Outnumbered
 
Three and a half years into motherhood has taught me a few things.  It's funny because you typically think of the parent as the teacher and the child as the student, but my boys have taught me so much and I know I still have plenty more to learn.  But for now, here's a few insights I've found...
  • I'll take memories at the park or beach over a clean house any day.
  • Stickiness in my hair from, who knows what, doesn't really bother me - I mean...chances are I didn't fix it anyway.
  • I'd rather hold my crying toddler than the work bag I used to carry.
  • Dirt under my fingernails or paint on my skin means I probably had a fun day with my boys.
  • Unfortunately, getting up at 6am on Saturday and Sunday mornings isn't my idea of fun (that hasn't changed), but if I must, I'm happy it's with my boys.
  • I'm okay with finding myself sometimes singing every word to the likes of Fresh Beat Band and Veggie Tales songs...even when I'm in my car alone.
  • Fruit snacks still taste good at almost 30:)
  • Nothing makes my heart swell more than tiny toddler arms wrapped tight around my neck.
  • I may respond to you if you call me Jesse, Dashi, or Elastigor:)
  • Raising super heroes and cowboys is no stroll in the park.
  • Raising super heroes and cowboys can make a girl weary.
  • When awake, boys are rarely quiet.
  • Apparently, "tackle" is a game played by most boys.
  • I love the triple kiss.
  • Toddler stories can't help but make me smile.
  • Our simple language can't quite describe what a mother feels for her child.  Love-overflowing is the best I can do, and it just doesn't seem to do the feeling justice.
  • Sometimes my days with my toddlers seem never ending, but the years are seeming to go by way too fast.

I'm so glad I get to be Mom to these 2 sweet boys.
Good thing I had the best role model:)  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  You are the best!
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Well, we started our week with swim lessons for Mr. Baron.  This is his first ever so there has been some crying involved all week, although he did well and I think he'll catch on quick.   I'm hoping to take some video next week so we can see kind of a beginning to end success:)  We'll see...  Anyway, Westen is not getting swim lessons this year because he seems to be doing fine without them, but he did get in the water with Baron so Miss Kathy could see what he could do.  And we couldn't do all this without goggles...
Actually, this guy is the only one that actually wears them.  So cute...
Later this week, during some regular house cleaning, this is where I find my boys...
...Wearing winter hats in Baron's crib which is where they always like to play when I'm vacuuming their room.  Don't ask why.  I think it's funny though.  They get in there EVERY time I vacuum and jump around and think it's great!  It's the little things, I suppose...
Moving on, yesterday I took the boys to the beach.  I think I've said this before, but I'm really excited that I can take the two of them by myself this year.  Weekends are typically reserved for boating, which means in years past we really haven't gone to just spend a day at the beach very often.  We headed there after swim lessons yesterday and spent about 2 hours.  And I'm shocked to say that I probably could've brought something to sit and read yesterday because the boys played so well together...
It was awesome!  As you can see there were some puddles of water a bit away from the ocean.  The boys played in those the whole time with their sand toys.  They had so much fun, and I had so much fun watching them.  I did get up and play with them too but for the most part they were having fun with each other.
I'm looking forward to doing this a lot more this summer...
And these last two solo shots of the boys I love.  They might be print out and blow up worthy:) 
My little Baron...
And check out this, oh so genuine, smile on Westen!  Love it!!!
Not sure what we'll be doing this weekend yet.  Between birthday parties and a couple other friendly invites, we have to decide if we want to spend a third weekend in a row pretty much away from home all day.  We'll see:)  Have a great weekend!
