Father's Day Camping Trip

My friend Sara and I decided, along with our kiddos, to take the daddy's camping for Father's Day weekend. We made reservations at Bull Shoals-White River State Park. It was HOT!!!!! all weekend, but we found ways to cool down (see pictures below). Once the guys found out about the trip they started spending every spare minute working on the boat to get it ready for the trip, which almost didn't come with us. But, they pushed through getting her ready to go at 2am the day we were leaving!

The guys, proud of their hard work!

Bull Shoals Damn

Our family - the kids hate pictures in the sun, so this is the best we could get.

Taking the boat out for the first time.

So proud!

Megan wanted a turn to drive "Daddy's new boat"!

The four kids enjoying a snack.

Mommy with the little kids.

Daddy with the little kids.

Aren't we cute!

We had to get some skiing time in. (In case you can't tell, that's Sara, not me. I was forbidden from skiing, for now...)

Jaime skiing on Bull Shoals Lake.

Showing off how redneck we can be down here in Arkansas! (Yes, that is an air mattress!)

The White River in the morning.

The guys got up early on Sunday morning to do some fishing in the crystal clear water of the White River. (Nate Harlan, I know you're jealous. You guys need to get down here some time!!!)

Jaime caught his first Walleye! We fried him up and ate him at home the next day. (The fish, that is, not Jaime!)

We all had such a great time there just might be a repeat trip next year.

Sidewalk Painting

I got this great idea from a friend on how to make sidewalk paint. This morning we made up a quick muffin tin full of colors and spent the next hour outside painting. The kids had a blast!

Add about 2 Tablespoons of corn starch in each section of the muffin tin.

Add about 5 drops of food coloring.

Add water.

Have fun!

Yes - it is that easy!!!

Megan was so proud of her painting.

Joshua got a little bored using a paint brush after a while and decided to paint with his hands instead. Thankfully Megan was pretty much finished painting when Joshua came up this brilliant idea.

31 Weeks and Counting...

As of today I have 9 weeks left to get ready for baby #4! It feels so close yet so far too. I'm feeling really good, most days. That third trimester, I-feel-like-an-elephant;-wish-I-could-tie-my-own-shoes;-pure-exhaustion, is setting in at little more each day.

We are completely at a loss as what to name this child. We have tried to talk about it. Our conversation goes something like this:

Me: Honey, we've got to decide on a name for this baby. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?

Jaime: Ummm...

(End of conversation.)

I know we'll come up with something, but we are beginning to run short on time.

Riding Bikes

The weather has been beautiful the past few weeks around here and the kids are enjoying their bikes. Sofia loves to ride Joshua's bike or scooter. Joshua will ride on anything he can. And Megan has finally learned to ride without training wheels. One evening we loaded up the kids and the bikes to head over to a nice path close to our house to let the kids ride.

Awana

Awana ended for another year. This is Megan's 4th year and Joshua's 1st. Megan just finished her second year of Sparks and the church just added the Puggles program for the 2s and young 3s. In the fall Joshua will begin in Cubbies.

When we arrived at the church Joshua said he wanted to wear his sunglasses inside to show his teacher. Fine. I only forgot to get them from him once I dropped him off in his room. So here he is being the "cool dude" up on stage. That boy cracks us up.

Megan had to say a verse when the Sparks went up to recieve their awards. She did great!

Here the kids are with their friend Ryan.

Our New Nephew

Two weeks ago I got a last minute ticket up to Chicago to visit my sister Lisa and her new baby boy, Jude. This is the first time in FOREVER that I've had a chance to do something KID FREE!!! It was wonderful!!! Lisa and I spent lots of time just hanging out and catching up. Our days were not filled with tons to do, like it often is when I go back "home". Jude is adorable. It was so wonderful to hold a newborn again.


Lisa and me at the Cubs game.

Smilie Jude

Jude loves his Tia.

So, we're having a little...

GIRL!

It definately was a Weekend we'll always Remember!

We had a wonderful time at the Weekend to Remember conference this past weekend. It was a FULL weekend, but we so enjoyed our kid-free time together. We were both a little unsure what it would be like and what kinds of things we would be encouraged to talk about. It was very good! Some things were hard for us. Some issues were brought up. But, in the end I think our marraige will be better for it!



A very special thank you to each of our friends who helped us out by watching our kiddos. We are SOOO sorry they all ended up getting sick while we were away. We definately owe each of you - BIG TIME!

Thank you! We love you!

Weekend to Remember

Tomorrow we are dropping off all the kids to stay with friends and family. Megan will be staying with her friend Grace, Joshua will stay with his friend Ryan, and Sofia will stay with her cousin Bekah. After all the child transfers happen, Jaime and I will be dashing off to Branson, MO for a Weekend to Remember. This should be a great opportunity for us to spend some time together before baby #4 graces us with his/her appearance. (We find out next week what we're having so, stay tuned..!)

First Sleep Over

Tuesday night Megan had her first sleep over with her friends Brenna and Amber. She had a wonderful time but was completely exhausted when she got home. Here are some pictures:

Giveaways are so fun!

Lindsay over at Passionate Homemaking is giving away an Envibum cloth diaper. If you'd like to try and win head over here and enter too!

Brayden is Home!!!

This past Saturday Brayden was able to come home from the hospital. Andrea had been at the hospital the previous two nights so the doctors could see how Brayden would do if he was just nursing. He did really well and was discharged the next day!


Holding my new nephew!


Andrea with her two boys - Benjamin (2 years) and Brayden (1 month)



Megan, the proud older cousin. She was so excited to hold Brayden for the first time.

Randomness of Today

This morning Sofia wanted to color like big sister Megan was coloring... with markers! She usually does ok with a marker for a minute or two but this morning decided to color her face instead of the paper.


Megan had a loose tooth (#3!) but it wasn't quite ready to come out yet. Last night, however, while Megan and Joshua were playing they had a little head to mouth bump and out the tooth came. There was a little blood and LOTS of drama. What else would you expect from a 6 year old girl. She's fine now and proud of her new smile.

Unfortunately, the tooth fairy didn't make it to our house last night. Probably due to the 1/4" of snow we recieved over night. (Because Arkansas slams to a halt on the prediction of snow, which will forever make me laugh!) I tend to think the tooth fairy was really tired because she's pregnant right now and just plum forgot. Megan was a little disappointed but sweet about it and very willing to give the tooth fairy another chance.

This is what we woke up to. It's very pretty, right now. We are expecting 4-8" more throughout the day. Who knows what we'll really end up getting.