Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Meet Belle or Bill

Meet Bell or Bill. We had some friends over to swim and cook out and the boys were playing baseball. They hit the ball over the fence into the neighbors yard. Jackson and Aidan went with Noni to get it back. As they were walking back, they kept hearing a little meow. The kitten followed them all the way back to our house. They said they saw a little cat, so I went to the front yard to see if it was still there. Sure enough, it was in a front yard and started meowing. She came right up to me and let me pick her up. She was so sweet that I didn't think she could be a ferrel cat, so we took her picture and put it on facebook. Nobody claimed her. We gave her some milk and put her back outside thinking maybe she would find her family. The next morning, we found her sleeping on the jeep tire. She has been ours since! I must have removed over 100 fleas on that poor baby. We took her to the vet and he/she got vaccinated and a clean bill of health. We couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl kitty and because he/she is only 8 or 9 weeks old, the vet couldn't tell either! So for now, we are unsure if kitty is Belle or Bill!

 Sweetest kitty you will ever meet!
 Beckett REALLY loves the cat! He has always wanted a cat, but because I am allergic, we said no way. Also, I hate the idea of a litter box. Now we have the best cat ever! It sleeps and goes to the bathroom outside!!
 Beckett loves to play with the cat. I have caught him reading to the cat, trying to give the cat a bath, putting the cat in different bags to carry around. This is the most complacent cat I have ever seen. Despite all of this, he/she just lays there and takes it!
 Content little kitty.
 We bought the cat a little shelter for inside the garage.

The cat is really not supposed to come in the house, but they love to let the cat lounge on them.










Good luck kitty!


My sister and all of her kids came to visit for almost a full week! We had the best time and the kids had so much fun together! Somehow, with all the fun, I didn't get many pics. We went to the movies, swam, went to White Water, had Katie and her friend Bailey babysit so we could have an adult night, walked to the square etc. So much fun!
These 2 crack me up! They were getting their groove on!







Booty Shake!
 After his bike riding in Kiawah, Beckett was inspired to try to ride without training wheels.
 Here he goes.....








He fell several times but kept getting back up to try. He's not able to do it yet, but we will keep trying!
 Nothing like a little after work tennis match.








Nice swing!
 Jackson had his last camp at Josh Powell. This was his first year at this camp and he LOVED it! They did archery, canoeing, swimming and came home every day dirty and exhausted! He had so many friends there, which made it extra special!





And my favorite playground game...teatherball! I was the teatherball champion at my shool. :)
Mary made it to swim in the state meet, so we all went to cheer her on! She did great and we are so proud of her!
 Here she is getting her medal for 7th in the 25m freestyle. She was also part of a freestyle relay team that got 2nd place! Way to go Mary!
 It was a long day. I went in the am to watch the first round and then picked up in the boys in the afternoon to watch the finals. She swam in one of the first races and then she didn't swim again until the very last race. Luckily, there was a water park that I was able to take the boys to in between races. There were a lot of snacks to keep them happy!
Cookie ice cream sandwich for this one!
 Jackson's new favorite candy....M&M peanuts. That was my dad's favorite candy as well :)
 Water balloon fight! We had bought colored water balloons to have a water balloon fight when my sister was in town, but of course, we couldn't find them when it was time to do them. Well, we found them! Kids couldn't wait!
 Beckett trying to find his target...
They decided to stock pile some behind the bushes and wait to ambush Daddy and Granddaddy when they got home.
Waiting patiently....
My little daredevil! Zip lining!! Only 2 more weeks until we are back to school! We have 1 last trip to Chicago and then 1 last trip to Kiawah for Labor Day. Looking forward to both!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Kiawah and 4th of July Fun!

