Cousin Pictures Summer 2011

We headed to Portrait Innovations to get some cousin pictures made and they turned out pretty cute. One 22 month old boy was very challenging, but other than that it was a lot of fun! I am so thankful for my kiddos and my precious nieces.
Lauren is 7 and will be 8 in September.
Carley is 5 1/2.
Camryn turned 5 in April.
Corey will be 2 in September.
Addison is 7 1/2 months.

You have to look at the picture at the end. Cody made us order it.

This picture really shows what a family photo shoot looks like!

Sprinkles

This little mess had sprinkles with his icecream. Can you tell? :)

Texas Firefighter Olympics 2011

Cody competed in the Texas Firefighter Olympics in Round Rock last weekend in Powerlifiting. He has been working out really hard for this and I am so proud of him. He is SO stinking strong. Cody did great. He lifted 1,162.6 lbs on his 3 events (benchpress, deadlift, squats). Way to go, Babe! My husband is a hardworking stud and only a fool would mess with him! :)

I have a feeling....

...this guy is going to follow in his Daddy's footsteps. :)

Hair Cut

Carley has been wanting her hair shorter and I have been fighting it. We finally got it cut the other day and it looks great! She loves it and it has hardly any tangles! My thing that makes me sad is she looks TOO grown up! WOW. Where is the time going for my baby girl? She starts Kindergarten in exactly one month.

Thank goodness for Stan and Jan Berenstain

For probably about a year, Carley has watched the Berenstain Bears on TV and it has been really great. Man, this Summer it has come into a whole new light. Mama, Papa, Sister, and Brother Bear have been helping reinforce some big lessons. The books are easy and cheap to buy. The ones that go on the Nook Kids App on my IPAD are SO cool and they have great voices to go along with it. The biggest hits around our house right now are "Messy Room", "Tell the Truth", " and "Too Much Junk Food". These books really help reinforce some things we are working on with Carley without harping on her about it. If you haven't rediscovered the Berenstain Bears for your family lately, you might check it out.

Richly Blessed, :)

I have blogged before about the Rich family and how thankful I am for their friendship. Mark and Clay were just 14 year old boys when they came to Leadership Camps at ACU and I was one of their counselors. They are both grown men with beautiful Godly wives and precious sons now. Through them I was blessed to get to know their 2 sisters and parents. They are a wonderful family and I thankful for the blog world and facebook so I can keep up with them still when we have our own families and lives.

Their sweet mother, Karen, sent me outfits for both of my kids when they were born to toddle around in with their names on the back. Corey wore his on the 4th of July and I thought it was perfect. Carley wore hers for her 2nd Easter and I still love this bottom picture so much! Thank you Karen and to the Rich family for blessing me and letting me in your lives.

Happy 4th of July!

Our 4th was a low key this year because Carley couldn't go to the parade because of her tonsils, Corey has a nasty cold, Cody is working, and because of the drought the fireworks in Lubbock were cancelled. So the kids and I spent today home in pjs just being thankful and lazy. We went to my parents for a cookout tonight and Carley helped Papa with the homemade ice cream (how sweet is the picture with his hand on her back!) and Corey got some love from Nana since he didn't feel great. They did look super cute a church yesterday so I had to post that as our patriotic picture!

Bowmans are Back!

Three Years ago I made this post saying good bye to our friends the Bowmans.

Now they are back! YEAH! I have already loved having these special people back in town. Friday we let the kids play and man were they cute! Hard to believe Carley and Charlie (the Arleys) were 2 1/2 when they left and are about to start Kindergarten! Corey and Sarah Jane weren't even in the works and now they were busy little cuties.

This Prefectly Describes Corey

Tonsils and Adenoids

On Thursday 6/23 Carley had her tonsils and adenoids out. She has done really well for the most part. Poor sweet girl has watched every Barbie movie on the planet and eaten every cold fruity food item we could think of. She has been great and we have enjoyed the down time at the house. It has been hard to see her hurt and be sick and I am ready for her to be 100% again!

So many friends have done things to help us pass the time. If you are wondering what was the most helpful for us, it was the gifts of coloring books, crafts, puzzles, and movies. They helped keep her on the couch. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends!