Pool Day with the Haslam Friends

 Just a great summer day in the pool with the Haslams - the best kind of day!  I don't often have my camera out, but today was a good day for that, and it's so fun to capture the memories of what goes on over here.  We are so grateful for good friends!

Our Beautiful Babies

 Sometimes I just can't believe this is my life, and these are my kids.  When I really slow down and think about these four, my heart is so overwhelmed with love and a deep depth of gratitude that is a feeling I can't quite describe.  Nothing matters more to me than being the best mom to these kids, and doing everything I can to help them develop who they are.  And in turn, they continue to push me to develop who I am so that I can be the best version of myself for them.  All the best of me and who I am is because of them, and I'm so grateful.  

And when I pull myself out of the story for a moment, I can see and appreciate how much they love each other.  I love that they are friends and that their interest in each other is genuine. They have their conflicts, but they resolve them in a positive and loving way, which just adds more connection.  They teach me so much, and I know they continue to teach each other. My heart is full.

And wow... aren't they beautiful?!

Father's Day

Today is the day to celebrate this great dad!   Everyone is excited to show him some extra love on Father's Day.  We started his day out with a warm bowl of oatmeal, and a side of sausage, which is the breakfast he requested.

After a somewhat relaxing morning together, we got ready for church and made sure to get the classic pic of daddy and his babies! Looking good everyone!

After church there was a lot of relaxing, playing games, and hanging out together.  Karly's face in this picture makes me laugh. I guess she didn't want me taking a picture!

Looking at the theme of pictures, it appears Brad's best day is sitting on the couch under a blanket (any couch, any blanket).

We always get a kick out of the letters the kids write in our annual Father's Day book. They always write such thoughtful and funny things.

They made him some cute new things to put up in his office at work.

Karly made him this awesome "Forky" figurine, and dad now has a new friend sitting on his desk at work.

Then we finished the day with his favorite lasagna.

Happy Father's day Brad.  Thank you for being a loving and devoted dad to our kids.  We are all blessed by you every day. I hope you felt the love today as we celebrated you today and always!

The Pickett's New Dog

The Pickett family got a new dog and Eden is in love.  This has reignited her google searches, and pleads for a new puppy.  So Eden, how about you just go to the Picketts often and hang out with Honey.  That will be fun without the work! 

She is pretty cute, I will agree to that.  Welcome Honey!

 

Bentley Got His Braces Off!

Bentley's first phase of braces is complete!  He was excited to have them off, but nervous for the appointment itself, mostly because he HATES loose teeth and the braces have been holding everything in place nicely for a while.  Turns out, his fear was legit though because while they were taking his braces off, a tooth came out right then and there!  Going forward, he was warned that he may start losing a lot of teeth on the sides in the next couple months.  He hates that.  ha ha

Look at that beautiful smile though!  Looking good Bentley!

Explora with Cousins

Today we took Kadence, Sohpie and Jack to Explora with Lola, the twins and grandma!  It worked great to have the kids split into age groups and go explore what they were most interested in.  It seemed to be a great day for everyone, and it's always so much fun to do these adventures with cousins!

 

WIBIT and Blue Hole

Brad took the day off today, and with the Malarsies here for a couple more days, we thought it would be the best to spend the day down in Santa Rosa at the WIBIT and Blue Hole.   Going on a weekday was a huge win - everyone got tons of time on the WIBIT and it wasn't overcrowded.

Grandma and grandpa came too and we had fun visiting and watching everyone play.

Michael even spent some time out on the WIBIT with Brad.  He is so brave and said he had a blast but everything was super slippery!

I have really loved the friendships that have deepened between these cousins!

The blue hole was freezing, as usual, but most everyone jumped in and felt very refreshed.  Michael even made his way up to the high jump and used his cane to feel his way to the edge.  All the people there got really quiet as they realized what was happening and we all watched him as he slowly edged his way out, and felt around with his cane for a bit to try to figure out his surroundings.  Brad jumped first and then was talking to him from the water so Michael could sort of gauge how far the fall was, and which direction to jump based on hearing Brad's voice. Then he bravely just took the leap of faith, and then everyone there clapped and cheered for him.  It was pretty cool.

I love the expressions on faces when they first surface after a jump.  The water is shockingly cold.

This year Eden jumped from the high rock for the first time!  Good job Eden!!

Such a great day.  It was a birthday to remember for me!