 So much to say in this blog! We finally got a new computer which should make my blog entries a lot easier. Our old computer was so slow and would constantly crash, making blogging almost impossible. This is going to be a long post, but hopefully with the new computer, I will be able to blog more often. I cannot believe summer is almost over. I am not ready for the kids to go back to school. We have had such a fun summer and it just flew by way too quickly! Both kids are in their last camps right now. Jackson did a Lacrosse camp and loved it! We have decided to play lacrosse this fall. Beckett is also ready to play! He put all of Jackson's gear on and was ready to take the field!
My little swimmer. This one can hold his breath for a long time!!! He hasn't quite mastered the art of the side breath, but he is working on it!
 My daredevil!
 Fun birthday party at the Brave's game! Jackson was invited to Jack's birthday party and they went to the Braves game and then stayed the night. The plan was to start with batting practive, but it was so hot that they actually cancelled it! They assumed the kids would only make it a couple of innings but the boys loved it so much, they stayed for the entire game and the concert afterwards!
 This one cracks me up! Since Jackson was at the party, we had a special day and night with this one.
 He requested that we go see a movie. He got to pick out which one we went to, and he decided on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He loved it!
 Boys at the game! Go Braves!
 We also have some exciting news. We have welcomed a new furbaby into our home. We randomly decided to stop into a petstore and low and behold they had this cutie. She is a 3 month old Labradoodle.
 We all fell in love and brought her home! The boys have named her Sweetie.
 Lavaball was so happy to have a playmate again!
 These 2 are best buds!
 This kid cracks me up! We were on our way to get haircuts. I looked over and he had his jeep hanging off a leash....
 Do you think he needs a cut?
 We headed to Kiawah again this year for the 4th of July! So much fun!! We headed down Thursday night right after work. The next morning we headed straight to the beach. At 2pm at the pool, there is always craft time. This year they painted light houses.
 Working very hard!
 After a full day at the beach, we headed to concert in the square. Always a good time!
 A trip to Freshfields is not complete without the world's largest ice cream!
 And lots of dancing!
 Happy 4th of July!
 Beckett reminds me of John John when he saluted his dad as they brought his casket past him.,,
 Family pic!
 This year was extra special because we were able to enjoy the beach with cousins! They had so much fun surfing, boogy boarding, body surfing, lacrosse, etc.
 This was also a big year for Beckett because this was the first time he tried to ride his bike to the beach.
 He made it!
 So excited to get in the ocean!
 Noni bought a heavy duty shovel which made sand castle building so much easier!
 Granddaddy is the best sand castle builder!
 Love!
 Beckett trying to surf with daddy.
 It's a little sad, but his one does not need daddy's help anymore....
 We had so much fun last year shark fishing, that we did it again!
 Beckett loved to boat ride!
 Jackson caught the first fish!
 Captain Mike teaching the boys the proper way to handle a fish...
 Beckett got one!
 Cuties!
 Watch out! We are going to need a bigger boat! We didn't catch any shark this year and the fish we did catch were tiny, but we had fun!
 After fishing we headed home to make some cookies!
 My boys love to help in the kitchen!
 Trying to get my annual pier photo gets harder and harder.....
 Beckett surfing!
 He did it!
 He looks so grown up carrying his own surf board to the waves.

 One morning we decided to bike up to Freshfields. It is about a 2 mile bike ride, and Beckett, of course, wanted to do it.  I was really surprised but he made it! I rode ahead with Jackson and we decided to walk back a little ways to see if we could see them. When Jackson saw Beckett, he decided to run along side of him to encourage him the last few feet. When he was finished, Beckett said, "There is water coming off of me!" That would be sweat buddy.
 The 4th started with a parade around the pool. There was a bunch of stuff for the kids to wear. Of course, Beckett refused to participate.
 Jackson was happy to do it though!
 After the parade, we headed back to the beach for some more surfing!
 Giving me the thumbs up!
 The kids trying to body surf.
 Beckett decided he was going to try to boogie board on his own.
 After a full day at the beach, we rushed home to get our bikes for the bike decorating parade. Jackson again was in full participation!
 Beckett wanted to ride his bike but was not so interested in the decorating.....
 Cutie cousins!
 Getting ready to go!
 Patriotic Granddaddy
 They all made it! The parade ended at another park filled with games, face painting, jumpies, food and finally, the fireworks!
 Bubble time!
 We literally had to drag this one away from the games to eat. He played this game, which was 9 square. He played beach volleyball with mommy. So much fun! I think he would have skipped the fireworks to continue to play all the games!
 Playing games!
 Knocking down the bottles!
Face painting! Beckett literally waited patiently with Noni for over an hour to have this masterful creation done. We had such a great 4th of July holiday! Thank you Noni and Granddaddy for an amazing trip once again!!