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So we had, what I'd call, a marathon weekend.  I should clarify by saying it's probably only a marathon weekend when you have toddlers who need naps:)  Friday night began with the first ever Riverbend Academy Sports Banquet.  We dropped the boys off with some of the other coaches kids who were too small to make it through, what ended up being, about a 3 and a half hour event.  It was beautiful, the food was delicious, it was entertaining, and it was thoughtful!  We had a wonderful time and my husband, a.k.a. Coach, did a great job with his presentation of the basketball recap and awards.  Job well done, Babe!  We picked the kids up close to 10pm, got home, and put them to bed, although it was nearly 11 before Mr. Westen went to sleep.  Then he was up Saturday morning at 6:30am!  Awesome, I know!  Who doesn't love going to bed late and getting up before sunrise??  Regardless, we were to get up early that day anyway because we had our sights set on watching a little soccer that morning.  We were at the soccer fields by 9am to watch some of our friends kids kick the ball around:)  They did great and it was fun to watch, but we were a bit concerned about the plans for the rest of our day due to our cranky three year old.  After leaving the soccer fields, we headed home to grab our swim suits, and firmly told Westen to pull himself together and we headed to our soccer stars' home for lunch and swimming with their families.  It was a sweet time of fellowship with these families and we had so much fun and also got some sun!  Sweet!  We headed home around 3 and put the kids down for a nap, while Austin and I mustered up the strength to do an hour and a half of yoga (have I mentioned that Tony Horton and I have a love hate relationship - him and all his hour and a half P90X??).  Too long of a story to tell the whys, we missed Friday's workout, so decided to make it up Saturday during nap time.  Uggghhh!  All I wanted to do was curl up on the couch after being outside for 6 straight hours.  Instead, downward dog and vinyasas won out!  About 30 seconds upon completing said downward dogs, my husband says, "I think we should take the boat out."  Let me tell you something about this guy...
Although it was 5pm, with thoughts of dinner not yet conceived, and the kids were still napping...I knew when what I was thinking was, "we had a late night, early morning, busy day, and more busyness tomorrow" but what I said was, "Okay, Babe," that I was in for something more.  When Austin gets his mind set on something, there's often no turning back.  So what could've been a leisurely cruise down the river for some dinner, turned out to be the debut of this...
Austin bought this tube about a month ago and has been dying to use it with the boys.  Now, here's where I give you a little background.  Austin grew up on the water - swimming, water skiing, boating, you know...FL activities.  I, on the other hand grew up in KY!  Swimming a couple times in one summer at a friend's house was my extent of water sports.  I've ridden on a tube pulled behind a boat just once - EVER.  Yet, on this day, the expectations were for me to either, A. ride on the tube with the boys, or B. drive the boat - neither of which I've done enough to feel comfortable with.  But I did marry Austin, thus this picture was taken.  Westen and Austin got on the tube first and apparently I did okay driving the boat because here they are...
Unfortunately, that left me on the boat with a crying Baron who was mad that Daddy and Brother were on that tube without him, so I was driving the boat, checking back every few seconds to make sure my tube passengers were okay, and trying to keep a mad Baron and excited Cousey in one place, preferably close by.  For my first time, I felt a bit stressed.  We made it okay, though and then it was Baron's turn.  I didn't do so hot this round, thus the lack of a picture.  Apparently, although I thought I was to "ease into it" and me thinking especially so with my 18 month old out there, I didn't pick up speed quite quick enough, so the water went crashing over my husband and Baron, not once, but two times.  After two times, I think we were all done.  This scenario is exactly what I saw playing out in my head on the way to the boat dock.  My inexperience ever so evident, my husband frustrated, and at least one child crying:)  Thankfully, the boys have about a 1 minute rebound rate, so they were back to happy pretty quick.  
So, then we continue to cruise north because, at this point, day light is limited and we've yet to eat dinner.  On our way to the fried seafood restaurant, I'm sitting on the front of the boat with Baron in my lap when I feel an insect hit my forehead.  I didn't really think anything of it until a couple minutes later when I felt something sting me on my stomach.  Apparently, whatever it was, I still don't know what, hit my forehead, then dropped down into my sundress.  It stung my stomach and at first I didn't see anything, but then after feeling it fly around some more, I looked down my collar to see it flying around.  I stood up and began to strip my dress off.  I think when Austin thought that I'd probably, finally, lost my mind, he saw it fly out.  It was the worst sting I've ever had!  My stomach was sore when I went to bed that night and there's still a mark on my stomach today that doesn't look to be leaving anytime soon.  I guess, if nothing else, it took my mind off of my novice boating skills:)
Moving on...since I didn't get a picture of Baron on the tube, here he is sucking down my sweet tea...
