Mom and Dad's Visit

My parents were here a few weekends ago and my goodness we had the best time!  We did something on the water every day they were here.  My dad has a really stressful job so I love that when he comes up here he can just relax and hang by the water... his favorite thing.  And the boys are always SO excited when they come... we were counting down the days for weeks!

The first day they were here we rented a pontoon and went out on the bay.  It was seriously an amazing day!

Getting ready to leave the dock...

Dad in his happy place!  Floating with a big 'ol gin and tonic!  :)

It was hot (of course) so we just drove for a few minutes and then stopped to jump in and cool off.

J manned his station again at the front of the boat.  Popeye liked it up there, too.

Davis was obsessed with feeling the vibrations on the speakers from the music we were playing.  He did this off and on all day.

The water was absolutely gorgeous that day...

We were parked at the jetties where the bay meets the gulf and a Navy hovercraft went right by us coming in from the gulf!  So cool!  At one point we also passed by what we assumed were some Navy Seals in the bay.

Davis fell asleep and slept like this with me for over an hour!  I loved the snuggle time.

Jackson was so sweet... Grandy asked him if he was having a good time and he said, "Yes... because of you."  And Emmett told them it was more fun than the boat party we went to a few weeks ago!  That's high praise.  They sure do love their grandparents.

We also went up to the Navy base again and played in the bay and on paddle boards.  It was much choppier than the last time we were there so paddle boarding was a bit more challenging.  :)

Davis was a little fussy that day, but he did enjoy floating in the waves.

The day before they left we went to the beach.  Can you get over this water??  So beautiful.

It was very wavy that day, so Davis stayed out of the water, but everyone else enjoyed it.

Reid is still obsessed with his diggers...

Can you spot J's head under that wave?  J and E were having so much fun rolling with the waves in their life jackets.

These people here were just struggling with that raft because of the waves.  Phil leaned over and said, "I think they escaped from a Carnival cruise."  And oh my gosh I just died laughing because it totally did look like that!  Phil is so funny!

D spent most of the time snuggling with me again.  I love my baby.

Reid was watching my mom's iPad one night and we looked up once and noticed he looked like this...

The rest of the time we just enjoyed being together at home (and spent some time up at the pool).  We also got a sitter one night and went out to eat at our favorite restaurant.  My dad was dying over his pork dish!  :)  I just love having my parents here so much.  I wish they lived next door.  One last pic from a highlight of their visit... J and E got to take Peaches (Grandy and Popeye's golden retriever) to Petsmart to pick out a new toy!  They thought this was the coolest.

Love you so much, Mom and Dad!

School

We started school last week... homeschool again.  I really love it a lot, although I did have a moment in the car the other day when I was talking to Phil about school and for a second thought about what it would be like if the boys were in regular school.  I was like, "It would be so much EASIER!  I would have so much time to MYSELF!  I would only have DAVIS for like three hours a day!  My house would be so CLEAN!!  AAHHHH!"  Lol.  But I try to remember that I will have PLENTY of time by myself in less than 20 years (which I know will go by in a blink) when my boys are grown and gone forever.  Well, hopefully not forever, but you know what I mean.  I don't want to ever look back and think that I wish I would have spent more time with them.  And I know the homeschool time we spend together is really important and special to our family.  I know it's not for everyone, but right now it's working well for us and we love it.

Aaaaannnyyway... here are some obligatory first day of school photos...

Today we had our first day of Classical Conversations (a co-op group that we go to once a week).  I was excited about it but also really nervous because Reid and Davis have to be in the childcare for the three hours we are there and Davis HATES any kind of childcare.  So I just knew he was going to scream and scream and I would have to be in there with him the whole time.  I prayed and prayed that he would have a good day.  Well, the morning started off on a huge wrong foot when my phone somehow switched to Eastern time zone during the night and I didn't realize it until I was starting up the car to go to the gym at 4:11 AM.  Ugh!  I was SO upset because I was fighting a cold and I knew we had a big day ahead and I really needed that hour of sleep!  But I pulled it together and packed lunches while I waited an hour to leave for the gym.  On the drive to the gym I just prayed again that we would have a good day and that I wouldn't be too tired and that Davis would be good, etc.  Well, wouldn't you know... it turned out to be an amazing morning.  Davis stayed in the nursery the ENTIRE three hours without so much as one little fuss!!!!  Truly a miracle!  Seriously!! And the other three boys were so good, too, and had a great time.  I was so, so thankful!

Here they are before we left... We tried to get D in the picture but he wasn't having it.  :)

I'm finishing this post a week later and Davis was so good AGAIN in the childcare!  He stayed in there the whole time again!  I am so amazed and so thankful.  It makes such a difference for me and allows me to spend much more time with J and E.  

And to celebrate the start of school Davis learned to climb up on everything in the house, including the desks in the school room, which is wonderful.  (Lol)  Here he is teaching himself some letters from the top of the table (aka pulling each one off of the whiteboard and sticking it through the crack between the table and wall to let it drop to the floor.  Kept him busy for a while!  :)

Beach Bums

We go to the beach several times a week after dinner.  Every time we are there it validates our decision to live close to the gulf.  It is so calming and relaxing and Phil and I usually have some time to sit and talk since the boys (even Davis) are usually happily playing in the sand and water.  We go in the evenings because it is cooler and lets the boys burn off their after-dinner energy.  And the sunsets are really beautiful... although we are usually gone by the time the sun actually sets, but the beginnings of the sunsets are beautiful.  :)

The boys love whenever someone has dug a big hole in the sand, so we started bringing a shovel so that Phil can dig a hole if we don't find one.  Holes keep them busy for a long time (so to speak)!

I was trying to get a picture of the four of them together, but we couldn't get Davis to cooperate.  This is the best we got... but I still love it.

There is a Navy base really close to our house, and on Saturdays we've been going up there to play in the bay.  They have a great waterside park area with shade pavilions right next to the water and the bay is usually very shallow, clear, and calm.  And there are lots of hermit crabs for the boys to play with.  AND they rent paddle boards and little pedal boats for cheap!  We have the best time.

Nana taught the boys to say "Cheers!" with their sippy cups a long time ago, so it was a cute surprise when Phil bought J and E special treat gatorade and Jackson turned to Emmett and said, "Cheers, Emmett!"  :) They were so happy about that gatorade.  It's the little things, I guess!

There's a really great playground there behind J and E in that picture... it's nice that the boys can go play on that if they want a break from the water.


Just another evening beach trip... Daddy leading the charge out into the water...

I sat and did a little of this...

The boys found some shells...

J found one of those nautilus-shaped shells and he was so excited to share with everyone that,  "You can hear the ocean inside this shell!"  :)

A pelican was flying and fishing pretty close to us... he's kind of in the middle of this picture.  It is so neat to watch them dive and scoop up a fish.

Can you find the pelican?  Lol.