Will's Baptism Weekend!! PLUS MeMe/Papa and the Allen's Visit!

Our sweet Will was baptized on June 30th. Meme and Papa as well as Anna's family came for the big event. It was great having everyone here! And yes, we all fit in the downstairs of our house! It'll be amazing when the upstairs gets done!

The cousins always have a great time. We always laugh because they tend to pair off by birth order and not necessarily by age. But regardless, they always have the best time together.

Even Anna got in on the slip n slide.

The boys decided that drinking from the slip n slide was more fun. Silly boys!

Anna bought a bunch of paint balls for everyone. I love her serious face while she was giving them directions. ha!

Sweet baby Abe and Grandpa

The boys painted some wooden animals. They were so cute asking every few minutes if they could have "Boy Time."

Amy doing Adeline's hair, Adeline misting Abe with the spray bottle....

Lee teaching Stratton how to play a game called Dicemasters.

Meme brought sparklers. It was funny to watch some of their faces! 

Bedtime stories with Stratton are the best!

Mom and Dad had to get back home and the Allen's got to stay one more day! We took the kids to a new Soda shop and played in the water and played on the grassy hangout area. 

Amy's new talent is bending in half and walking in that position.

Adeline got in on the fun.

That night we rearranged sleeping arrangements a bit. Amy and Adeline started off in Amy's bed (we later moved them to an air mattress in the living room.)

The boys took over "The Boys Room."

The next morning we cleaned up while waiting on the Allen's car which never got fixed. (Their a/c had broken and were trying to get it fixed before their trek back. They get the Amazing Award as since it wasn't fixed, they drove back home with no a/c!) 

We had one final dance party and all too quickly it was over. It was such a fun weekend!

Amy and Tyler's Puppet Show

On Monday during Family Home Evening we made a list of summer things to do. I kind of hate screens so I try to limit how much time they use them. It's also a million degrees out so a lot of outdoor play isn't fun either. They came up with this list:

Amy decided to make sock puppets (Una's bag of buttons is still going strong!)

Then she and Tyler read/acted out a Gerald and Piggie book. It was really cute. (Gerald is an elephant and Piggie is a pig :) 

They did a great job!

Florida 2018

We had a great time in Florida again this year!

Actually- it started off a bit rough! On day one, the rip tide was pretty strong. We always make the boys wear their life jacket/swimmy things- thankfully!! Tyler was on a boogie board and got swept out with the current. Lee went after him. Once he reached Tyler a huge wave knocked them down and the boogie board rope got wrapped around Lee's foot and took off this big toenail. Tyler was traumatized and Lee needed a few band-aids. Our doctor friend told Lee not to go back in the water so that ended Lee's beach time.

Later that morning Will got swept away and I was able to get to him. Actually, 2 other adults were kind of nearby and the 3 of us took off, all reaching him at the same time. Will got swept out another day as well. The currents were crazy! The kids were standing in shallow water too. So we had to really keep an eye on them. 

I didn't take my camera out very much which I really regret! This is the only picture of Karen that I got. Sorry Karen!

One day I woke up with my neck killing me. The next morning it was even worse and I could hardly turn it. The stiff neck took a long time to go away and it has been very annoying!

I finally took the camera out on our last day there. By then Will wanted to stay inside with Lee so he's not in any of these. Amy and Tyler are our water bugs. Amy has become the master boogie boarder.

We love celebrating Will's birthday at the beach!

Uncle Bobby always makes them laugh. Along with Will's birthday, we celebrate all of their birthdays. It's a fun tradition.

I asked Amy what her favorite part of the beach was. She said "picking up trash and filling the holes so nesting sea turtles would't get stuck." She has such a big heart!

Florida is always wonderful!!!

Front Yard Update

When we got back from New York we had a week to work on a few projects at home. I got a truckload of FREE mulch delivered. I found out about a website where you could sign up for mulch delivered from local arborists. I didn't really know if it would work, but it did! And it really is a truckload! We have enough mulch for a lifetime. But hey, it was free! :)

I worked on the front gardens and got that nearly complete. It just needs a few more rocks along the edges to be done until the fall. It's so hot here that no one wants to go outside after 9am. It's looking really good though. I'm happy to say all the plants I brought from New York have transplanted nicely. I'm hoping they'll all come back next year!

While on a roll with the front yard, I cut down a scraggly, dead tree- with a handsaw! I felt pretty powerful. haha.

I tried to convince Lee to hook it up to the lawnmower and haul it out back but he didn't think that would be very safe. In the end my superhero picked it up and dragged it. I "helped." I was mostly there for moral support.

The front yard is shaping up really nicely. We are excited about it. You know how I love before and afters so just for reference- here it is on move-in day.

And how it looks today. 

Thus far we have power-washed the house, repainted the shutters, added plants to the gardens, enlarged one garden bed, cut down the scraggly tree and added a flag. :)

The bed that I enlarged will stay the way it is for this season. I'm amending the soil this year so that next year it'll be ready for planting. (It's pure clay right now.) The monkey grass surrounding the edge of the bed was pulled out from under those huge boxwoods. That is tough stuff! It has also transplanted nicely.

I want to add a few more seats to the front porch. I haven't decided if I want to do more rockers or a swing, or both. Right now all I've added is a flower stand.

The black-eyed susan's in from of the porch are starting to bloom. Those will fill in nicely and I'm glad I chose them.

Anyhow- we've made some progress in the front yard! It feels good to drive up to it. I always say, "Who lives in that cute house!?" We certainly love it here! It's been fun watching the transformations.