Landon's First Birthday Party

We had a Noah's Ark theme for Landon's first birthday. I made the cakes and cupcakes...it literally took me almost all day long the Friday before the party on Saturday. I love doing it, and I will continue to make their cakes as long as they want me to, but whew! It's definitely a labor of love.







He had a great time and actually really enjoyed his cake. His sister...well, on her first birthday she did not enjoy her cake, so we weren't sure what he was going to do. He was a little apprehensive at first, but once he discovered that it tasted good...well, he was sold!





On a hot Saturday, we had so many wonderful friends and family come out to spend the day celebrating our precious son. I love this picture of Aaron with his buddies and brother-in-law.



With Aunt KK and Uncle Judd



With Opa and Oma



And yes, for the record, I know the color of those pictures isn't the best...but I still like them! I never claimed to be a professional....

It was a fun day and I'm so glad Landon is in our life! He adds joy daily and is a wonderful addition to our family!

A little of this and that...

Way back in May Aaron and I did something we had never done before. We went on a trip sans children for 4 nights! We missed them, but it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L! I had no idea how much we needed that time to reconnect and get our heads on straight again. We went with 2 other couples to a quiet cabin in North Carolina that belongs to some of our friends. We appreciated them letting us go so much! It was a lot of fun. We went to a movie...in the theater! We also shopped and stayed up late and slept late and didn't have to get milk in sippy cups or give anyone a bath but ourselves. Seriously. Joyous.



The view from the cabin. Look at God's gorgeous creation! We enjoyed spending some time together studying the Bible and praying. We needed that time together.





Hey good lookin'!

In other news...we have been trying to lose some of the extra poundage we've been carrying around and just be healthier overall. Aaron started back in January and has lost 30+ pounds! I'm so proud of him! I haven't done so well. I am an emotional eater and stress makes me crave things I shouldn't be putting in my mouth. So, I've lost a few here and a few there, but nothing too substantial. A good friend inspired me to look into Weight Watchers. (She's also lost 30+ since joining!) Although the idea of paying for it was NOT appealing, I decided to go for it because I obviously needed something more. Aaron was very supportive so I signed up last week. I was diligent to count my points. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I just had to rethink things a little. Well, I weighed in this morning. I was nervous. I was terrified, actually. I knew I would be really discouraged if I hadn't lost anything. Well....I lost 4lbs! I am so happy! I will continue with this for at least the next 3 months...I signed up for 3 months. I think paying for the program as helped me a lot....I do not want the money to be wasted, which gives me an extra nudge of motivation. I'll keep you posted!

Playtime

I can't believe summer is almost over! Well, for the school aged kiddos anyhow. It's hard for me not to define summer based on the school system. I guess growing up that was life, then same thing in college, then I was a teacher...so in my mind, the year is still divided into "summer" "first semester" and "second semester"...I guess it's alright though...we will soon be in the school days with our own children. Which is a scary and humbling thought. How fast life does fly.



Oh how we've played this summer. When we weren't out of town or having house guests, we were trying to beat the heat by playing indoors more than I would like. It's just been so hot this summer...as all of you know. Our time outdoors has been somewhat limited, but the children have still had fun and loved playing.



Caroline has played school, library, sleepover, and grocery shopping with her dolls and animals. She has a vivid imagination...it's obvious by the stories she makes up. I don't know how she comes up with some of her stories.



Do you remember those old reams of printer paper with the holes on the side and then you could tear the holey part off and have a regular sized piece of paper? Well, Opa gave Caroline a whole ream of that paper and while some of it has been used for drawing (she's also becoming quite a little artist), the bulk of it was used to play with on the floor of our bedroom. They had a blast.



Why do kids like to play under covers and pillows? Or at least, my children? This is one of my least favorite games because it messes up the bed. We do play it sometimes though, their laughter making the mess easier to swallow. :)

Goodbye for now!

Happy First Birthday!

A very sweet little man is having his first birthday today!



Landon is a joy to have in our life and a priviledge to raise. He is a true gift from the Lord and it's very difficult to remember our life without him in it. Just like his big sister, he loves the water. He loves to splash and makes a big mess, but his squeels of delight are like payment for the time spent cleaning the bathroom floor.





Landon is into everything. He's crawling and pulling, and trying desperately to walk. He is drawn to all things electronic and would chew through a wire if given the chance.



Landon loves his big sister. He wants to eat what she's eating, play with her toys, follow her around, he's basically her little shadow!





I love you dearly, little boy! Happy Birthday!

Final Florida Post

Seriously, it's taken me forever to post about our trip! This will be the last one though, so then hopefully I'll be back to just what's going on in our life.

We spent 5 days at Disney World while we were in FL. It was a lot of fun. I've always been a Disney fan and I love visiting Disney World at least as much as Caroline does, if not more. Although, she loves it now and every so often will ask when we're going back. A girl after my own heart.



Notice she's wearing a jacket? It was super cold while we were there! We had to wear lots of layers to keep warm. I think that being cold at Disney World is better than being hot though. I think I've decided if possible we'll always go during cooler months. Anyway, she loved all the fun stuff to play with in the que for the Winne the Pooh ride. We loved that it kept her entertained!





As part of our vacation package we were able to take advantage of a free deal Disney was offering. We got all our meals for free by using their promotional free dining plan. It was amazing! We ate some really yummy foods at restaurant we never would have gone to if we had been paying out of pocket. Caroline and Landon got to enjoy meeting Characters at some of our meals, which was a special treat.



Aaron and I enjoyed riding rides with Caroline and Landon.









It was a really fun trip and we made some wonderful memories! One day we were able to meet up with our friends from Kentucky, the Bouldin's, which was wonderful! Unfortunatey, I got NO good pictueres from that meal! It was fun to be with them though, and exciting that we were all there at the same time.

