Water Balloon Fun

Blake's friend spent the night last week, so we thought it would be fun to fill up a bucket of water balloons and let them have fun bombing each other.

 They had fun playing and we were kept busy filling up balloons along the way.

It was pretty much Blake and Jaxson against Barrett and Brynn, as you can see in this picture!

Team Little gave it their best shot though!

 Then came Daddy's great idea, or so he thought.  He went in the house to fill up a large balloon for a surprise attack on Team Big.  Turns out when you fill balloons with water that aren't intended for water, they don't bust very easily.  Robert crept back outside, told me to get the camera ready, and was ready to bomb Blake with the big balloon.  And bombed him is exactly what he did... right down to the ground!  The balloon hit him with a thump, bounced off, and knocked him to the ground!  You can see the balloon is flat as it hit the ground (without busting).  And yes, Blake is flat too, as he didn't even see it coming or know what hit him! 

 And like the good parents we are... we doubled over laughing and couldn't stop!!!  It didn't happen like we had expected and we couldn't stop laughing about it!

Note to self: Only use balloons made for water when having water balloon fights!!

Barrett's Day

The day had come for Barrett's turn for a special day with his cool parents.

I'm sure in about 10 years he will think we are as dorky as we look in this picture!  But for now, he thinks we are the coolest people in the world!

He requested lunch at the Waffle House, sitting up at the counter.

His first trip to Build-A-Bear was our destination.

He chose a cat because he already has plenty of puppies and bears.  He had it all planned out before we even got there... and thankfully they had a cute little white cat that he loved.

He named his cat, Baby Buttercup.  We got her all registered in the computer.

We had such a fun, special afternoon with our boy!

Children's Museum

Barrett has been begging all summer to take our annual trip out to the Children's Museum.  I like to wait until it gets very hot outside before we take our special trip to the indoor play area.  After several days in the triple digits, we decided the time had come!

 This was the first year I didn't take my big camera with me.  Just snapped a few pictures with my phone to help us remember our day.  The kids played for hours and I enjoyed listening to their imaginations run wild!

Brynn Phone Dump

Because she is the only child who still lets me take her picture without griping and complaining...

Josh Is Home

 Uncle Josh has been deployed overseas and hasn't been home in 8 months.  The kids have been counting down to the day he would get to come home for a visit... and it had finally arrived!

 We all waited patiently in our holding area, waiting for his plane to land.

 And there he is!  The doors were going so slow!  It took him forever and a million baby steps to finally make it out... and when he did, there were 16 family members waiting on the other side for him!

 And one HAPPY wife!

 We went to lunch at Gloria's afterwards and then let him get home to start his R&R!

Girl's Evening

The girls and I made a trip to Tyler's for t-shirts...

followed by dinner at The Cheesecake Factory!

Good laughs, good conversation, and good food (with leftovers!). 

Date Night

A night of dinner on the patio, a movie, and walking around by the lake turned into this...

huddling under an awning while the rain fell!

We were still able to eat on the patio (hello humidity), and watch a movie, but no hand in hand walks along the lakefront!

Thankful for a refreshing rain for our dry land and a night with the hubs!

This and That

We have enjoyed our weekly pool time with friends.

 Brynn likes to get all glammed up.

 Zoey was not too thrilled about her teacher/aunt at church Sunday!

Playing in the sand and water in the evenings is one of our favorite things, especially when it's with friends!

 Blake got his own library card and is feeling pretty old now! 

 Robert had spinal injections and was still feeling pretty loopy and happy when they loaded him in the car afterwards.

That's a little bit of this and a little bit of that from our family this past week!

Sweet Summertime

The Orchard

We made our annual trek out to the orchard.  We look forward to this simple little afternoon excursion each summer.

 They have expanded some things a bit, which made for an even more pleasant afternoon.

 The weather was warm, but breezy, so in the shade it wasn't bad.

 We ordered lunch and then took some pictures while we waited.

 We got some delicious strawberry and peach ice cream after lunch. 

 Before we left, we did a little shopping in the store. 

 And the moment Barrett had been waiting for finally happened... a train blared it whistle and came speeding down the tracks that run directly in front of the orchard. 

 As always, we are looking forward to our next visit!