Connor's 5th Birthday

Invitation

On the way to the party

The Birthday Boy

The Paw Patrol Cake

Mimi and Hannah

Connor with his pizza and souvenir cup

Some friends at the table

With more friends

Connor trying to look like Chuck E

Grayson, Connor, and Marley playing with Chuck E

A high-five from Daddy

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday

Blowing out the candles

Connor with his little brother James

Gabby and Weston

James eating cookie cake

Daddy and Connor in the Ticket Blaster

Catching all the tickets

Daddy stuffing the 1000 tickets paper in Connor's shirt

James riding in the big truck

James taking his driving very seriously

Connor and Weston excited about getting prizes

Grandy, Mimi, and the big birthday boy

Connor and Mommy

Making silly faces

Super Connor in action

Jumping

Landing

Being a crazy man

Attempting to fly

Opening his Chacos

Opening a birthday card

Boys checking out the gifts

We celebrated Connor's 5th birthday with a party at Chuck E Cheese.  Connor invited friends from his class.  He specifically requested a Paw Patrol cookie cake, because Paw Patrol is his favorite TV show.  He asked for a Paw Patrol watch, which Mimi and Grandy gave him.  He also wanted blue Chacos sandals, so Mommy and Daddy got them for him.  At the Chuck E Cheese party, Connor and his friends had the whole place all to themselves.  Connor and Weston won a gazillion tickets playing games.  Connor collected most of the tickets in the ticket blaster with Daddy.  It was awesome!  Connor and Weston selected inflatable boxing gloves as their prizes.  Oh, how those seemed like a good idea at the time!  Connor also got a superhero cape and glasses for being the birthday boy.  He ran around the sunroom trying to jump and fly like a superhero before opening his gifts.  He was so funny!  It's as if that cape and glasses had supernatural powers. This big five year old boy really had a blast.  Connor finished out his birthday week with a trip to Memphis with Mimi and Grandy to see the Redbirds play the final game of their season. 

Weston's Travel Baseball

Posing with his batting stance

Showing off his number

Having fun

Listening to the coaches after the game

Weston played in his very first travel baseball tournament in Oxford.  The Sandlot Legends won their first game against the Oxford Rebels.  Weston started out playing outfield.  At bat, he hit the ball, ran the bases, and scored a run for his team.

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.