4th of July

I have been a blog slacker for a while, but I do have a good excuse. I had a house full of people over the 4th and I left for a quick trip to New York the day after all the guests left. So, without further ado, here are the pictures from the 4th of July. We had a party complete with beer pong, washers, corn hole, a kiddie pool, and enough food to feed an army! The party was a complete success mostly due to Peter and Susan and all of their help. It wouldn't have turned out nearly as well and the food wouldn't have been nearly as yummy or plentiful without their help, so thanks a million!! Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Tara and Alex

Rob and Dan

Abby and Nolan splashin' around

Abby and Nolan playing a game of washers

Bec, John and baby Wes

Sam, Nolan, Abby, myself and Susan watching the illegal fireworks show put on by Andrew and the neighbor.

Abby and Nolan sharing a kiss during the fireworks.

A full house

We had a full house over the holiday weekend. John, Becca, and Wes were here from Germany (John was at SOS in Alabama the 5 weeks prior), Jason and his lady friend Angela were in from the DC area and Susan and Peter were here from Wisconsin. We had a great time with all of our visitors and kept very busy the whole time they were here. We had a big 4th of July party (more on that later), we headed to the beach, ate lots of yummy food, spend time catching up and even managed an adult night out thanks to Grammy and Grampa babysitting the little ones. Here are a few pics (with more to come in later posts) from our time with friends and family. Being a military family isn't always easy but the people we have met through out our time in the AF are amazing. We have a great time when we are all together (although its not as often as I would like). Thanks guys for making the trek down to the redneck riviera, it was great seeing you all and can't wait for the next mini-reunion!!

Abby and baby Wes snuggling on the couch. (I think we will be calling him baby Wes till he goes to college!)

A friendly game of beer pong. Andrew and Becca were partners, I was the line judge seeing as how I am pregnant and all.

The opposing team: Angela and Becca

A group shot (minus Andrew). We were playing pass the pigs....I was score keeper. There seemed to be a lot of activities going on this weekend in which I couldn't fully participate, but I had fun anyhow!

Angela and Jason

Grammy and Grampa playing in the sand with Abby in Destin

Baby Wes soaking up some rays.

Crab Island

We took our first boat trip of the summer out to Crab Island a few weekends ago. It seemed like a perfect opportunity because John, Becca and Wes were in town and the weather was perfect. Both the kiddos did really well on the boat and Abby wanted to be in the water the whole time we were anchored out at Crab Island. She has turned into quite the little fish these days! I spent a little time in the water but then I got stung by a jelly fish. It didn't hurt as bad as I would have thought (it was probably a small one), but it was enough to get me out of the water. The boys stayed in with the kids and went for a walk to see the huge bouncy slide they have. It was too steep for Abby to go down and she was very disappointed. While the boys had the kids, I was hanging out on the boat with Becca and Wes and it was a bit rocky. My pregnant stomach couldn't handle it any longer and I began to throw up off the side of the boat. The boys came back just in time and we headed back to shore. Even with the couple of mishaps, we had a great day and I can't wait to go back out!!

Abby and Daddy at Crab Island

Wes on the boat

The daddy's and the kids

Abby helping Daddy drive the boat back to shore

Happy Birthday Brian

Brian's birthday was on June 29th and Sam invited us to Hooter's to help celebrate. It was a great choice because they have a playroom for the kids and we were actually able to chat (in between refereeing the kids). Sam brought a homemade cake for dessert, it was a fun night. Happy Birthday Brian!!

Here are the kids in the playroom that they totally destroyed. I think they pulled out EVERY SINGLE toy they had. Don't worry we helped clean up!!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Wes

We had the pleasure of celebrating baby Wes' 1st birthday last Saturday night. We were very fortunate that the Kendall's happened to be in town on this special day. We didn't do anything too elaborate, but the kiddos seemed to enjoy themselves and that is all that really matters. Wes was not very interested in opening his presents but Abby and Nolan willingly helped out in that department. The cake on the other hand was a big hit! Wes LOVED it and dug right in without any hesitation!

Happy Birthday baby Wes! You are such a sweet, easygoing, handsome little fella and you can light up the room with your smile! I hope the next year is just as sweet as your first!

June's Random Ramblings

I need a place to write down all the random funny stories and things Abby does and says so I have decided to try to make this a monthly post. This will be more for me than for the readers, although I am sure you will kick out of some of things Abby comes up with. I am just going to keep a running list through out the month and publish it at month's end. Hope you enjoy!!

• We were driving in the car the other day and Abby was inspecting her legs. All of a sudden she said, "Mommy, I have fur just like Daddy!"
• Abby has been very sweet to her little sister and will sometimes give my belly a kiss or sing the baby a song.
• Abby has been very into the whole princess thing lately and the other night at dinner she said to me, "I am all done with my dinner your highness". I could get used to that!!
• Abby and I were at open gym and she was playing with a little girl who was about a year older than her. She asked the little girl her name, and told her "my name is Abby". And then she pointed to me and said "this is my Cheyna and she is very friendly."
• We went to Orlando this month and stayed in a hotel. Every time we were out and I said it was time to go home, Abby would correct me and say "Mommy that is a hotel, it is NOT our home!"
• If I ask Abby what color hair she has she always replies, "golden". The other day I asked her what color Daddy's hair is and she looked at me like I had 4 heads and said, "He doesn't have any hair!"
• Abby has pretty much boycotted breakfast. She just doesn't want to eat in the morning and I am past forcing her to sit in her chair and listening to her cry and still not eating anything. I still ask her if she is hungry or wants to eat anything in the morning to which she replys, "No thank you, my tummy is not grumbling." I just can't argue with that logic!
  

Q: What is more fun than helping Mom or Dad?

A: Helping Mom or Dad and making a mess at the same time!!

Here is Abby helping Daddy paint his beer pong table.

Abby and I made chocolate peanut butter bars and Abby "helped me clean" the dishes. i.e. she licked them clean!