live.  The first stop was miniature golf and I forgot to get pictures.  Later in that same week, we traveled to Atlanta.  We are members at children’s museum there and this was our first trip.
 Working in the “garden.”

 Farm work is tough stuff.

 Liam the grocer.
 Ceili Rain was “fishing,” but had time to stop for a pose.
 Look what I caught!

They had a special exhibit of the 50 states.  This was in one of them…it was supposed to be like you were scuba diving (I’m guessing Hawaii).

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