She Doesn't Get This From ME!!

This whole girly girl thing is really crackin' me up!! She needs to wear dresses EVERY day. She is constantly putting on her play makeup--blue eyeshadow is the current trend ;) Hair accessories are a pretty big deal too. Today's request was two braids with a flower on top. And last but not least..EVERYTHING revolves around being a princess!!


Yesterday's scenario:

(Mom & Dad hugging in the kitchen)

Lauren:

STOP!!!!! That's my handsome prince!!!!!

My "Baby" is Eleven!!!

Can you believe that???!!! Brendan is 11 years old!!! He will be going to the 6th grade this year. THAT IS JUNIOR HIGH PEOPLE!!!!! Can you tell that I'm not so sure about this??!! Its so hard to see that lil man that has always been my baby ....well....as a little man!?! OK, enough on all that. Here are some pictures of his birthday. He had quite the day and was treated a bit "royally"...I think;)









The day started off with our traditional Happy Birthday cinnamon rolls for breakfast-Plus a little aggrivation from Dad!










Everyone loved that it was Brendan's Birthday! What a fun day!










Blowing out the candles.....









on his birthday cookie cake!!!










Looks like daddy is suffering through this day. Don't ya think?











Can you ever really win enough tickets????












A big surprise for everyone at the end of the day!!!!



Don't worry! To ward off all the damage mom and dad did on this special day, the boys are learning to replace toilet seats today!! See they aren't totally ruined!!!

Southern Summers

There is something quite unique about southern summmers. Only a true Southerner knows what it is like to have to get up very early to get things outside done or waiting until dark to get back outside. All of this to avoid the heat. All those expressions, "dog days of summer"and "lazy southern summers", they have new meaning to me. The heat here is so oppressive! We have to plan our whole day around when it it just so hot that we MUST stay inside under the a/c. There's nothing lazy about those summers-just to0 dang hot to function! After saying all this, I couldn't resist the tradition of putting up corn this year. I haven't made time to do that in several years. We got up very early one morning and drove to my grandparents corn field, picked about 100 ears of corn and was back home by 8am. The boys enjoyed the work day. I cut the ends off of each ear, Brendan and Ethan did the shucking, Aaron did the silking. After we finished, we ended up helping Aaron with the silks. The boys got to go play some video games while I cut the corn off of the cob, blanched it and put it up. We got about 7 large bags of cut-off corn and a couple of bags still on the cob. Lots of work for so little result but it will be worth it this winter when we have fresh corn! I'm so glad that the boys got to do something that I did while growing up. I hope we made a memory. The funniest part was watching there reaction when they were surprised by a bug/worm in the corn. They even kept a few in the bug dome to watch for awhile- I NEVER DID THAT GROWING UP!

A Lil Update

Ok, so we made it through screen-free week. Well, six days at least;) It was tough! We watch more tv than I thought! The thing that I found the hardest was finding time to get my stuff done with no tv on. I hope that this will be a reminder not to fall into the same bad habits. This week has been so hot! We have been swimming quite a bit and yesterday went bowling. I believe we will have to stick to indoor activities for most of the day and save the swimming til last when it is not so hot!!!! I really would love to be up north in the cool,not humid weather! Thad is spraying here close to home for now. It is really too hot to do that! On the agenda for today: get rid of six kittens, get Lauren ready for her swim lesson (Thank you,Casey), get the boys packed to go help at the mission. Yea, that should keep us busy and cool for awhile;)

Hope your day is blessed!!!

Our Judeo-Christian Nation

Screen Free Week!

Yes, that the happening at our house this week. We have been screen free since Saturday afternoon. This means no t.v, video games or computers for a whole week. This rule only applies to the kids;) (hehehe) It started out as a punishment for all of the fighting going on around here. I also wanted them to be creative and do something fun using their imagination. So far it has gone rather smoothly. I was actually surprised by that. They have spent most of the time fishing and swimming. We have had friends over to play and I have noticed lots of board games and puzzles going on into the night. I can't wait to get a good game of UNO started. So I will be looking for ideas of more thing we can do togther this week. We have a library trip planned, a sleepover with cousins, and a little mission work. I will be grateful for any other ideas. It hasn't gotten to the point of pulling out the crafts yet.....But towards the end of the week, we will be looking for something--- I'm sure of it!!!

Wendy's Favorite Things About the Beach

Hanging Out













Watching Handsome Dudes!








The Scenery














Happy Children











Sand Creatures











Sand Castles