feelin' sad

the bear and i feel the same way about his first ever haircut. yep- this guy made it until his 21 month bday before a haircut was needed. and i could have waited longer but the mullet had gotten a bit out of hand!

oh my- it's a bit short! i've decided i like my boys with longer hair (see brax's is a bit on the longer side... kind of surfer dude-ish).

but atleast now we can bring back our famous chicken hawk and wear it proud!

the hawk makes me a bit happier since the cut makes my baby look too grown up:(

fruits of our labor

A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7

After some hard work we are now beginning to experience the harvest! We have all decided it is quite a joy to pick your own fruits and veggies from your very own garden. I hadn't realized it would feel quite so rewarding!



Joey, Joey- working hard- how does your garden grow?
With squash, lettuce, cucumbers, zuccini,
g beans and okra all in a row.
Don't forget the watermelon and tomatoes- for when you will ripen we just don't know.

for all your gardeners out there- yes we are aware some of our first harvest got a bit too BIG! we've learned since that you have to check every day cause these babies grow fast!

extra, extra read all about it...

we got more produce than we know what to do with!

anyone want some free, fresh, and straight out of the garden produce?

to the dad...

to the dad i love more each day. to the dad i've seen grow in wisdom and faith. to the dad who stands out in a crowd. to the dad i am so very proud of. to the dad who is the most incredible dad. to the dad who is truly the greatest blessing i know. to the dad who has made me better. to the dad our kids adore. to the dad who never ceases to amaze me! to the dad who doesn't bring his work home with him. to the dad who reads nightly Bible stories to our kids. to the dad who wants to make an eternal difference. to the dad who makes each one of us feel so special! to the dad who leads us faithfully. to the dad who is king of the grill. to the dad i'd follow around the world (literally!). to the dad that brings us so much joy and love! to the dad our daughter wants to marry. to the dad that is so full of surprises. to the dad i can not say enough about...

i love you!

we love you!

we are blessed daily by you. thanks for all you do!

love,

court and the kids

and to Padre- my dad- we love you more than words can say! thanks for instilling in me love and values that i now can pass on to my kids. your crew enjoyed lunch with you today! 5 grandbabies with one on the way isn't too shabby:)

because THIS makes me full of joy

just the other day i BOUGHT my FIRST item for BRISTOL. just so happens i found matching ones for the big sis too. i can not wait to have not 1 but 2 beautiful girls to call my very own.

'round here

'round here we find nests in random places...like on top of our garage fridge (yep- we leave the door up all the time in order to play play play all day day day) ...

'round here we dress the part for pirate parties including giving our baby a matching tattoo like daddy's (it's roman numeral II cause daddy is the 2nd not the jr...)...

these guys opted for patches and a kid friendly version of the skull and crossbones...

'round here we are not scared to take a field trip to the "new-to-us" super kroger down the road... hey- fun buggys, free samples, a toy aisle, and diapers all in one place...

can't believe we are halfway thru June already- summer is flying by and i don't approve:)

p.s. check the ticker on the sidebar... we've been officailly waiting for bristol 5 months today!

because...

BECAUSE TODAY NONNI CELEBRATED HER BIRTHDAY WITH ALL 6 OF HER GRANDKIDS AT BREAKFAST! HOPE YOUR DAY WAS PERFECT!

BECAUSE EVERYONE APPRECIATES A GOOD MULLET!

BECAUSE DANDELIONS REALLY ARE FASCINATING WEEDS!

BECAUSE WHEN KIDS GET BORED THEY CAN COME UP WITH ANYTHING TO ENTERTAIN THEM -INCLUDING MOMMY'S FUZZY SLIPPERY SOCKS!

BECAUSE I AM SO GLAD THIS GUY IS COMING HOME AFTER A LONG WEEK WITHOUT HIM! I LOVE YOU HANDSOME!

for all the fans...

yep- we can still live up to the name "chicken hawk" !

treasure hunt

we have counted down many sleeps to get to this very important day in the life of a 5 yr old - the birthday party!

today was braxton's treasure hunt birthday blast! i have given many a party in my days as a mom and it ranks at the top. (actually briley's 5th bday princess dress up party and brax's 5th treasure hunt are tied for the top. 5 is a great party day for us- i must keep up the trend with the up and coming siblings!)

we started with batman tatoos and pinata full of candy...



next we divided into 3 teams (special thanks to uncle nate and mr rocky for guiding teams) and using the specially "made by mom" treasure maps went hunting the trails of our woods for loot... the below 2 pics are of brax's team led by daddy, of course, who did a most incredible job! thanks daddy!

on to cupcakes and ice cream...

and celebrating with friends...

what an incredible day! even the weather cooperated.

braxton - your mommy had a blast celebrating your big 5!

5

birthday brax awoke to 3 re-gifts from sissy (yes- she wrapped up 3 toys they already owned- i know she is way too thoughtful- what a sweetheart. she also included a super cool spiderman card).the mickey mouse pancake tradition continues...

the long awaited batman belt. thanks aunt tiff for pulling thru (by the way- figuring out how it worked was quite a challenge- but now we are professional)!

we are 0-2 on playing in the bicentennial mall fountains. yep- just like wally world- kids running and smiling and SCREECH- no water- electrical issues.

we scrambled and ended up at a park with a nature center, hiking trails, a creek, and a shady picnic spot. then a cooling off trip to sonic for slushes all around.

the above pic shows one motley crew.

the day continues with dinner at no other than chuck e cheese

a first for us was a bday trip to the local toy store to pick the gift. we went in for a batman bike but left with this really cool batman contraption.

today we celebrated braxton's 5 th birthday. i can not believe this awesome guy has been blessing our family for 5 whole years. i love that he marches to the beat of his very own drummer. i love that he is the only one in our entire bunch with "white" hair. i love how he loves his momma! i know God has big big plans for his life (and i have known this since way back before i even had the positive pregnancy test). i love his desire to snuggle under the covers in the morning and start the day slow (unlike me and the other 2 kids but just like his daddy). i love his quiet, thoughtful demeanor. i have a love/hate relationship with his movie fanatics. i love how he and his sissy play together (now sometimes including their baby bro). i love that he loves to draw pictures for us (especially superhero ones). i love this little man for making me a better mom, for teaching me, for blessing us.

even though we had a slight glitch in our day with the fountain issue- brax claims tonight his birthday was totally awesome.

and just for the record- i am stuggling with the fact he is now five. it's a tough bday for this ole momma!



thank you God for braxton- our true miracle baby- from such a tumultuous beginning God has brought such joy and blessing!

Back in time for summer

my wonderful hubby brought me back my computer last night! yeah!

it's good to be back:)

pardon now as i back up a bit and catch us up...

braxton's last day EVER of preschool! can not believe he will go to kindergarten next year!!

field day at briley's school. the firemen came with trucks, gear, demonstrations, and of course WATER! check out the 2 smack dab in the middle. yep- that's bri and brax!

briley's last day of school. it's off to 2nd grade. whoa!

running into summer break!

our annual end of school picnic at the park!

first sprinkler adventure of the year. barron's 1st ever and he LOVED it!

oldest and youngest. joey celebrates his youngest brother taylor's high school graduation. we are so proud of this guy!

fun times with friends- i guess you can always make creek adventures more fun when you stumble across bones!

our annual early summer, before it's too hot, zoo trip. this time it was just cousins! baby tucker is there too- just didn't jump in for the pic!

snowcones! what more can i say.

the boys and art time.

that's a quick catch up.

tune in tomorrow because we are celebrating something really BIG. and i know it will make me cry!