Cool down...

After their hard work, they needed to cool down! They enjoyed their water and a popcicle. I just have so much fun documenting all of the little things we do. Our activities may not always seem all that exciting or important...but it's exciting to me! I guess 'cause I'm their mom! :)

My three boys...hard at work!

My men were hard at work putting in some stepping stones for Mommy around one of our flower beds. Aren't they doing such a great job! I'm so proud of them! The stones look great! Thank you guys for helping out Mommy, what in the world would I do without you? :)

Mimi & Papa have come and gone...

We had a GREAT weekend with Harrison's and Jackson's Mimi & Papa. They came up to spend time with the boys AND to help us out a little bit. We had a New Member Seminar to go to at Providence so we can start the process of becoming members. It was a Friday night and Saturday day thing so we needed some help in the childcare department. They were happy to assist and the kids LOVED their time with them.

I wasn't too excited about the seminar at first. It seemed like a long time and I couldn't imagine what all they needed to share with us. However, it provided a nice time for Anthony and I...without boys...to enjoy a dinner date together on Friday night. We very much enjoyed that. ...AND it was actually a really nice seminar. Pastor Horner, who is an excellent teacher, did an incredible job of really explaining what Providence is all about and how we as members will fit into that. I feel like I have a clear understanding of what the vision of our new church is and what our place is in the whole scope of things. It definitely was NOT a waste of time. I'm so glad! Now, we'll just meet up with our Deacon and be announced on August 19th. That will be nice to have completed. :)

While we were at the Seminar Mimi, Papa, and the boys spent the morning at the neighborhood pool and the boys showed off all their water tricks they've been working on this summer. We went to Wilbur's BBQ in Goldsboro, NC last night for dinner. That is Papa's and Anthony's FAVORITE BBQ anywhere...so that was a real treat. After we got home and the boys were in bed, Mimi and I finished up re-covering my dining room chairs that were my Nanny's (mom's mom). I've been wanting to do that for a long time and it was worth it! They look amazing. Just a few more finishing touches and they'll look brand new. I love it that I have her dining room furniture. It makes them so special to me.

After church today, Mimi & Papa were off on a flight again. We'll miss them. It was great having them and their generous helpful spirit. They are TRULY a BLESSING in our lives! Can't wait 'till the next visit!

Braggin' rights!!

Here are a few pictures of our niece, Ella Rose. I just have to show her off! :) Vonda and Ian have just gotten DSL so I'll be getting pictures much more often! I've pretty much convinced Vonda to start a BLOG of her own so I'm hoping she'll get to it very soon!

Scared or scarred for life

I have to tell you about poor little Jackson. Jackson is not usually clingy or scared by much. He loves animals and will pet anything. He is SO friendly and wants to talk to everybody...He get's that from his Daddy and his Mimi :). Whenever we are in the store or out running errands he says HI to EVERYONE. ...over, and over, and over until I feel like I should make him stop because these kind people are going to get tired of saying HI back...over, and over, and over.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I let Harrison attend VBS at my friend Megan's church. The church is only a few minutes away so Jackson and I would take Harrison in and go and pick him up after it was over. The theme of the week was "Game Day". It was centered around sports, which Harrison LOVED, there was a great atmosphere and everyone was so energetic, the place was rockin' and it was exciting. One of the people that made things so exciting was the "Spirit Man". This guy, the youth pastor of their church, was dressed up like your typical CRAZY fan at a major sporting event. You know, the one that always get some TV face time...silver pom-pom on his head for hair, face painted half red and half blue, pumped up and screaming like a mad man kind of guy. (I think you're starting to get the picture)

Well, mid week, we dropped Harrison off at his class (the VBS was held at night so it's about 6pm). As he was being checked in, "Spirit Man" comes bolting out of the classroom door like the mad man he was, stoops down to Harrison and screams "GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE". Harrison was NOT thrilled! He was fine with "Spirit Man" until he tried to get all up-close-and-personal. Harrison ducked behind me and hid. I was so concerned about him that I completely forgot that Jackson was holding my hand on the other side. After I convinced Harrison to enter his class, I turned to leave and Jackson had the most awful look of terror plastered all over his face. He was completely speechless and crouched down in fear, hands and arms stiff out in front as if to keep anyone from touching him. I felt terrible. I quickly picked him up and hugged him. As we walked out to leave, he held on so tight, gripping me with his nails, clearly never wanting to let go. He had been scared to death! He talked and wimpered about it for the rest of the night. Needless to say, going to pick up and drop off Harrison for the rest of the week was an ordeal for little Jackson. However, we made it through without any more up-close-and-personal interactions with the "Spirit Man". Thank the Lord!

