Wet Fun...

Happy Birthday!....

One of Layton's favorite friends from preschool had a birthday party not too long ago. It was pirate themed. I thought the cake turned out so sweet!

What do you think? Is this not the cutest pirate cake you've seen in a while?

Ahoy! Continued...

Layton was sporting the eye patch for a while. Then, he was going to go swimming, so what was he to do? He put the goggles on top of the patch.

Maybe this isn't the most functional look he's ever had, but it served his purpose. He got to keep the eye patch and got to swim with goggles. He is obsessed with wearing goggles in the pool, so he can open his eyes without them burning from the Chlorine. 

Ahoy Matety!...

If you loved pirates as much as Layton loves pirates, you'd sport an eye patch too. Ha!

Here Froggy Froggy...

Jay rescued this little guy from a pool filter.

I, of course, was totes grossed out by the fact that he had a frog in his hands, but the kids loved it. :)

Happy birthday to Ella! She is eight today!!!

Jack...The Cute Thing He Did...

This is Jack. He is so sweet and did the cutest thing at a birthday party recently.

Jack's father plays the drums for a local band called Richie and Deemer. It's a great band. They are never overly loud and play some fabulous tunes. Well, at a birthday party, Richie and Deemer were the entertainment as they are the favorite band of the guest of honor. Partway through the set, Jack grabbed his play guitar from his bag and joined the group on stage!

It was so unbelievably adorable!!!

The New Crocs...

Layton finally grew enough that I had to get him some new shoes. He wanted blue crocs, so that's what I got him. He had them for about two weeks when I snapped this picture. He only had the shoes another week or so after this. Why? I'll tell you.

Our beloved babysitter Rachel took the kids to the mall one day. Layton proceeded to throw one croc down the escalator. AND. The escalator basically exploded the croc. No joke. You should hear Ella tell the story of the atomic croc. So Rachel had to tote poor one-shoe Layton to a store and buy some flip flops. Ha!

Embarrassing and Sweet...

Part of this story is Volume One of bad pictures of me, and part of this story is just about the sweetest thing that I have ever experienced.

A few weeks back our friends Amanda and Sam got married. The week leading up to the wedding was also filled with get togethers and being able to meet Amanda's friends from out of town who came in for the wedding. While we were out one night, Layton got to missing me something fierce. Ella knows my cell phone number by heart and helped Layton call me. He and I chatted for a few minutes, and I promised to be home soon.

When we got home, Layton was curled up in our bed sound asleep...with a a picture of me from 8th grade and a picture of me from junior year in high school.

I was so touched that he had taken the hubs prized pictures of me for a cuddle. Such a sweet and touching moment even though I was mortified by the bad hair and cheesy sweater. :)

Happy birthday to Hadley!! She is twelve today!!!

Ready for Some Slightly Cooler Weather...

It has been super hot here recently. So hot that we haven't even taken the top off the Jeep much because it's just too hot to sit in the sun at red lights. I love Fall and Spring. I love when it's not too hot and not too cold. I love it when we can wade in the creek and be just fine....

It Never Gets Old...

Watching Ella and taking her picture never gets old. Honestly.

Brooke...

Yipee! I finally got to see baby Brooke!! She is so precious. She was asleep, and I make it a point to never wake a sleeping baby. :)

Her big sisters are already absolutely smitten with her. Alexis just had to show me little Brooke's fingers.

There is nothing sweeter than the smell of New Person. It's even better than the smell of new car. :)

He's Still Annoyed with my Camera...

Ella Was Going to Try to Dive....

Ella can swim just fine, but she was a little slower to get used to the water than Hadley or Layton. She had tubes multiple times and just didn't want to put her head under water for quite some time. Now, she really enjoys swimming. At a friend's birthday party she wanted to try and do a dive off the board. Well, she tried.

She pointed her hands and bent her head over, but she still jumped feet first....

And then she just let her feet split way apart...

And then she sort of looked like a Mary Lou Retton pose...

And she went on in the water...

She'll learn to dive eventually; I have no doubt. I don't remember being afraid to go head first into the water, but I'm sure it took me a while to learn to dive too. 

Ella Dean?...

Ella's love for Paula Dean is no secret around these parts. She even requested to renew her subscription to Paula's magazine for her birthday. Yes, it comes to her in the mail...not me.

Her new obsession is making cakes.

She still has trouble icing the cake. She'll learn eventually.

Tonight she helped me make bruschetta for dinner. It was so yummy. Better than when I make it myself. :)

Bug Off...

The other thing the farm garden is full of is...

...bugs.

Oh Goodness...

Remember how I said that my friend Angela's baby was scheduled to come on Friday? She had the baby today!

She was 7 pounds and 14 ounces, and I can't wait to go see her! Pictures to follow...

Fry It Up...

Living in the South means there is a ton of fried food and "Southern" food at every restaurant and table.

I never cared much for fried green tomatoes until I was grown. Now I love them. We don't eat them often, but when we do, we eat big. The farm garden is positively running over with tomatoes, and I am pleased as punch to pick some green ones to fry.

Daddies and Their Girls...

There is something so adorable about a Daddy with his little girl. You gotta admit it. So adorable.
At Lily's birthday party, Nathan took some time out of helping with the party to swing their youngest child (for about 48 more hours). Yes, you read that right. Sweet little Ally will be a big sister on Friday. I'm excited to meet Brooke; I can't wait to hold a newborn again.

I thought it was so incredibly precious the way that Nathan squished onto the swing set to be with Ally. I couldn't help but capture this moment.

Just Another Day...

Stuff These Days...

I wish there were cutie patootie signs like this when I had kids! HAHAHAHAHA!

Happy Little Man in a Pool...

Layton really loves to swim. He is so happy in the water.

You'd want to take this little man in the water often too.....