Dinner with Friends

Last night we had the privilege of having some sweet friends over for dinner. Cole and Erin are the sweetest couple and have huge hearts for Christ and others.

After dinner, it was time for Adelyn's swimming debut. She is such a good baby! No crying or fussing during dinner or while Mom and Dad tried to get her in her baby life jacket. She loved the water and hung out with us for a long time.
Jackson made sure he was the center of attention too!

Tube rides are always fun.

A pool picture in black and white almost seems wrong, but I liked it!

Brian was quite smitten with Adelyn. He made many silly faces at her and in return got a lot of smiles!

Love having friends over during the week, summer please don't end! So grateful for their friendship and what they have done for our family.

Feeding the Ducks Gone Bad

Remember when we fed the ducks about a week and a half ago? Jackson enjoyed it so much I decided to take him again. So Monday morning Jackson and I got our bread, hopped on the bike, and were off to the lake. There were a lot more ducks this time and they surrounded us right away.
As soon as we got the bread out the ducks were on top of us. I was thinking this could get bad and at that very moment a couple of the ducks were on top of Jackson. Right after I snapped this picture Jackson broke out in tears. Poor boy!

He said the ducks ate his hands. I had to get rid of our bread as fast as I could so they would stop invading our space. Jackson was upset he didn't get to feed the turtles this time. He told Brian that the ducks were naughty! This experience may have tainted his view he had for feeding the ducks. I am not sure we will be back!

To make up for my fun mommy moment that went bad, I took Jackson to our subdivision pool to swim and have a picnic. He went down the slide like 15 times and loved swimming in a different setting. On the way home, we saw a vulture. We DID NOT stop to feed this bird!

Makes Me Smile

I love having pictures to look back at, so I take a lot of pictures! Here are some that I can't help but smile when I look at them.:)

My boy and me! Can't get enough of his sweet hugs!

Makes my heart happy! Love that laugh and smile!
Could he be anymore handsome?!?
LOVE. IT. AND. HIM!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 118:1

All Because Two People Fell in Love

Six years ago Brian and I got married and started our lives together. Although, the friendship and love came many, many years before.

While we were dating Brian was able to surprise me numerous times, but has been less successful since we have been married. The problem being I now have access to his bank account, credit cards, and email (he doesn't have his own). Well, this year he did it!

Friday morning I received a text message telling me "Drop Jackson off at 4:30, dress to impress." We drove to City Center and enjoyed dinner at Yard House, very yummy! (While waiting for dinner I felt like I needed to make a PSA and remind girls to get dressed before they leave their house.)

We were able to walk around a little bit before we headed downtown to the Hobby Center. Brian purchased tickets to Thoroughly Modern Millie. It was a really upbeat, funny musical. I loved it!

Thanks (again) to Uncle Dan and Aunt Midge for watching Jackson so we could enjoy a night out just the two of us!

This morning I hid Brian's anniversary gifts. He had to find them all first and then open them in order. There were 6 presents for six years. Each card had a saying that gave a clue to the gift inside. Brian was 0 out of 6! Number 1 was a letter from me. Number 2-5 were cheap things he likes; flavored soda, laffy taffy, iced animal cookies, and I-tunes gift card. Number 6 was the "big" present; an alarm clock that he can use his I-pod with. My clue for that one was, "I hope I wake up next to you for the next 60 years."
The rest of the day was low key hanging out with the product of our love, Jackson!

I pray we continue to make God a priority in our marriage and never take each other for granted.

Highlights of Our Week

Sunday: We went over to a friend's house for dinner. While we were playing a game Brian went to check on Jackson and found him in the bathroom. He took it upon himself to use the potty! We still don't know exactly how he got his pants (although I am guessing Addison helped him) or if he went in by himself or asked for help. I guess at least he didn't poop in his pants!

Monday: I had a doctor's appointment and Jackson was a rockstar! Then, we met Emily and Huntley at Tutti Fruti for some frozen yogurt. Jackson loved it, but I still like my Freshberry better:) We all headed over to Target so Emily and I could spend lots of money on our classrooms.

Tuesday: Jackson and I headed to the library for storytime. I think the main reason he asks to the library each week is because of all of the construction equipment right in the parking lot. We also shared a pretzel from Target, our favorite snack!


Wednesday: Jackson and I spent time hanging out with Bailey and Garrison. First, we went to the movies to watch Yogi Bear. Next, we came back to our house to swim and play. Then, we ate lunch at McDonald's and the kids played. We ended our time with ice-cream cones!

Thursday: Jackson and I went to The Little Gym and had fun playing around.

We swam before nap time.

After dinner, we went to the mall to pick up a few things. We let Jackson ride the carousel and he asked to see the animals at The Rainforest Cafe. We stopped by Mardel's on the way home so I could get a few more things for my classroom.

Friday: Jackson hung out in his Cowboy boots (Thanks Cindy!) and took pictures of me. Then, we swam and played with Claire, Emily, and Huntley. I also finished the 2nd Hunger Games book.
We had a wonderful, laid back week! I am holding on to every last minute of summer. But, now it is time to get dressed up and see what surprise Brian has for our anniversary tonight!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I love to bake, and in the summer I actually have some down time with nothing that has to be done for the next day. So, I get a chance to do some baking I wouldn't normally do.

One day I spent some time making cinnamon rolls. I used the bread machine to make the dough. I really only use my bread machine to make dough. I think I need to make some "homemade" bread this week.

The dough came out perfect! Then, I rolled the dough out and dumped butter, sugar, and cinnamon on top! What could be better? A log roll was up next with 8 equal cuts. Into the pan they went and baked for 25 minutes.

(Sidenote: This is my first collage I created in Photoshop. I am slowly learning with the help of templates!)

Meanwhile, I mixed the icing up and drizzled it over the cinnamon rolls once they came out. I immediately served up Brian and myself a roll, which we enjoyed poolside! That may just make everything taste better.

I thought the dough recipe was excellent, but I will probably try a different icing recipe next time.

Hmm, what shall I bake tomorrow?

Feeding the Ducks

Yesterday morning we rode our bikes over to a near by pond. Every time I drive by and see the ducks, I think Jackson would love to feed them. We finally did it!

Jackson unbuckled himself and was trying to get out of the bike cart before Brian was completely stopped, if that is any indication of how excited he was!
He had the bread ready and just starting throwing it in the pond. One even landed right on the duck's back!
We didn't want him to fall in. :)

As soon as Jackson started feeding the ducks the turtles showed up. At one point we counted 15 turtles. They were hungrier than the ducks and would fight one another for the bread!

This white duck came over and ate a half piece of bread right out of Brian's hand, but then it started to choke. I was sure we killed the duck. We were trying to coax it to go get a drink of water. Thank goodness it finally made it's way to the pond for a drink.

I love this boy as much as he loved feeding the ducks!

On our ride home it started raining. As soon as we got home, Jackson ran inside to grab the umbrella and then back out to take a walk. He is too funny!