this is the life...

Jack is playing hookey with Nani and swimming naked on a hot, summer day...makes me happy and...


(Does it count as skinny-dipping if he's wearing water wings?!?)

back to reality...

I wore flip-flops and comfy shorts for an entire week and it was glorious. Now, it's back to work and school and schedules and real life...

Luckily, I come back with happy memories of first fish caught...

...first vacations enjoyed...

...wrestling, superheros, and lots of jail-time...

...first swims...

and pretty in pink sunsets...

ready for 'cation...

We're ready...for road-tripping, pool lounging, boat riding, antique shopping, sun bathing, splish splashing, board-game playing, adventure finding, yummy eating...we're ready.

Lila (surprisingly) really enjoys wearing (Jack's old) sunglasses...(as well as his old pjs). Luckily she has her own ruffly swimsuits and I'm not making her wear Jack's hand-me-downs there...

And Jack has been wheeling around his suitcase filled with nothing more than a superhero cape...because that's all he needs. He's pretty low maintenance...

and excited!

BTW, so is she...


I'll be excited once we're on the road and done packing. Last night I got Lila all packed up and my over-packing history repeats itself: I think her bag is bigger than anyone else's! Good luck lugging that around, Lila!

this weekend...

I have big plans this weekend…including (but not limited to):

• straightening up the house
• drinking some wine from a box
• collecting cicada shells for Jack’s new collection (is this gross?)
• watching Lila crawl around (because she finally started, yippee-yahoo…oh crap I have to start cleaning my floors!)
• painting my nails a fun color (yellow, maybe)
• cutting the grass (yes, this is fun to me)
• drinking beer from a can
• hanging with my favs

…extra long weekend, I love you!

machines!

This weekend we went to an event called "Meet the Machines" sponsored by a local construction company. I had no idea what to expect, but suffice to say it was overwhelming and brilliant and I've never seen so many little boys so happy in one place!

Next year we'll get there earlier (even though we showed up at 10: when it opened...apparently you need to get there at like 9-9:30 if you even want a chance to operate a scooper truck or go up in the high lift! Fail.)

Lucky for us, Jack was happy enough to meet Bob the Builder, run around with his hard hat on, explore every vehicle imaginable, and get sandy & sweat digging for treasure!

Also, the monster truck had a "For Sale" sign on it, and Jim is quite interested...have fun living in it, honey!

Next year we'll be better prepared for the chaos and excitement...also, I hope Lila's done teething by then because she was a little too preoccupied with her sore gums to enjoy the machines!

(cell phone pics=boo.)

O beautiful for spacious skies

A few pics of our proud American boy at the 4th of July parade...after the firetrucks passed, it was pretty much all downhill for Jack, except that he did touch SpongeBob in real life...but the firetrucks were still the highlight! See his excitement!

Jack couldn't make it through the whole parade...the sun just wears that little guy out! So we crossed the street about halfway through the parade...so we were pretty infamous for a few seconds when we walked in the parade!

Dressing patriotic

On the 4th we headed downtown for the VP Fair Parade. As we were scrambling to get ready, Jack decided to choose his own outfit...

Needless to say, we added a shirt and substituted a Cards hat for his winter one, because although adorable and hilarious, definitely not practical!

And little mister knows he can only have his paci at night-time, but he was resting and just needed a break before all the parade excitement! :)

Snapshots from vaca

A few snaps from our family trip to Silver Dollar City in Branson...

We made sure that Jack was tall enough to ride the rides, and he just got over that "NO RIDE" line to fall under the "Ride with an adult" category. Luckily, Jim will be able to ride with him for years to come, because pregnant or not...I just can't!


Here's Jack getting on his very first ride...


And taking a ride with Ava and Grandma on the jumping frogs

And note for future reference: this boat ride below...PROB not the best for little ones. Although I think I freaked out more than Jack did as it zoomed around and around (for like ever!) he was sure that he, "No like that one!"

But the best ride was the wagon, 'cause it meant Daddy or Pe-paw had to drag it up, down, under, over...and who doesn't want an extra workout on their vacation?!

Here's the one picture I managed to snap of Jim and I on vaca...

And now it's time for a mini-stay-cation for the long weekend! Here's to an extra day with the boys!

on the farm...

Here are a few quick phone pics from our trip to Grant's Farm this past weekend. As soon as Jack started feeding the goats, I whipped out my camera, and realized that I didn't have my memory card so these will have to do. I blame the baby-brain!

Jack loved the goats!

He loved that he fed them out of a bottle, and that "I'llllll feed my baby sister with a bottle!" so he was getting his practice in!

I wouldn't let him down while he was feeding the goats for fear of him being jumped on, knocked down, and scarred, because, trust me, these guys get aggressive when it comes to their milk! Jack was very adamant with the goats that they should "Share with each other!", as apparent via his disapproving finger-pointing!

I tried to convince Jim that we needed to bring a baby goat home with us, but he was pretty insistent that we just wait a few more weeks and bring a real baby home with us instead. You win, Jim!

After the goat fun (and what's not fun about wearing flip-flops in the dirty, poopy goat pen?!), Jack needed to cool off in the sprinkler...

...and feed the camels. Good times on the farm!

We're back...

After a fun filled week complete with cousin-love, family bonding, fishing (with real worms), riding rides, jumping on beds, and adventures galore, we are home. Our bags might still be packed, and we might be running on the bare BARE minimum as far as groceries, but we are home. And I know two cousins who are already missing eachother...


I wonder how long we can live off canned veggies and frozen pizzas...without clean clothes...and unedited pictures...I'll be back with answers (and pictures).

We're off...

to Branson...

Jack and the monkeys...

One of our family adventures over the holiday weekend included a trip to the zoo. Jack LOVES the zoo and we’ve discovered that in the late afternoon, all of the animals seem to be at their active peek, so we enjoyed quite a show.

Check out what a difference a year makes! Here's Jack with Phil the Gorilla, a zoo staple since I was a kid. (Note: Yes, he is wearing the same shirt in both pictures, which is crazy considering how much growing this guy has done! It's one of my favorites, but I think this year it will have to be retired...for now!)

Here is Jack demonstrating his “new thing”: he always wants “Jus’ ONE more”, whether it’s “one more pet the goat!” or “one more book” or “one more Kung Fu Panda”…it’s almost too cute to deny...almost! ;-)

Jack loved to ride the train around the zoo, but one section must have been under construction so it was a long, dark tunnel (literally pitch black!). Needless to say, Jack was a bit scared. Good thing Daddy was there for protection, and Mommy was there with the camera!

Jack had much more fun in the light of day...