We got our food to go and headed back to the dock to make it just before dark.  So there's room for improvement as far as taking our toddlers tubing goes, but overall, as always, time out on the boat always feels good.  There's just something about being out there with the wind blowing our hair back, and taking in the beauty of the water and scenery that makes us feel good, you know??  Anyway, to bed late again (at least for the boys), then church and a church picnic on Sunday.  Like I said, a marathon weekend!  It was one of those weekends that were fun filled, but Saturday and Sunday nights both, I think we all completely crashed!  Here's a few more pictures from our boat trip - my sweet little boys...
All my boys at the wheel because they all have the need to drive the boat and drive it fast!
And then this precious pic of the 3 of them...
Then I had to zoom in on that most precious part...
That little 3 year old arm around his little brother makes my heart melt!  There was no prompting for that - it just happened naturally which is always the best, but I rarely capture those moments.  Score!
Anyway, it was a fun weekend!  Hope you enjoyed your's:)
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Meaning - pancake muffins:)  I tried a new little recipe this week.  And I let the boys try it out...
This was super easy and a big hit - 1 cup of any pancake mix, 2/3 cup water, 1/2 cup syrup, and some butter:)  Mix together and pour into a muffin tin, add your favorite pancake toppings (we used chocolate chips), bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes and you're done.  The taste of pancakes without the mess.  The original recipe did not call for butter which is how I made the first batch.  I was taking these to my Mom's Group, so after the boys and I tried them out, I thought they could use a little butter, and they in fact could :) in my humble sweet tooth opinion.
A closer look...
And one more word of advice, you do want to wait to add the toppings AFTER you pour the batter in, otherwise they'll all sink to the bottom.  Yes, I learned the hard way.
And the critics...
All I can say is they asked for seconds and maybe thirds:)
Have a great weekend!
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Yes...sometimes it is just worth it to bite the bullet, spend the extra cash (if you have it), and go enjoy yourself!  That's what we did over the weekend.  Austin and I were invited to a wedding this past weekend. The venue was a resort a mere 30 minutes away from home.  We originally had planned to get a baby sitter to come to our house, go to the wedding, and return home.  But after some discussion (which I think made my husband feel bad - Sorry, Babe) he surprised me and the boys by getting us a room for both Friday and Saturday night!  HOLLA!!!.  Austin and I have been to this resort before and know how great it is.  We were excited that, at least, Westen and kinda Baron too would get to enjoy it!  You'll see why:)  We got there Friday night, found our room, then headed out to tour the place and grab dinner.  After dinner we sat out on a lawn and let the boys run around and play tackle:)
Excuse the legs.  Those pics were from Austin's phone and I'm having trouble editing on here.  Anyway, we had a one bedroom suite with a living area that had a pull out couch, so Westen was super excited that him and Baron were going to sleep in a big bed together - although he warned me that since it didn't close up Baron was going to try to get out:)  They got to stay up late and watch a movie!
And here was the view from our room...
Of course our children were up before 7am Saturday morning, so after donuts for the kids and coffee for the parents, we were the first guests to reach the pools around 8:30 that morning.  And yes I said pools - there were at least 3 outside, 1 inside, and a hot tub that was the size of a pool.  Crazy!  We first headed to the kid/family pool...
It had 2 of those waterfalls and one area that was the landing ground for the giant pool slide which you'll see in a sec.  I'm pretty sure this next picture Austin is saying, "Come On!!!" to a swim hesitant Westen...
And then this next one - I couldn't get them all to look at the same time - particularly Baron:)
This next picture I love of our sweet Baron.  He's wearing his perma-scowl, as always.  At least he's looking my way, though, right?