It was a truly wonderful vacation!

Florida Part III

While we were in Florida we got to spend time with our good friends Matt and Candee. We had so much fun with their family! After looking at each other's Christmas cards for 2 months, Caroline and their little boy finally met and had a blast together!





One of the days we took lunch to a park and let the kids run and play. The "big" slide was a big hit! Caroline cried when it was time to leave. She had so much fun playing.





Landon sat in a swing for the first time and really loved it! We took turns pushing him for about a half hour. He was so happy and relaxed.





For the record, we did not pose him for this picture. He just kicked himself back and enjoyed the ride!



The tire swing was also a big hit. Precious children.

The last afternoon we were there we headed to campus to take some pics and look around. Several new buildings have been built and it was fun to see the school grow. We looked around the bookstore and ran into one of our favorite teachers. I didn't expect him to remember us, I mean seriously, how many students has he had over the years? But, he did. He even remembered where I sat in his class and who I was friends with! Aaron wasn't with me when I ran into him and he asked me about him. He hadn't heard we got married, but he remembered we were dating. I was wearing Landon in a sling, and I enjoyed telling him that he was Aaron's son. About that time Aaron walked up and it was a fun reunion. Although it's not impossible, it's unlikely that a teacher would remember you in that way from a large school. That is one thing I love about FC...the close, personal relationships that are developed. We all serve the same Master, which goes a long way to bond people together.



Don't the little ones look a little wary of this situation?! Don't worry, we were right there and no one could have fallen. My hands are just barely outside the perimeter of the picture.

I'll try to do better about updating...I know some family members who want updates more often! Love to all!

P.S. Matt and Candee are coming to visit at the end of July! We are already getting excited to see them!

Look out world...

This little man is on the move!






We now have an army-style crawl going on....life as we know it is over.

Florida, Part II

We loved our time in Florida! We had so much fun catching up with friends and enjoyed spending time as a family. The second half of our trip was spent at Disney World! We had been thinking of taking a trip there, I love it so much, and since we were going to be in FL anyway, and close by, we decided to parlay our reunion trip into a vacation too. It happened to be an excellent time to go too...not a peak season, so not too crowded, and we were able to get all our meals free. That's always good!



We waited until the morning we were actually heading to Disney to tell Caroline. She was so excited! We had some Mickey ears from a before-we-had-kids trip back in 2006 with these two. She was super excited and we put a Disney CD in the player and sang along the whole way.



It was cold most of the week while we were there. I was glad we had brought some jackets and sweaters. So cold, in fact, that I put leggins on under Caroline's pants to keep her cold and we had blankets in the stroller for both kids. At least we weren't hot and sweaty the whole time!







We took over 700 pictures on our trip....so I will be blogging about this for a while! I'll be back soon with more...for now, have a good week!

Florida, part I

Way back in Febraury, we loaded up, and I do mean loaded, up the car and headed to Florida for 9 days. The first leg of our trip was to Florida College, the place where we met and began to fall in love. The place of our first forays into adulthood. A then 2 year school that has now evolved to offer many 4 year degrees, it was time for Aaron's 10 year reunion. We were excited to go back. It had been a long time for both of us...never as a married couple had we walked that campus, but now we returned with rings on our fingers and 2 children in tow.



A late night meet-and-greet of his class and we were exhausted. Our drive down took hours longer than it should have, and it rained the.entire.way. Not so much fun. We had about 2 hours to eat, get the children settled, and primp before we needed to leave the hotel. It was a rush, but we made it.



We got to spend time with our dear friends, Matt and Candee. It had been too long! Living on seperate coasts will do that though. (Not going to be much longer though...they are coming our way in July! Yay!) Aaron and Matt were suitemates and Matt was one of Aaron's groomsmen.



Suite 9....from the left....Richard (Aaron's actual roomate and another groomsman), Clay, Manly, Aaron, and Matt. Only 3 of their suitemates were not in attendace. They were like giddy schoolgirls when they saw each other. I have often wondered what really went on in that suite...but then I decided I probably don't really want to know. I will add that we were all especially surprised to see Clay...his wife was pregnant and due 2 weeks (I think) from the event. What an amazing trooper she was!



In front of their suite. That dorm isn't used to house students anymore. They have built a brand new one to replace it and it's super amazing. College students are living well now. Ha!



In front of my old room! The building was the newest on campus when I lived there. I've heard that current students refer to it as "the old dorm that smells." Sigh. Life sure does move on, huh?

Back On!

Hello, hello! I have jumped back on the blogging bandwagon. Life has been so busy lately, and we've struggled with sickness off and on since February. We finally got the software uploaded to this computer, so I am back!

I don't know where to start! I think I will just start with Easter weekend, and then back track in future posts.

We had a good Easter. Caroline really enjoyed everything...she especially liked seeing the bunny at the mall. We did not pay to have a picture or to sit on the bunny's lap, I mean she literally loved seeing him when we would walk by and wave. We have been having lunch at the mall about once a week with some friends, so we have seen him several times. Poor bunny. We must have looked like the jackpot walking toward him. 4 strollers, one a double (mine)...he actually stood up and waved. His little grassy knoll was empty. No children were visiting him at that time. We waved and walked right on by. I think I saw his face fall through the mask.





We hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at our house the Saturday before Easter. We had a good mix of older kids and younger kids from church and they all had a blast. We decided to have a Pinata. They LOVED it.





It was a really fun day. I loved being with all our friends and seeing the children play together and enjoy God's creation truly brought joy to my heart.



The kids enjoyed finding their Easter baskets at the foot of the stairs. Caroline spotted them and said, "Wow." Ha!





We had a hard time getting a good picture of the kids in their church clothes, so here are just a few! Some are better than others...I've just come to grips with that for now.