Catching Up

So, it has been a long time since I have updated the blog. We've been busy. Lots of trips and visitors, too. We are all staying inside and staying cool ... it's just so darn hot! Tomorrow I have to get the entire house packed up and fit it into the van for our trip to Arkansas. A dear friend of mine, Mary, has graciously offered us her lake house for the fourth. We are so excited to get away to the retreat for a weekend! (there is no tv, no internet, and probably no phone service). My mom and brother are meeting us there, and we're all excited!
Anyway, what have I missed .... I've taken the boys swimming a couple of times, and it's more "do-able" than I would have thought. Jackson is loving the water ... Cooper, well, he's not really feeling it.
Cooper and I also made a trip to Denver to visit my sweet friend, Jessica, her husband, David, and their one-year-old, Sam. Oh! And their dog, Mango, of course. Anyway, it was several weeks ago, and I still haven't posted any pictures until now. We had a great time, and actually got to do some shopping!!!! I haven't been shopping in ages! It was so nice. I did feel a little lost with only one kiddo, and I missed Colin and Jackson like crazy. But, it was so nice to spend time with the Clampitts.

Here is Cooper trying out Sam's walker


The two little monkeys

Eating a the food court. He was a bit messy.

Here's Sam with a birthday present -
he turned One the week after I left. Happy birthday, Sam!


Sam in the walker - he's a pro!


Cooper in his outfit that I put on for the first time. It's an 18 mo.size, and I was so excited for him to wear it. (Jessica had given it to Jackson when he was little). Anyway, within a few minutes of me putting it on him, the buttons were popping open. I rebuttoned them a few times, and finally accepted that I had missed the window of time where he might have actually been able to wear it. Bummer! Maybe the next boy will be able to wear it! (No, there isn't one on the way, but I am just assuming there is one in the future).

We had some friends over a couple of weeks ago - and between us we had 10 kiddos. It was a lot of fun - we made pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, and more "fixins." Yum! The best part was the sangria! Thanks, Adrienne! It was a bit dangerous, though. Anyway, the kids had fun running through the sprinkler and acting silly. Jackson spent most of the time pouring water over all the chairs and drinking lots of lemonade. Here are some pictures from that night.


This past weekend Colin's family came into town and we had such a great visit. We helped celebrate Mawmaw Cynthia's birthday with cake, icecream, and champagne. I went a little crazy with the flowers on the cake, but, listen ... I only get to make "boy" cakes all the time, so I was thrilled to use pink, and to be able to make it extra girly with all the flowers! We all had alot of fun just hanging out together.