While patiently waiting for the water slide to open which wasn't until 10am, we decided to check out the other pools too, so next, we headed to the beach pool.  It's a pool you can wade in and is surrounded by sand, thus what we named the beach pool...
The kids had fun here, but I wish we'd have brought sand toys.  They entertain themselves with those which might've been a welcome break for us, considering we spent 6 straight hours out by the pools:)  But finally, after a long awaited couple hours, the water slide opened and it was time to go!
Seriously, this slide is so much fun!  Westen started the day sitting on one of our laps, but by day's end was able to go down it by himself as long as we walked up with him.  Which, by the way, I should've taken a picture to show you how big this slide is!  We walked like 3 flights of stairs to get up there.  I kinda can't believe Westen did it by himself.  Of course, Baron needed a lap to sit on:)
And although his face doesn't show it, he enjoyed the slide too:)  It felt like we rode that slide 100 times that day.  I know I rode it at least 10, so I'd say Austin rode it like 30!  Westen wanted to do it over and over.  Baron did every once in awhile.  We also visited the ginormous hot tub and the adult pool Saturday.  Oh, and I almost forgot we floated along a lazy river.  The water was super cold in it so we only did that once.  We spent most of our time in the heated kids pool and adults pool.
On our way back to the room, we climbed this staircase outside and I just thought the kids looked so tiny compared to the stairs they were climbing.  Kinda cute...
So up to the room for naps Saturday, then that evening we had a sweet girl from our church come to baby sit the kids which was perfect!  They got to eat pizza, play outside, and watch movies with Ms. Megan.  Austin and I headed to the beautiful wedding.  With an 80% chance of rain called for that day, we were surprised that the rain held off and this blessed Bride and Groom got to have their ceremony outside.  It was beautiful!  I didn't get any pictures of me and Austin, but caught a couple of the newlyweds...
The smashing of the cake, of course, which I pray happens!  It's just fun isn't it!  And then a sweet intimate moment of the groom wiping his bride's face:)
We had a great time at the reception, but knew we shouldn't stay out too late, because like always, our kids were up before 7am again on Sunday morning!  After breakfast and packing up, it was back to the pool.  Rain or shine, Westen wanted to ride that slide again, so in the rain we did.  Our stay was a little shorter, but plenty fun!  We headed home around noon and it seems two little guys were tuckered out!
We had such a fun weekend - our little stay-cation!  It was much needed.  Thank you, Honey, for making it happen!  Love you!

Happy Monday:)
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Somedays of motherhood are harder than others.  Somedays everything flows smooth like sweet tea on a hot summer's day... But others, however, taste more like cough syrup.  Yesterday was going smooth enough until my ever so sweet 3 year old woke up cranky from his nap.  And when I had to raise my voice - twice - and then proceed to discipline - I heard something from my eldest's mouth that no mother ever wants to hear, but most likely, all do.  "I don't like you anymore," was first.  And then, "you are mean and I want my daddy because daddy is nice," followed.  Of course, I told him that's sad because I love and like him all the time, even when he doesn't listen or follow instructions or let me sleep or even when he whines for no good reason.  I told him what he said wasn't very nice and after some discussion while what I expected to hear was, "I'm sorry I said I don't like you anymore," - what I heard was, "I'm sorry I don't like you anymore, Mommy."  Shocking, I know coming from that sweet little Westen's mouth:)  So, although the sweet tea tasted well when we were painting pictures...
Cough syrup replaced it with those few words.  Not to worry since a 3 year old has a quick rebound rate:)  All was well by evening's fall and I've heard, "Mommy, I love you" plenty today:)  I guess I'll be thankful that at least for now...
...this guy can't put that many words together:)  But he can get out, "Luh ooohhh."
Happy Wednesday!
