Goodbye swingset, hello pool!

We said goodbye to our swingset that the kids LOVED, because it was quickly going downhill. For all the money and time we spent on it, it sure didn't last long. :( We'll never ever buy a wooden swingset again. Here it is in pieces....it only took a small shove and it fell over! I'm glad to have it gone, because we were really worrying about it giving out while the kids were on it. Guess we know what Nathan will get for his birthday!

But on a positive note, we bought an above ground pool and put it up today! It's a very small one, but good enough to splash around and have fun in! Our HOA won't allow above ground pools larger than this size, so we went with this one. The kids were very excited about it! We had to go inside before it was full, but we'll get to enjoy it soon enough!

Sprinkler fun!

What is more fun that jumping on a trampoline? Jumping on a WET trampoline! We got the sprinkler out and just enjoyed the sunny day outside.

The kids loved playing ring-around-the-rosie on the wet trampoline!

One good thing about summer.....

...is that we can play with friends we don't normally get to play with! With school schedules, it was hard this year to get together with friends, but summertime means more free time and more play!

We went over to Chaney and Kinsley's house today, and we had so much fun. The kids had the most fun playing outside in the sand table!

Nathan found one of his favorite things....a phone!

"Laying out" on the pool float!

Then we went to McDonald's and had lunch! Nathan was much too busy eating to stop and smile for the camera. :)

A little help from another little boy, and Nathan made it all the way to the top of the play area! It's only a matter of time when he'll be climbing up there all by himself....he loves to climb. I didn't get any pictures of Madison and Chaney, but they had fun running around and climbing too! Madison made sure that she stayed by Chaney's side the whole time.

Madison was upset to leave, as always, and told me on the way home, "I want to see Chaney every single day." Maybe not every single day, but I hope we can get together more often this summer. Thank you, Holly, for having us over today....it was nice to FINALLY get together! We had a good time!

Little friendships....

Is there anything cuter than seeing two little toddlers play together and forming a friendship? I think it's the sweetest thing ever!

Nathan and I went over to Andrew's house and had a playdate. At first the boys were doing separate things, but as they warmed up to each other, they started doing things together. They are only 6 months apart, and they get along really well! Nathan was in love with Andrew's shirt and kept pointing to it. On his shirt was Nathan's favorite thing in the world.....a choo choo train!

Thanks for having us over, Jana! We had so much fun, and hope to spend more time together over the summer! I know these little boys are going to become great friends.

Memorial Day....

Memorial day is a little hard to explain to a 5 year old, but we tried. I am very thankful for all the soldiers who fight for our freedom - they are truly amazing people and don't get enough thanks for what they do. It's easy to see the day as "a day off work", but it is so much more. It's nice to have that reminder.
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We decided to head over to our community pool early this morning so we could beat the crowd! It was our first trip to the pool this summer. Well, Madison and daddy's second trip - they went yesterday. The kids had sooooooooo much fun - you gotta love summertime!

The splash park area is a big hit with Nathan - he loves running around in the water!

Madison goes straight for the pool to show off her improved swimming skills!

I got Nathan to jump in to me, and he LOVED it. This boy jumped about a million times.....in a row.....with no break. He couldn't get to the edge fast enough! He definitely has no fear of the water now, which is weird because he couldn't stand being dunked and getting his ears in the water at swim lessons. Not anymore though!

Picture break with Madison....she wanted to be a part of catching Nathan! And you can tell he wants nothing to do with a picture. He's trying his hardest to get to the edge again!

It was so cute....Nathan would stop and wave to daddy and Madison, and then go back to jumping!

Madison thought the water was too cold, so she decided to lay out and sunbathe....under a towel!

Daddy takes over for me! Lifting 25 pounds over and over is hard!

More splash park fun....

This is just the beginning of summer - lots of fun to come! I love seeing the kids so happy and having so much fun.

Hello summer....or fall!

Warning: lots of pictures! (And this isn't even HALF of them!)

Madison graduated on Friday afternoon, and that night we woke the kids up at 3:00am to begin our long road trip to Pensacola, Florida! Nathan had a few rough moments in the car, but overall, they both did really well for a 13 hour drive! We got there around 4:00pm Saturday, and the kids were so excited to see the beach! We had dinner and then walked down to play in the sand!

Nathan's first reaction to the sand. :)

The next day we went back out and tried it in our bathing suits. It was a little chilly and overcast, but we still went down there. Nathan enjoyed it a little more this time, but still wanted to be held every few minutes (when he realized he was back in the sand!).

It started raining, so we headed over to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. The kids were tired and hungry (Madison needed to go potty too).....and we came back to a locked door and NO key in our hands. So, we had bananas while Michael ran across town to the business office that had an extra key for us. Fun stuff!

We had several yummy meals overlooking the beautiful ocean! Nathan was entertained by the sweet-n-low/sugar packets at every restaurant.

We went to the boardwalk several times....

And then after a day or two of chilly weather, it got COLD and windy! On the beach, the sand was pelting us every time the wind blew, and it hurt. The kids weren't too fond of that....well, neither were Michael and I! Madison would get so upset every time it happened. Although, it really did hurt, I'll give her that. And in the forecast - windy for the rest of our trip!

Even though it wasn't the best of weather conditions, it was still GORGEOUS.

We spent a lot of time up in the room watching Thomas the Train - it was the only thing that made Nathan happy at times! We watched it so much that Madison is now reciting the lines before they are said! Michael and I too. :) Nathan went from watching ZERO tv, to begging for Thomas alllllllllllll day in about a week's time! When Thomas is on, he's glued to the tv and so content.

We bought a school bus at a suvenoir shop for Nathan, and he absolutely loved it. He made sure to take it everywhere we went, even to bed at night! Do you like how he's "sitting" here?? Oh, and yes, that's a sweatshirt on him....we all bought sweatshirts because we were so cold!!!! And of course we didn't pack any winter clothes to our BEACH vacation!

Madison and I went out to the beach while Nathan was napping, and we found a ton of shells. That was the highlight of the trip - finding seashells!

The next day it was even colder....mornings were in the 50's! But we were determined to have fun on this trip. I felt so bad for Nathan though...he didn't understand what was going on (with the wind/sand) and all he wanted to do was go inside and sleep! He was a worn out little boy this trip, even though he got naps every day.

The sun started peeking out a little bit, and we got Nathan a little more comfortable with the ocean. He actually began to enjoy it, on our last day!

And this became Madison's favorite place....the hot "pool". Once we saw purple lips, we figured warming up in the hot tub would be good! They both LOVED it, and didn't want to get out.

This wasn't our ideal beach vacation, but we still had fun. It will definitely be a funny memory. Looking at these pictures, you wouldn't know it was so cold and windy! But God taught me a little something on this trip.....to enjoy every moment and to make the best of bad situations. We still had a wonderful time being together, enjoying each other's company, and just getting away from normal life. On the way back home, I had a lot of time to think, and I just felt so blessed. God has given me the best family, and I am so happy to be able to make these wonderful memories together.