Our 4th of July…

half a month late!

We had a very special 4th of July, spend with both sets of grandparents! Sorry, for the millions of pics, but these are basically the only pictures I’ve taken all summer, and they all happened on one day!

Me and my daddy.

I got the boys little flags to take to the picnic at Mike’s parent’s church, and they were a big hit.

As were the carnival games set up there…

and the fire truck…

and the homemade ice cream!

Then we settled into our chairs for the fireworks display. Jack LOVED each and every burst of fireworks!

Charlie fell asleep just before they began, and of course, woke when they started. He just watched them quietly, never even flinching for the loudest ones!

Jack wore his daddy’s hat and ran around the grass, shouting “Happy New Year!” Yeah, he was a little confused.

And this pretty much sums up how we all felt at the end of the night. What a great 4th!

Going Home

The boys and I spent last week in Florida with my family. We had such a good time hanging out with Gigi, Papa and Lala, swimming, and staying up waaaay past our bedtimes.

I always do such a terrible job of taking pictures when I’m at home, because I’m just too busy playing to remember my camera. So, some (mostly) verbal highlights of the trip:

Flying there was an adventure in itself. We got stuck for hours in Memphis when our plane broke down (after we had taxied all the way out to the runway, returned to the gate and sat on the plane for 30 mins.- yes, the boys love it :). The flight was canceled so we were sent to Atlanta, then RAN to catch a plane to Jax. Did I mention I didn’t bring a stroller? Oy. But we got there!

Papa took Jack to the park on Wednesday while Charlie came to the office with me for a bit. Jack was so excited to have a date with Papa!

The boys swam every day we were there, even though I thought the water was FREEZING! They did not care one bit! Jack even learned to swim in the deep in with no (human) help!

Jack wore my old Superman cape almost the whole time. He was very serious about rescuing those of us in danger.

The last night we were there we went out to dinner with Lauren and her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday. Charlie and Adi became fast friends. Notice La in the corner trying to stay out of the picture. Nice try sis!

We miss you guys already and can’t wait for summer to see you again!

November in Jacksonville!

The boys and I loaded up and headed to Jacksonville. I had a weekend training for work so the boys hung with my parents and sister while I did that, then we all had a great time being together. Such a great time... that I took very few pictures!

Here are the few I took.

We took a late flight there. I thought it would be great! The boys go to bed early, so I thought they'd sleep on both flights, and we could catch a snack or something on our layover in ATL. Leave it to my boys to prove me wrong. :) So glad I took the double stroller since when we landed in Jacksonville at midnight no one had slept AT ALL! And, well, they behaved about as well as you'd expect a 1 and 3 year old to act at midnight. Oy.

Showing off their orange and blue for Lala's Gators.

Jack's "copia" hat. And pose.

Poor Lala was sick all weekend. So glad she, my parents, and my grandmother will all be here this weekend for Thanksgiving!

Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch!

One of the best online deal sites, Groupon, had a family pass to Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch as it's daily deal. We were there in 2008 and 2009 (oh my goodness, look at those babies!), and knew we wanted to go this year as well, so I bought it. (Side note, if you don't "do" Groupon, you should check it out! Just enter your city and they'll email you a deal every day. Most don't apply to me, but I've gotten 3 or 4 amazing deals!) When I logged on to Groupon I found out I had a $10 credit from someone using my link to buy a deal, so the pass ended up costing us $5 for our whole family! Then, when I read the fine print, I realized we could bring grandparents, too. Awesome!

We went with Allison and Kenny and crew. Here are all the kids in age order...

What a crew!

Charlie wasn't happy in the stroller for long. He loved the wooden train.

I took advantage of (the boys') still being in church clothes to snap a few great pics!

Hams.

Daddy, Mama and our silly boys.

We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, and let Jack choose a pumpkin to take home. The rule was, he had to be able to carry it! :)

Charlie, on the ride back. It was another wonderful year of family fun at the pumpkin patch!

Your gifts are too heavy to mail...

so you'll just have to come see us to get them!

Happy Mother's Day Gigi, Meemaw and Momsie! Two little boys have never been as lucky to have such wonderful women in their lives as mine are. :)

A Week in Florida

Pardon my bloggy absence- we've been without internet, so opportunities for posting have been few and far between. The (little) boys and I headed to Florida a couple of weeks ago so I could go into Principle Woods and the kiddos could relish in Gigi's undivided attention during her week long Spring Break. Here's what we did!

Jack made sweet potatoes. Charlie tasted them for the first time.

Charlie rolled around on the floor and was entertained by Gigi, just like Jack used to be.

Jack used my pump as a bullhorn.

My purrrty Aunt Angela and her daughter Mae chased my kids. :)

Jack went swimming.

Charlie played in the shade...

and played...

and eventually fell asleep.

They boys shared a love of blocks.

Cooking Lessons

On President's Day both my parents were home from work- so I took advantage of free babysitting and went in to work kid-free. Before I left, my dad taught Jack his secret grits recipe. You might recall that Jack LOVES grits, so this was a special treat.

"Wook, Mama, I'm making GWITS!"

"See, I can stir it all by myself!"

Later that day- yes, he's still in his pj's- he wanted to help my mom with dinner. This was his method for steaming the veggies.

"Ta-da!"

We love our grandparents!

Last weekend when my mom was in town we had Mike's family over for dinner and to play. Jack was in heaven with so many people giving him their undivided attention... and Charlie too!

I just love this picture of my mom and Jack.

And I love this picture of my boys, too!

Thanks, Meemaw, Papa Jim, Gigi, and Papa Jack, for loving on our boys so much! We're all lucky to have you!