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An Update 04/18/2012
 
Well, I left my camera at a friends house a couple weeks ago and got it back last week.  There were just a few pictures on it I thought I'd share.  The weekend I left my camera, one of my BFFs from my high school days came down for the weekend with a friend of hers.  And although we rarely see each other now and can often times go months without talking on the phone, it was nice to know we could pick up where we left off.  And she's the same as ever:)  It was her first time meeting Baron, and apparently...he took to her.  Here he is with Renee...
That's the only picture I got of her that weekend, because it was the very next day that I left my camera at this birthday party:)
A bounce house with a slide and yummy food can never go wrong!  Here's the birthday boy, Westen's buddy Rhett...
He turned 4 last month and we were glad to get to celebrate with him.  The slide and bounce house were a big hit!  Even Baron got to go down with Rhett's sister, Kohen...
It was a fun time!  Moving forward a week, our sweet cousins Brandon and Heather were in town from TX and we got to spend one afternoon with them.  They have a 4 year old Bayden that Baron and Westen got to play with:)  Here they are acting silly!
Bayden's baby brother, Callan, was here too, but my camera battery died that day!  I know I need to get it together!
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Happy Easter! 04/09/2012
 
Hope everyone had a Happy Easter Weekend!  We enjoyed ours.  Although I failed to take pictures, Saturday we colored Easter eggs with Westen, and then that night we made Resurrection Bread.  It was kind of cool and he totally got it.  We've been talking about Easter and what it means for the past couple weeks, plus he's been getting it at school too so he can tell you exactly why we celebrate this day called Easter.  Anyway, long story short, we put marshmallows (dipped in butter and a sugar/cinnamon mixture) -also known as Jesus- into pillsbury crescent rolls- also known as the tomb- rolled them up tight leaving no gaps then baked them.  When you take them out they're hollow inside, thus Jesus rose from the dead and the tomb is empty.  Westen totally got into this while I let him dip the marshmallows in the butter.  It was pretty cute.  We opened them up Sunday morning before we went to church to see the results:)  It was a really cute idea and perfect for his little toddler mind.  And although we didn't really say much about the Easter Bunny, the boys did get Easter baskets which they opened in our bed after milk.  Here's a couple shots from that...
Westen's been wanting a belt for probably a couple months now so he can dress like Daddy.  I finally made him two and put them in his Easter basket.  He's so funny about it and wore that one all day:)

And Baron got a horse because he loves to name animals and make their sounds right now so he was pretty excited about his little Neigh Horse:)
After baskets and breakfast we got ready for church.  Unfortunately, our little Baron has not been feeling well and you can pretty much tell in some of these pictures.  As cute as they look in these adorable little argyle ties, I can see that puffiness around his eyes and know that probably right before this shot was taken, he had his nose wiped for the 100th time before 9am that morning.  Bless his little heart.  I felt so bad for him all day.  They sure look handsome, though, don't they???
And Daddy does too...
And here I am all gussied up too - make up on...hair fixed...it must've been a special day for all that to go down:)
I tried to get a cute shot of the boys outside together all in their matching khaki pants, white shirts, and ties, but this was honestly the best we could day.  Baron had other things on his mind...
Baron's face in that picture looks like he was on his way to do something mean:)  But here, he looks sweet and innocent...
We went to the 9am church service which was great, then headed on home.  I had a mini Easter egg hunt planned for the boys.  Here's a couple shots from that.
In this next one, we told the boys to stand side by side and show us the eggs they found in their baskets and Baron proceeded to dump his on his head...
Next, we had lunch then put the boys down for a nap.  We weren't due in Orlando 'til 5pm, so we spent the afternoon home (although Austin and I did P90X, so it wasn't that pleasant:)  Anyway, off to Nana's and Papa's for an Easter dinner.  I have to show this picture from last year's Easter of Lauren pulling Baron in the wagon...
And then this year...
Isn't that funny!  Man how much a difference one year makes!  Anyway, like always with Lauren, the boys had fun!
Can't you just tell little B doesn't feel good in that one?  Despite how he looks, he was really quite the trooper all evening.  I don't think he whined or cried once.  He can be so sweet sometimes.
