Summer is winding down....

I really can't believe that we are about to enter the last week of summer. This summer has flown by! I am excited for Jackson to start Kindergarten, but at the same time, I am sad that we won't have our afternoons together any longer. I am sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but I still don't have a camera, so all my pics have been from my phone. They are fine but not as good as the camera! We have had a busy couple of weeks with birthday parties, visits from Memphis, a week long visit with Noni and Granddaddy, and lots of swimming. We are heading out today for our last trip of the summer to head to Chicago to see my sisters.It has been almost 2 years since we have been together, and I am so excited I just can't stand it! My sister Sarah has spent the last 18 months building a new home, which is why we haven't been able to connect.We can't wait to see it! This first pic is at Lanie's birthday party. Beckett loved hitting the pinata!

Jackson's turn! He really nailed that pinata and cracked it in half!

We have enjoyed some cooler mornings, so we were able to head to the park. Becket has turned into quite the daredevil!

Crazy brothers! Beckett is definately in the stage where he wants to try to do everything his brother does!

Beckett used to be super cautious but has recently started to let some of that caution go. He will try to climb anything as long as I am near.

Jackson, on the other hand, continues to climb and jump off everything! His most recent accomplishment is the monkey bars!

After some running and climbing, it was time to feed the ducks. Becket was not afraid of them this time!

Jackson showing Beckett how it is done.

As you can see from this pic, I took a pick of Jackson getting across the rocks and there is Beckett's attempt in mid flight!

Landed it!

Beckett's first rockwall!

Halfway there!

He did it!

We had a wonderful visit from our cousins in Memphis! Joey, Amy, Callie, Landon, Lane, Joseph and Will were able to stay with us for a couple of days before they headed to the beach. Jackson was in boy heavan! They played so well together and had the best time!

Jackson was so funny. When they first arrived, Jackson came up to me and said, "What is the name of the boy with all the things on his face?" Will has a lot of freckles on his face :) They were like 2 peas in a pod!

Relaxing in the hot tub!

Because of the amount of people in our house, Jackson was sleeping with us. Well, at 1:30 am, Beckett decided to join the party! It's amazing how much room 2 little people can take up!

We were also lucky enough to celebrate Amy's birthday with her!

Creative Noni! This past week was Paola's vacation, so Noni and Granddaddy came to stay with us to watch the boys while I went to work. Here is a ramp that Noni made for their cars. Needless to say, I was not missed! Thanks Noni and Granddady for taking such good care of the boys! They had so much fun and miss you so much already!

Every Friday we go to a different friends house to swim and have dinner. It has been so much fun! Here is Beckett with sweet Lanie. They are super cute together!! She takes such good care of him!

Some of the kids in the Friday night crew.We are definately going to miss all of the swimming! Such a great way to get these littles to burn some energy!!

We went to the outlet mall to pick out our new shoes for school. I think Beckett was more excited than Jackson was. I don't think he has every had a new pair!

This was so funny. I walked in oun Jackson playing piano school. He started by sitting on the couch and said, "Does anyone want to try?" He then raised his hand and said, "I do!" He then went to the piano and was following the instructions on the teaching book.I could see him lining up his fingers like picture showed.  Maybe he will be a pianist?

Happy 4th of July!

We had the best 4th of July ever at Noni's beach with our great friends the Konops. This was the first time we have been able to see the fireworks at Kiawah, and they did not disappoint! They were probably the best fireworks I have seen outside of Chicago and Disney. They had a barbecue beforehand with a rock wall, jumpies, crafts, and a good old fashioned watermelon eating contest! Andrew was the representative for our family, but to our dismay, he was defeated! On another sad note, my camera completely died so I have very few pictures to show :(. I initally thought it had recovered from my throw running after Beckett when he leaped into the pool, but alas, it is toast.

Happy 4th!

Sweet friends.

As soon as Jackson heard there was a rockwall, he ran over to see what the weight limit was. He wasn't able to do the rockwall at the zoo because you had to be 50 pounds. He was so excited when he saw 40 pounds! He couldn't wait to scale it! I was really impressed with how well he did. It was really high and he really had to use a lot of strength to pull himself up the different handles. He made it almost to the top but then got to an area where he coudln't reach the next handle up. He loved it!

Little patriots!

Finally got a picture with them all looking at the camera

The older kids got fireworks painted on their faces and Beckett went for USA on his arm.

No 4th of July is complete without glow necklaces! I wish my camera was more cooperative because they had an Uncle Sam on stilts!

Sweet Beckett. Had so much fun until the fireworks started. He HATED them! Scared to death to the point that Greg had to take him in the car. Maybe next year!

Jackson, on the other hand, LOVED it! He was literally on the edge of his seat clapping!

Unfortunatly, that is all the pictures I have. We had the best time surfing, playing in the sand, eating ice cream, bike riding etc. The adults were even able to go out for a fun evening childfree thanks to Noni and Grandaddy. Thanks Noni and Granddaddy for the best time! We can't wait until the next beach trip!

T

This week we decided to check out the Cherokee Acquatic Center. It was a blast! There are water slides and a mini lazy river. It wasn't too crowded and inexpensive.

Bonus! Jackson ran into his buddy from school Colin!

Going down the slide!

I think Beckett could have gone down this slide 1000 times. It was a little hard with 2 at first because Beckett refuesed to wear a floatie. Most of the area with the slide is only 1 foot deep so it is fine, but Beckett wants to follow Jackson who went into the deeper area. I was finally able to convince him to wear his floatie and all was well!

This is Jackson on the lazy river. I actually got a little scared because the current was so strong that he could barely grab onto the side for a break. After I saw that, we also put a lifejacket on Jackson :)