Cousins

One of our fun summer memories was spending a few days in Belton with Uncle Brad, Aunt Shannon, and the 3 Ms. And even more fun since they live on a college campus and it was summertime...the whole place to ourselves.

I have decided Belton has the best FREE public splash pad. We love going there anytime we're in town for the summer. The Bankheads' two other cousins happened to be in town as well, so all seven kids had a blast.

And somehow I forgot the swimsuit for Will that has a drawstring. SO he was a little saggy, but that didn't seem to stop him.

I love how these pics turned out! Think they had some fun?

 

I didn't bring the camera with me the next day, but more splashing at a local waterpark. Will found the perfect slide his size to go on at least 50 times in a row. :)

And before we left, we did a group shot with sisters and the kids. And also provided further proof that in some bizarre genetic wonder that we can't figure out, Morgan & Will are actually brother and sister somehow. :)

Such a fun couple of days with the Bankhead crew!  And just for my own memory's sake, the FB post after my drive home that night:

There are many, many absolutely exhausting moments that go into this parenting gig. Some we all wish we could forget. But something about the last three hours tonight makes me wish I could freeze time. A late-night drive home on I-35 by myself with the boys. With lots of traffic. Usually a recipe for disaster. But tonight, Tate was incredibly helpful and full of funny questions. Will happily sang, recited, or who knows what almost the entire drive. Reminding myself to be thankful and savor these moments.

4th of July

This year's 4th of July was a fun one. The summer seemed to be pretty busy, so we enjoyed the low-key day of just the four of us.

We had our first attempt of family miniature golf. It was fast & furious and pretty laughable at times, but we amazingly finished and had a fun time!

And then Will got to experience his first-ever fireworks. You can see he was clearly impressed.

Tate was a fan and liked to give a description (loudly) of each firework.  :) It was a fun day & night!

End Of An Era

This summer was the definite end of an era. Packing away the baby crib...for good. I put if off as long as I could, but Will was getting huge in that thing. He handled the transition surprisingly well and has loved his Big Boy Bed. 

Maybe the saddest part of the change meant that when he switched beds, there wouldn't be enough room for the glider anymore. Just about every single day of Will's life, I held and rocked him while singing a song before he went to bed. He loves routine, and this was a staple in the bedtime routine. He loved it...even despite my inability to carry a tune.  :)

The Last Nap:

Good morning Mr. Bedhead! :) Stayed in his bed and slept great!

When I knew we were having another boy, I didn't really change the nursery up much. I still liked it. So we just set the same room up but in a different house and with a few different personalizations for Will. 

A trip down memory lane for my own nostalgia/torture. :)

So many hours rocking in that glider. So many diapers changed on that table. So many clothes pulled out of the dresser. So many toys played with and books read on the rug. 

So many sweet memories of this room.

 

**I do have to laugh a little that clearly these pictures were from BEFORE Tate was born. The room had not been lived in yet. And never looked that clean ever again. 

Misc. June

In a truly desperate attempt to keep this thing updated, may I present our June wrap-up (in December)...

The only downside to having our Small Group's Garage Sale at our house is also having a kid that had $ burning a hole in his pocket. When you combine those two, you get this:

Doesn't every kid "NEED" giant retracting Batman wings?

June is when the temps warm up enough around our parts. That means out comes the Slip & Slide. And this particular day was a special one. Our "first baby" turned 10 years old. And what did she do to celebrate? She plopped her 80 lb. self right down on that Slip & Slide much to the frustration of two little boys. Just as you should on your birthday. :)

One of family's favorite summer traditions was back after a year off, Summer Spectacular! Our church puts on an incredible not-your-old-school VBS. Classes for everyone followed by an impressive musical. This year the theme was Joseph, and the musical did not disappoint. We all loved it!

A small, local waterpark nearby invited the kids at Will's school and other local Special Ed programs for Champions Day. They opened up two hours early just for our group, which was pretty great not having crowds. We really had no idea how Will would do at a place like this, so what a great way to try it out. And it was a pretty perfect day for this little fish. He loved it. Really what he loved was a little kid slide that he went on approximately 53 times in a row. :)

Will discovered shadow puppets and asked for "aaamuls" each night before bed. :)

Look who made it in our local Rec Center's summer catalog? He is most proud of his goggles & water gun.

Some of our friends got a new pool this summer and invited us over for a fun day of swimming. I tell Tate all the time that Laura and I were pregnant at the same time and Jackson was his first-ever friend. The picture of Anna on the chaise in the pink bikini, eating Cheetos, may be one of my favorites. Isn't that what we all want to be doing?  :)

Another fun trip to Six Flags with these daredevils, thanks to their super reading skills winning free tickets.

And one day I remembered to relax, chill out, and make some fun memories...after of course Tate was threatened with his life that people or animals were never to be thrown over.