After our bellies were full from a great dinner we snapped a couple shots with the boys great-grandma, aka Grammy...
I could be wrong, but I think she's 92 yrs. old.  And I've never seen her looking anything but good.  She's such an awesome woman and we love her dearly:)
After that we headed to Todd's house which is Aunt La La's boyfriend for the big Easter Egg Hunt.  The boys LOVED this.  Baron really enjoyed both Easter egg hunts more than I thought he would.  He loved finding them and then throwing them into his "Lellow" basket:)
Westen had to figure out how to get that float from the middle of the pool close enough for him to reach the eggs on it.  Aunt La La, Todd, and Nana did a good job making it fun for the kids:)  Thanks guys!
The boys also got to jump on Todd's trampolene and I think it's the first time either of them have done that.  They LOVED it!  We had to make them get off to go open their Easter eggs and eat dessert!
That picture is deceiving, but they kinda look the same size there.  Moving on, here's one more picture I'm including just to tell a short story about Mr. Cousey who got to tag along with us to the Easter fun...
I'll try to keep this short, but before we left yesterday Austin said, "I was thinking we should take Cous today to show him a little love since he feels like he gets left out now all the time."  I thought it was a good idea so off to Easter dinner and egg hunt he went.  While at the egg hunt at Todd's house, Lindsay's dog was there too and they were playing together for awhile.  We were all outside the whole time for the most part and no one saw little Cous slip away.  So around 8pm when Austin and I started packing up stuff to head home, we start calling for Cousey to no avail.  We walk outside and begin yelling his name but he is nowhere in sight.  Long story short, we, along with Todd, Lindsay, and Nana looked for Cousey for the next hour.  We thought he was gone.  And, of course, he was not wearing a collar or i.d. tag.  We NEVER put one on him.  Stupid???  Maybe, but he rarely leaves us when we're outside with him.  By 9pm, already an hour past the boys bedtime with an hour yet to drive home, we decide we have to take the kids home.  We leave...WITHOUT my sweet Cousey whom we've had for 6 years!!!!  Once we actually start heading for home I begin to cry and feel completely sick to my stomach!  Although our plan was to go back the next day with flyers and hope that someone took him in for the night, my heart sank at the thought of him spending the night in an unfamiliar place or worse yet, outside and alone.  Our Cousey is a spoiled little dog and extremely emotional.  I wouldn't put it past him to have a heart attack in a situation like that.  He's terrified of storms for crying out loud!!  Anyway, right as we pull into our neighborhood one hour of nausea and silence later, Lindsay calls to say they heard scratching on the back door and lo-and-behold he made his way back!  Insert HUGE sigh of relief here!  I got him back today and Westen gave him a good talking to on our way home.  And that's true:)  I'm so happy that he'll be back at my feet tonight:)
One final note, my favorite pictures of the day are the two below.  I just love these boys so much!
Mr. Happy Go Lucky - not afraid to sport the bunny ears, loving his new belt, and still happy with his nearly rubbed off Ironman tattoo and the chance to ride a scooter:)  He is such a sweet child!
And then Mr. Baron who wants, ever so much, to be big like his brother and looks the part in this picture.  Marching to the beat of his own drum, usually looking a little disheveled (probably due to some kind of fall and hit to the head), always looking for the next thing he can get into.  There's never a dull moment.  He melts my heart everyday when he clings like a monkey to me or Austin when he wants to be held but only gives kisses away when he feels like it.  He is so precious!

Hope you all have a great week!
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Most of you in KY have probably already seen this video or were there to watch it live, but here's the link to my 2 nieces Hailey and Ellie singing in their school talent show!  They totally rocked it - making it into the top five!  Next week is the final round.  I'm so proud of you, Girls!  Love you guys!
