Alert! Alert! Birthday pictures!

Carson wanted an "army" themed birthday party. This is harder than it sounds like! I couldn't find many "army" themed things for parties--just little green army men and things like that. But we did end up making a "camo" cake that tasted better than it looked and a chocolate cake for the extra. The kids had water grenades to bomb each other with, a slip n slide (doesn't that just scream combat to you?), a huge inflatable water slide, plus army hats and camo face paint. They also had leis, because Carson wanted them, so Darcy and I decided that this particular Army must have been hanging out in Pearl Harbor or something. Whatever. Despite the rain that kept all 14 kids (plus parents and even some grandparents!) indoors for half of the party, they seemed to have a blast. And when the storm passed, had just enough time to get some outdoor fun in before it started up again. Who knew that kids could launch almost 200 water balloons in less than 2 minutes?? It took Reed, Darcy and Chris over an hour to fill them up! Note for future parties: start filling balloons way earlier!
All in all, a good day for Carson, which means a success! Thanks to everyone who came and helped us party!

Here's the proof

that Adelyn seems to look alot like my Trevor! Same pose and everything..but that's not it. Those cheeks, lips and nose all seem to resemble her big brother very much! We'll see when she's born!

Baby Adelyn

This morning we went to the doctor for a check up ultrasound to make sure our baby girl doesn't have a club foot like mommy did. Thankfully, it looks like both feet are fine, although that's never 100%. We're pretty optimistic though. However, we found out today that she's frank breech, which means completely sideways, with her little head and feet both under my right ribs and her bottom under my left ribs. She's not facing down like she should be, nor is she putting any pressure where she should be so things aren't progressing quite the way they should be at this stage. We go next week for another ultrasound (another peek at our cutie!) and hopefully by then she'll be where she should! If not, we'll have to schedule a c-section, as the doctor said she's already too big for my pelvis to deliver breech(5 lbs 15 oz!!). By next week she should be 6.5 lbs and that's a big girl! Just look at those fat cheeks! We think she looks alot like Trevor did when he was born. :)

one last one

just before dark, I caught them watching some little crabs and jumping fish. This is summer, y'all...

Still going...

you know you love pictures...thank goodness my kids are patient with mom and the camera!

Trevor doing his happy dance up on the table

fingers up!

and getting down! lol

Relaxing Afternoon...

After we got to the Shimet's house, the boys soaked up some sun out back. Trevor looks like an ad for relaxation here, doesn't he? LOL

and when you zoom out, you can see why! cool green grass, bay breeze, boats passing by...who wouldn't lay there?

Trevor, Evan and Carson hanging on the dock

you think this is Reed's son? really?

Earlier in the day...

at Lincoln Park in Niceville, FL

cheesin'

Hope you had a happy Fourth!

We definitely did! We drove to Niceville, FL--where Reed spent his high school years--and hung out with some old friends of his and their family. It was WONDERFUL. They were super kind hosts to our whole family, the boys enjoyed playing with Caleb and Evan and baby Sloane, we relaxed in their gorgeous bay front house until night fall and then got some of the best seats around for waterfront fireworks! Everyone was invited to bring a dish for dinner to go along with some yummy meats and I got a bit carried away. I was feeling festive (nesting maybe?) and made a yummy coconut cake with strawberries and blueberries, my signature fruit salsa and homemade cinnamon chips, and some yummy potato salad. After everyone stuffed themselves we moved down to the dock where we'd set up chairs and watched the lights. The kids had a blast, and we mentioned that we're free to hang out any time!! ;)
Earlier in the day we'd done some driving and checked out Reed's old house and school and took the kids to the local park to play. It was hot but beautiful. I'll put more pics up in next posts, but can you see why I love Florida?? Sure, it's hot, but the beautiful scenery and good ocean breezes more than ease that pain! And I'm 9 months pregnant! So you know it can't be too unbearable.
Hope everyone else had a great day and stayed safe!

We've been around...

Just enjoying the summer...how about you? Lately our routine is to go swimming early in the morning, around 8, before the heat of the day and before the rest of the neighborhood decides it's a good day to swim too. We usually have the whole pool to ourselves until about 10 am, which is awesome! Then we come back, clean up, play for a bit before lunch and naps. What a life! I usually have to work later in the afternoon, so while they nap or before/after dinner. Even if I do, I've spent so much time with them earlier in the day I don't feel guilty any more for having to take time out to work. So glad we finally worked out a schedule for Florida living!

