Today

Just some pics from hanging out today with my boys. :) Braden was really concentrating hard while playing this drum. Ethan is just always hanging out being entertained by his brother. :)

Then I said, "Smile pretty Braden," so I got this-a little smile mixed with more concentration

Ethan sporting his new do and looking way too old!

Nothing says summer like a trip to Chillers. Braden always wants just plain chocolate. I don't think he knows other ice cream exists...so tonight I talked him into changing it up. He loved his superman ice cream but said on the way home that chocolate is still his favorite. :)

Ethan had pineapple sherbet and loved it. As a matter of fact he threw quite the tantrum when it was gone. Sherbet sure beats those peas!! :)

Chris built this kids' size picnic table for the boys last night. He is SO good at figuring out how to do different woodworking projects. He is one talented guy I tell ya. :) This table is going to be awesome to have outside and it's super sturdy. He said he's willing to build more if anyone is interested...shoot me an email. :)

Ethan trying out the table and cheesing it up big time.

Right before bed tonight...isn't this cute? Braden is listening so intently.

Ethan's first haircut

Ethan was definitely in need of a haircut for quite sometime but I just wasn't ready to do it! I knew he would look too much like a big boy and I am still trying to hold onto my baby. :( BUT, considering he was having trouble seeing because his bangs were getting too long, it was either use a barrette or get a trim. Ha! Taking these pictures of Gma Cindy doing it reminded me so much of Braden's first haircut...too sweet. :)

Getting ready

Off it comes...

All done! What a big boy and he did great! :)

Janelle's surprise 30th

Last night Chris and I went to Fourth Street for a surprise party for Janelle's birthday. She turns 30 (yes, she's that young) in August but Alicia thought she'd make it a real surprise by doing it early when she wouldn't be expecting it yet. We had a great time (maybe a bit too much) hanging out with you guys!!! Thanks for inviting us!

Janelle & Damon when they first arrived

Chris and I never take pictures of ourselves anymore, so we decided to get one. :) This picture cracks me up because it looks like we have a bed's headboard behind us but it's actually the back of the booth. Ha!

Fun girls!

ahhh, best buddies! :) Happy early birthday Janelle!!! We had fun with you! :)

Hardy Lake

On Saturday we went to Hardy Lake for a few hours of boating. Chris' dad and step-mom came too. :) It's always nice to have extra hands on the boat to help with the kids and it allows us to ski. Chris actually got up skiing for the first time and went for about 15 seconds! Now he's hooked and wants to go practice so he can get good. :) I love it! I tried to slalom again but still couldn't get up...I am determined to get that before summer is over. :) Thanks Papa T & Mimi for going with us! We had so much fun with you.

Braden loves having everyone in the water swimming with him. :)

Ethan enjoying his little pool with "fresh water." (we have to bring jugs of water from home b/c the ENT said absolutely no lake water in his ears for a year! Yikes)

CHECK out this hair! Is this not Donald Trump? Hee hee!

And another look...cracks me up!

Ethan got in a lot of cuddle time with Mimi :)

Braden and I did a little tubing

Chris and Braden were so cute to watch. They'd wave at us and blow us kisses...sweet boys!

The books are delivered!

Yesterday we delivered the books that were donated by all of you from our backyard party to CAPE (Community Alliance to Promote Education). They are located at S.Ellen Jones Elementary. I didn't get any good pictures because it was 150 degrees and we were sweating bullets, Ethan was crawling everywere, my camera lens was fogging up because it was that humid ( can you tell in the pic?) and this lady probably thought I was nuts! Ha! Actually she was pretty sweet and didn't act like I was too silly for putting my baby on the hot concrete for a picture for the blog. Ha! Braden helped her load the cart and then he ran around with the blue tub on his head making me sweat even more because my child never acts that way in public...hee hee! But THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your donations. These books are going to be given out very soon to kiddos that need them. You guys are awesome!

Scrub-a-dub-dub...

Two crazies in the tub!! These two have a blast in the tub together! At first Braden didn't even want Ethan to get in the tub with him but now he insists that they are in there together. Ethan makes a GIANT mess and splashes the entire bathroom wet and Braden just thinks that's a hoot!! These two crack me up-they can make each other laugh over anything!

Braden kept putting letters on Ethan's head and Ethan couldn't get them off-endless entertainment for a 3 year old!

Ellie Mae turns one!