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Last week was Westen's spring break from his school so we did a few fun activities. Tuesday we had a play date with our friends from MOPS (which I didn't take pictures of) and Wednesday we headed to the zoo with Westen's bestie from preschool - Graham J.!  (Side note, there's 2 Grahams in his class so there's Graham J and Graham W, but Westen really thinks Graham J is his name:).  The boys had great fun, but I must say - it was just one of those days for me...you know the ones I'm talking about...the ones when you feel like you should've just stayed home.  We made one quick stop on our way to the zoo - Starbucks for my ever coveted green tea.  Somewhere between there and the zoo, my precious Baron lost his shoe...
I searched the car and even called Starbucks, but to no avail.  So that's how the day started.  About a half hour into the day, I felt the aching in my back that had been going on all week, only to realize I forgot to take my motrin before I left the house - perfect for a day filled with walking and chasing toddlers.  Shoot!  Anyway, first up was the train ride, so here's Westen and his buddy - Graham J.
Next up was the carousel.  I think this was Baron's favorite part of the day.  He kind of created a chant for the next half hour that went something like, "Haurse, Naaaay, Haurse, Haurse, Naaaay, Naaaay." He loved it!
Next we were off to see some animals.  This zoo is pretty small, so I didn't visually document this aspect of our trip, but here are the big boys checking something out...
Next, for a little break to burn some energy we headed to the playground.  And yes, my little Baron just played in his socks since he was minus one vanishing-shoe!  Don't judge, people!
This is when things got chaotic again.  Graham was getting a little hungry and it was sprinkling just barely.  We decided to head over to see the lone camel that had a net covering.  It was closest to where we were, there was a place to set up lunch, and we thought we could let the boys fuel up for more fun while it sprinkled a little.  I had no sooner set up the boys lunch on their paper plates when the downpour started!  The net covering was not so helpful.  I mean rain coming down seriously hard!  The entire lunch got soaked as well as all of us.  It took me what seemed like forever to get it packed back up while my boys screamed!  Yeah, it was a fun few minutes.  We found shelter elsewhere which at this point was really irrelevant since we were all soaked and waited it out.  You can see how wet we got here...look at Westen's hair...
And here's Baron, so not to be left out.  He wanted to ride this terribly, but I think he was a little weirded out by the odd looking gorilla...
I'll spare you any more details of this day, but we headed home shortly after that.  Westen had fun because he got to be with his buddy and everything's an adventure for Baron.  I'm sure I'm the only one who was glad the trip came to an end:)  The next day we were invited to Westen's friend Rhett's grandma's and grandpa's beach house to spend the day on the beach!  Sweet!  And it was a perfect beach day!
Rhett's daddy dug out a giant hole to sculpt a gator...
But the kids were really more into the hole than anything...
That's Rhett and Kohen playing with the boys.  It was a beautiful day and although Storm and I spent the time on the beach going to and from the water to fill buckets, help toddlers jump the waves, rinse hands off, what have you - it seemed easier this year to be there with the kids.  No baby carriers, no bottles, no naps needed on the beach.  So we stayed busy chasing after 4 busy toddlers, but there was no fussing and everyone was happy!  It made me look forward to the summer even more!
Did you notice the, as usual, mean face??  That kid is a piece of work!  Afterwards, we headed to the house for lunch, a dance party, and cookies...
It was such a fun day (better than the day before).  Over the weekend we were supposed to take the boat out, but had some problems with that which will hopefully be fixed soon, so instead Austin and I cleaned out the garage.  It was a totally productive Saturday which I love!  I really should've taken before and after pics.  Anyway, as great as the view of the beach from the pictures above were - here's the view we've been seeing from our house lately...
This is the new norm for Baron's backside.  He's CONSTANTLY got his hands down the back of his diaper which he eventually pulls down - and before you ask the answer is yes (even when I really don't want him to have them down there).  And yes, he's wearing a tshirt, diaper, and rain boots.  You don't walk around your house like that??  Hmmm...maybe we're weird:)  These are battles I choose not to fight when we're at home playing.  Little characters these guys are:)

Have a great rest of your week!
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