Summer Fun

Summers in Georgia are so hot..... I mean, we rarely go outside if there isn't a water source. So, to remedy that we use our little baby pool quite often. The boys love to splash and play in the water and I enjoy watching them have so much fun. Every once-in-a-while, we'll go to the splash park in town or to a bigger pool, but we are satisfied playing in the driveway most days!

 Later in the evenings, the lightning bugs come out to put on a show for us. We love finding them and anticipating where we will see their glow next. One special night, we caught a few in a jar so we could get a closer look...

 I love the laid-back feeling that summer brings. I love the simple things - like swimming in a plastic pool and catching lightning bugs in a Mason jar. So thankful for moments like that with my family. It truly is a gift.

Happy Fathers Day!

Sam and I are both blessed with wonderful fathers. I have said this before, but I love that my boys have awesome Grandpas in their lives. They let my boys have fun being boys. They go fishing & gem mining. They take trips to McDonalds & Burger King. They let them eat hotcakes, moonpies, and drink YooHoo. They buy them suckers whenever there is a concession stand available. Obviously, the boys love their Grandpa and G-Daddy... Who wouldn't? I am so thankful that our dads are awesome! We wouldn't be the people we are today without them.

Our boys are just as blessed as we are with such a great Daddy. I can spend all day with Michael and Isaac and have great times, but nothing compares to when Daddy walks through the door. He's more fun and lets them branch out a little more than this cautious Mommy does. Sam loves spending time with his boys and doing "boy things" like shooting basketballs and wrestling on the floor. He's teaching our boys how to be brave and courageous and how to be men of God. He's also teaching them how to jump off of couches and run fast. :) I love watching the boys play together. It's such a heart-warming moment.

For Fathers Day, we celebrated with my dad by going to dinner with the whole family. It's always nice to get my brother and I and our families together. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the event. What? Nevertheless, we enjoyed spending time with him. Thank you for everything, Dad. You're the best! :)

Earlier in the day, we took Sam's family and some friends of ours out on the lake. We used to go on the lake every day when we had our boat. Now, it's a special treat when we get some time on the water. We soak up every minute and go big. We brought the wakeboards, the tube, and the slalom ski. We really had a great time.

Michael rode the tube with Grandpa and even practiced his rope-holding skills for future wakeboard runs.

Grandpa slalom skiied and Sam was able to wakeboard. I'm glad Sam and his Dad got a day that they were able to enjoy! Happy Fathers Day!

Racing with Daddy

Every year, our town has a 5K on Fathers Day weekend. We are making it an annual tradition for our family. So far, Michael is the only one who has participated, but we are hoping to all run together in the future. Michael ran the Fun Run Mile for the first time last year (when he was two). This kid loves to run and he loves to be fast. We made sure to eat a good dinner the night before and get a good night's sleep so that he would have lots of energy!

Michael woke up early with a great attitude. He put on his Superman shirt for some motivation. He laced up his running shoes....

Got his racing number....

And he ran fast!

It was a challenge for him. He wanted to quit. He wanted to walk. He was fighting back tears as he finished. But, he finished!! Yay! He even got a medal as a reward for his hard work. That was one proud 3-year-old.

We enjoyed watching the 5K as Michael caught his breath, rested, ate some snacks, and debriefed with Grandpa.

We are so proud of our little runner. I could learn a lot from his perseverance. I got a little emotional thinking about the many races in his future!