Sunday, August 30, 2015

Hannah's First Beach Trip

Hannah and her protectors

Connor and Hannah
Connor (5), Weston (7), Hannah (3 months), James (2)



Love this pic of the one that got away

Sweet brothers


Our Connor boy

Grandy and Mimi with the kids

Grandy and his buddy James

Grandy and Mimi
Mimi, Grandy, and Connor

Hannah on the beach

Hannah awake and ready to go to the beach

Boys watching TV together in bed
Napping on the beach

My 4 boys on the sandbar

Sweet baby James posing for the camera

Hannah sun-bathing

Boys ready to go catch some fish

Picnic lunch on the beach
Little Brent with Weston and Connor

Brothers at LuLu's

Madeline, Brent, Connor, and Weston in the photo booth

     For this summer's family vacation, we used our timeshare for the first time and stayed at Palm Beach Resort in Orange Beach.  We scheduled a late summer vacation for when Hannah would be 12 weeks old.  Since she was eating 6 times a day and sleeping through the night at this time, we were able to take advantage of some good beach and pool time.  On the way to Orange Beach the big boys were saying, "Let me live at the beach!"  James didn't really know what they were talking about, but he joined in and chanted, "Beat! Beat!" 
     We had beautiful weather every day we were there.  We went out on the beach mid-morning, had lunch picnics, and stayed out till about 2:00 every afternoon.  Then, we moved our family party to the pool so the little ones could get some shade and take naps.  Hannah was a good baby.  She went with the flow and slept well no matter where she was. 
     We learned that the purple flag at the beach cautions swimmers to watch out for dangerous marine life.  We saw two sharks while we were there.  One was in the water swimming around and the other washed up dead on the beach.  The boys played a lot on the sandbar, so they were pretty safe there.  Weston's mission for the week was to catch a "Dory fish".  Mimi and Grandy bought the boys some nets.  Weston told them that he was going to catch some fish for them to make tacos for dinner.
     We got together with the Dudleys one night at LuLu's while Mimi and Grandy watched James and Hannah.  Our kids had a great time seeing each other.  Connor thought it would be fun to get Weston wet and pack sand on him while they played at LuLu's.  Both boys got so messy with sand and water that they had to strip down to their boxers for the ride home. 
     While we were at the beach, our Maggie dog passed away.  We were thankful that she did not have to suffer, and the kids didn't have to find her that way.  She was a great dog, and she lived a good 12 years.  I'm so thankful she was a great companion for all our kids.  She never once snapped at them when they were hanging on her, trying to ride her, or petting her too roughly. 
     We came home a couple of days early from our beach trip to go to Weston's first travel baseball tournament in Oxford.  He was very excited to be playing for the Sandlot Legends and was telling everyone we met at the beach about it.   

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Redbirds Game

Arriving at our hotel across from Autozone Park
Ordered their first Coke
Will and me at our seats
Rocky came by for a picture

Will and Weston watching the post-game fireworks

At the end of Weston's birthday week, we took Weston and Connor to see the Redbirds game in Memphis.  Mimi and Grandy kept the "littles" so we could have some quality time with our "bigs".  We had a buffet dinner at the game, the boys had their picture made with Rocky, and they even had their very first Coke to drink.  Fun times and fun memories!  After the game, we watched the fireworks show.  Later that night, there was a small kitchen fire in our hotel.  When the fire alarm went off, the boys were too sleepy to walk for themselves, so Will and I carried them down 10 flights of stairs. Yes, we were on the top floor, but I would have carried our boys however long it took to keep them safe.  I love ya'll so much, and don't you forget it!

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Weston's 7th Birthday Party

Invitation
Cookie cake
Max, Weston, and Erasmus
Stanley, Luke, Gray, and Dalton waiting to bat
Max in the cage
Hampton and Walker
Barry, Chloe, and Hannah
James ready to play ball
Weston on third base
Running home
Chloe and Hannah
Mommy and James
Connor, Clayton, Dalton, Stanley, Max, and Hampton lined up
Connor at bat
Connor hits the ball
Weston loaded up and looking at the pitcher
Max and Weston
Hanging out in the Home Run Cafe'
Hampton, Walker, Stanley, Erasmus, and Weston
Boys being silly
Weston trying to give himself a "hotdog mustache"
Mimi and Hannah
James eating his lunch
Brody and Jacob on the race car game
Weston with 7 candles on the cake
Weston and Mommy
Boys waiting for their turns
Gray and Jacob shooting the guns
Ready to light the candles
About to sing "Happy Birthday" (cha-cha-cha)
My big boy
My sweet Connor-Man
James eating popcorn from the party
Littlest brother with his biggest brother
All three ready to see what's in the box
Opening a helicopter from Nana and Granddaddy