Last Sunday we went to St. Andrews State Park with our neighbors. John, Darcy and Garrison have a boat so they rode over to the beach and docked. It was very relaxing..the adults sat in the water and chatted while the kids played on the sand dunes just next to the water, snorkeled and tried to catch fish. There were stinging jellyfish about that day, which sucked, but they weren't too bad. Carson, a few of the other kids, and John all got stung but it went away pretty quickly. Then we went for a boat ride with John and the kids...that was awesome! The boys just love being out on the waves, and they aren't scared a bit. They love bouncing on the waves and all the wind--Trevor kept yelling "Go faster John!" :)

We were on the lookout for dolphins and saw a small group of them that weren't interested in us so we kept going. Reed and Garrison jumped off for a bit of a swim and I'm embarrassed to say I had no idea starfish were normally a dark grey color when they are alive. I'd never seen a live starfish! They caught several from the ocean floor to bring up for inspection but threw them back in before we took off again. This time we saw a friendly dolphin who not only came over to say "hi", but swam alongside us long enough for the boys to get a good look and have a friendly pat from Garrison! The boys haven't quit talking about the dolphin since we got home--the fact that he blew out his blowhole, hearing the squeaky sounds he made, Garrison getting to pet him..."He is so lucky!!" It was really a cool experience and I wish we'd seen more friendly ones or gotten to see him longer, but really, how many people get to experience wild dolphins on just a random Sunday??

Holy Bubbles Batman!

The other night the boys wanted a bubble bath, and Dad delivered. He's way more fun than I am sometimes. LOL So he dumped a ton of bubbles in, turned on the jets, and the boys were quickly enveloped by a mass of bubbles. At one point Trevor had to stand up because if he sat down, they'd be over his head! They had a blast though and at least it's "clean" fun.

8 months pregnant

I took this earlier this morning before we went swimming. I look like a total dork, but people keep asking to see my baby belly! Just a few weeks left, thank goodness! I can still wear my regular swimsuits but if I grow much more it may get obscene. Yeah, this swimsuit top usually "meets" the bottom. LOL

Mimi and Poppi Visit!

We didn't take as many pictures as we'd have liked (we never do when we have company!) but we had a great time with Mimi and Poppi here last weekend. We went to Destin for some shopping, Maguires for some yummy Irish (?) food, to "town" to see Reed's dealership, Saint Andrews State Park for some beach time, swimming in the pool at their condo, building bunk beds and Lego airplanes, and just some general hanging out. I'm tired just thinking about it again! The one day I took pics, at St. Andrews, there were storms out in the gulf that kicked up all kinds of nasty seaweed and made the water bottle green. I was disappointed because I wanted them to see how it usually is, which looks like a tropical paradise! The only plus to the storms was that there was so much sea life in the kiddie pools it was fun! The kids caught crabs, hermit crabs, sea slugs, jellyfish (the non stinging kind) and even a few little fish! all with their nets and buckets! They were really everywhere you looked and it's usually not quite so active.

here's our bucket early on. a pretty large crab, some hermit crabs, the sea slug and I think the fish is hiding in there too.

Then at the end, posing with Mimi and Poppi before they went home. We had a great time! Thanks for coming to see us!

Getting Closer...

to being finished! the nursery, that is.



this is the painting I did for over the crib...the colors are more vibrant in person and there is glitter in places that doesn't show up.

see it above the crib? the wall to the left has polka dots on it, as does the opposite wall. The other two walls are just plain pink.

this is the opposite corner from the crib. I found the chair at a yard sale for just $2! There will be a twin bed here once the boys get their bunk beds.

Pier Park Concert Night

Thursdays are Concert in the Park at Pier Park, which is less than a mile from our house. It was our first time going and we had a blast! Everyone brings chairs or blankets and dinner/drinks and sits out, dances and enjoys the music, even the kids! They had a blast playing with their buddies and doing silly dances, rolling in the grass, being goofy.


hey boys, let me take your picture!
(this isn't quite what I had in mind)

here's a willing picture taker!

sitting up by the stage for the best seats!

the amphitheater and kids

Soon to be big brother

This boy:
hates getting his haircut, but loves the "after"
has been combing his hair every morning since his mama made him get a trim
is super excited about the baby and loves saying her name (which is a secret!)
doesn't pose for pictures as easily as Carson, so when we get good ones, ones that show "him", we are super excited!
has the cutest babyfine blond hair and big blue eyes!
is enamored with Legos and carries them everywhere
says he would "really like a dog, please"
probably won't get a dog anytime soon
has grown up/changed so much in the last year that it makes us weepy

My oldest

This boy:
just got a haircut for summer!
is excited to have a baby sister on the way!
sings all day long at the top of his lungs to entertain us
says he's going to be the next "American Idol"
has the most amazing blue eyes

is starting to jump ramps on his bike (!)

really likes camo clothes and playing hide and seek at night with his friends
is a really big help to his mama these days!
is enjoying his summer vacation immensely already