Today we drove to Spencer for my niece's 1st birthday party. I cannot believe she is one already! We had so much fun hanging out with family and Braden & Ethan had a ball playing with their cousins. Braden just goes nuts in the girls' bedrooms...I guess because it's new, fun toys. He'll lay on the floor and play with the baby toys...anything different from home is a treat. :) Even though it had been raining off and on, the kids still got outside and played in the sprinkler and baby pool in their clothes. :) Happy birthday sweet girl! We sure love you!!

Aleah was a good big cousin holding Ethan on the caterpillar

Dylan is always so good with all the little ones. He taught Ethan how to work this toy and he got really good at putting the balls in the top and pressing the lever to release them. :)

Birthday girl with Ethan...only 8 weeks between these two.

She LOVED her cupcake! She dug right in and I'm pretty sure she ate it all! That's my kind of girl!

Braden & Aleah enjoying their cupcakes and having a chat

They even had a cupcake kiss! Ha! It's ok to kiss your cousin when you're 3 right? :)

Heidi with her sister Lindsey and Ellie Mae. What beautiful girls!!

Patoka

Today my dad and niece drove down to Patoka and met us on the lake! Chris' dad and step mom offered to watch Ethan since it would be a pretty short day and we could go out and try some water sports, which is pretty hard to do when I'm holding Ethan the whole time. Alissa and I had a blast knee boarding. We both got the 360 down which was a ton of fun. I decided to try slalom skiing today for the first time ever (one ski). I almost had it but also drank about half the lake trying to get up. Ha! Now I'm pumped to go the next time so I can try it again. I am so hooked now! If only I had tried all of this 10 years ago I might not be so sore right now. Ha!


Alissa and I...everyone says we look alike. You can't really tell from this picture but you can definitely tell we are related!

Dad and Braden-they wore each other out! Two peas in a pod!


Cousins :)

Ok so this is kind of embarrassing because I look like a fatty in my swimsuit (ugh!) but thought I'd share my new trick I got today...and the wipeout that follows. :) This was SO much fun!! Alissa, your video will be on youtube so you can share with your friends and because I can't have my 17 year old niece showing me up on my own blog. ha!

Family swim day

Yesterday Chris & I took the boys over to his Dad's friends to swim. This was our first time even being in a pool this year!! Braden's cousin Izzie was there too and they were hilarious to watch. Ethan LOVED his floaty and just floated around all chill like it was an ordinary day at the beach. :)

Braden's swim lessons

Braden has been taking individual swim lessons at the YMCA. He loved his teacher, Miss Emily from the group lessons so we called her and asked if she'd do one on one lessons with him. He's been having a lot of fun with her and has become better each class. We only have one more and although I don't think he'll be completely swimming on his own, he's definitely more confident and is improving his skills. :) Aside from swimming, it's been great for him to be in a class with a teacher (and not me) and listen to directions...he's done so well!

Ethan watching his brother swim. :)

Ethan is 10 months (and a week)!

I absolutely cannot believe that my baby is 10 months old! :( Seriously, where does the time go? I feel like I just delivered him last month. :( His first birthday is just creeping up on me and I'm trying my hardest just to keep him this little forever but it's just not working!!! As a matter of fact, my little baby is ONE BIG BABY! A few weeks ago the Dr. weighed him and I was shocked! He weighed at 9 1/2 months the same as Braden at 12 months...which is crazy because Braden was a big boy. Braden better be nice to Ethan because he might just pass him up pretty soon and he might have a few knuckle sandwiches coming his way. Ha!

Ethan is loving this car...it only has one gear though...reverse! :)

Dale Hollow Lake

This past weekend Chris and I went with the Thomas' & Vaughn's to Dale Hollow for an adults only weekend! :) We had an absolute blast!!! I love my kiddos to pieces but it sure was nice to go boating without taking care of the babies for a bit. The weather was perfect, the lake was beautiful and the company was SO much fun!! We are all sooooooo sore today! We did a lot of skiing and knee boarding and either we are really out of shape or just getting old. Ha! I had a hard time even getting dressed this morning. :) I didn't take many pictures at all but Chris and the guys really were there too even though I just got us girls in the pics. :) Thanks guys for such an awesome trip! I'm ready to mark my calendar for the next one!!

ahhhh, the life...soaking up the sun without a worry in the world!

This is kind of a joke. "Tanbark" was the name of our cabin and it was pretty nice...not the Hilton but clean and still fun. We couldn't quit laughing over the name. I kept calling it tarbank b/c I just couldn't remember tanbark (duh). Anyways, it was a had to be there thing moment but I decided we had to get our picture by the sign so we'd never forget. :)