Jackson talked about "the boy" scaring him in the car for at least a week after that VBS. Poor little guy! Well, I must sadly report Jackson still isn't over it! Every morning since then, when we walk in to get him from his crib he sits up, looks at us, and says "ah seep, dat boy gare me". My intrepetation of that is "I was sleeping and the boy scared me!" I think he is dreaming about it! I keep telling him "the boy" is gone and will NEVER bother him again but he isn't convinced! I hate to think my poor little guy is dreaming about the "Spirit Man"! It can't be too bad, he's not waking up in the middle of the night but I still feel awful about it! Hopefully it's just a habit now, something he likes to say first thing in the morning to get mommy's attention. :) Harrison has "tried" to help by telling Jackson, in a not so nice tone, "You, DON'T need to worry about 'that boy', HE is FUNNY!" He has abviously forgotten his own not-so-funny experience with the "Spirit Man."

Needless to say, the "Spirit Man" man made a BIG impression on Jackson and I just HOPE he won't be scarred for life! Surely not, he's only 2 right?

A Fabulous 4th of July in VA

We spent the 4th of July at my Mom and Dad's for a cookout with family. The food was delicious, Mom and Janet just went above and beyond for all of us! People popped in and out all day and it was a nice relaxing time with family! We then met up with the Schrodts and the Jackson's at the Beach for a Symphony Concert and Fireworks. The Maggiore's and Saunders were there and we had planned to spend time with them as well. However, they decided to head of to the Judd's because of the "BAD NEWS". I'll tell you about that in a minute. We decided to stay because we had just arrived and the kids were very excited to be playing in the sand again. We wore our "FLAG" shirts from Old Navy and just looked like the cutest family ever! ...am I biased or what? Anthony wasn't too sure about the matching shirts but came around. I was so glad he did! The "BAD NEWS" was that the Fireworks had been cancelled... high swells due to wind prevented the barge from getting into position. There was still hope they would go off as planned and we held out hope 'till the very end! :) The concert was great and the kids just ran around and played in the sand. They really enjoyed their flags that the event staff was giving out. Although the Fireworks didn't work out...we have no regrets! It was a great time and a Fabulous 4th! :)

The Schrodt Family - David, Katy, Josiah, Jacob, & Callie

The Jackson Family - Chris, Jessica, & Cody

A night at City View Park...

We spent Monday night at the park with our former Small Group...minus a few people. The Judd's were home with a sick little boy and weren't able to join us. It was a great time of reconnecting with friends and allowing all the kids to play together. Harrison and Jackson were so excited to see and play with their VA friends. What a blessing to have great friends! We love you all and miss you tons!

Ocean Breeze Waterpark

Mammaw (my mom) provided a GREAT day of fun for the grandkids at Ocean Breeze Waterpark on Monday. We had a blast. The kids just splashed and splashed all day! Harrison rode two rides with Mommy and was a very big boy all day. We had lunch and Dippin' Dots ice cream for an afternoon snack. All of the kids were excited about that, being as they hadn't had that kind of ice-cream before. We had to do some convincing for Grant...it didn't look "normal" to him so he was concerned. He came around. :) They had these cute "kid-sized" slides that the boys could do on their own. Harrison called them the "potty" slides because you would sit down in this little area before going down the slide and it sort of looked like a potty flushing. :) As you have probably already noticed I don't have any pictures of Austin and Baylee. Austin was there with us but took his friend Jake. He knew if he didn't have a friend he would end up in the "kiddie" park all day and that didn't seem like a lot of fun to him. Baylee was in Nags Head with her parents celebrating her daddy's birthday. So...I've attached pictures of them so you can see what they are looking like these days. :)


Baylee was throwing things in the pool for Austin to pick up.


Austin is shooting water with his spider-man webs. He usually has a much nicer look on his face! :)

"Chicken & Watermelon"

We've been in VA for the past week. Anthony had business so we planned a trip around that to visit friends and family. Our first outing was to the Chesapeake Bay on Sunday night with the Schrodt family at First Landing State Park. David and Katy brought the sides, drinks and dessert and we brought the Chicken & Biscuits. It was a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful and the kids just had an amazing time playing together in the sand and water. I think Jackson probably ate 10 slices of watermelon! He LOVED it. The boys refused to hold little Callie in the last picture so she didn't make the group photo. :( It was a lot of fun and a great start to our visit in VA.