Less Words Wednesday

Tricks off the diving board are our favorite.

The boys helped make dinner the other night. Miles made eggs and did a great job flipping them.

Carson cut the bananas and strawberries.

The boys and I went bowling one raining weekend while Darrin had camp.

We stopped by long enough to say hi to Darrin. His camp days are long days away from home for him and us.

The wind blew our umbrella out of our patio table and it shattered our glass table top. Getting the glass cleaned up was not a fun job.

Summer = endless popsicles.

Darrin borrowed this from our neighbors to move some dirt around after the pool was finished. Carson was in heaven.

I can't believe it's time for Miles to go back to school. We bought his school supplies a couple weeks ago which is unusual for me to be that ahead of the game. It was nice to actually be able to find everything we needed in one store b/c I didn't wait until the last minute.

Carson has learned to play on Miles' DS. When they play like this, it is such a nice break for me to be able to get things done.

Carson went to pee wee volleyball camp and LOVED it. 

Weekend Wrap Up

These first couple pics were actually from last week. Darrin and Miles had the opportunity to spend the night with Crystal and go fishing with one of Darrin's coworker's sons. They text me at 4am to say they couldn't sleep, so they went to get breakfast. I guess they thought I didn't need to sleep either. I let it pass and told them to have fun even though I was up for the rest of the day. I was happy that they were so excited about their day.

They caught some fish and had a great time. Miles' love of fishing is only second to baseball. He said he learned a lot too and he was really happy about that. 

I had the best day on Saturday. I did a few things when I first woke up and picked up a grocery order. My goal was to have a chill pool day and that is what we did. My mom came over and spent the afternoon swimming with us while Darrin was at camp.

Stephanie came to hang out too. 

I spent a solid 7 hours outside and it was wonderful. We had a lot of sunshine, but enough clouds to give us a break every now and then. I kept saying that I hoped our sunscreen was doing it's job and it did!

It was a homemade salsa kind of weekend too.

Miles took a break from swimming to go fishing at the neighbors.

Carson took a few breaks too, but he swam his little heart out.

When Miles and Carson went inside to eat or play electronics every now and then, my mom, Stephanie and I would welcome the break and just relax. It was a really nice day.

We were really happy when Darrin came home and offered to make food for us. He brought us a basket of cheese sticks and grilled burgers. He is the best. We were hungry, but only took the time to make some hot dogs much earlier in the day. Stephanie jokingly took this pic but I really was happy about food :)

Darrin had camp again today, but the boys and I drove to Granny & Pa's b/c I helped throw a shower for his cousin's daughter who is getting married in October.

I am so thankful that Carson is a good car rider now! He draws, plays the DS, and sings. He always asks a LOT of questions while we are driving. "What is that person doing?" "Why do they have a red truck?" "Why does it rain?" "Did Jesus die on the cross?" "Is he still there?" "Are we almost there?" "What song is this?" It never ends but he does get a little quieter when he is busy, so this was a nice moment.

I got to hang out with Darrin's sister and cousin. Love them both very much. It's always a good day when I get to see them.

On the way home from the shower we stopped by a co-worker's house for me to leave/take a book from her little library. I've been wanting to stop by for a while but I always forget when I'm in the area. I left Layla by Colleen Hoover and This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens. I got The Silence by Don DeLillo.

Darrin was at camp most of the weekend, but we did get to spend some time swimming last night and tonight. Camp is over and now it countdown to season. We are excited that a regular season is planned. Praying nothing gets in the way!

Happy Birthday Carson, Again

When we talked about getting a pool, I partly justified it with the fact that Miles and Carson both have summer birthdays and we would never have to spend hundreds of dollars on a birthday party again :) We had three of Carson's friends over for the first of many pool parties.

These four have been buddies for many years at daycare.

Carson is the oldest, only by a couple weeks or months, so he moved up to a different class last year. He was the last one to make the cut to move up. His friends have all moved up this summer and he's happy to have them back. I'm not sure how excited the teachers are to have them all back together :)

The party was supposed to be on Sunday, but we had to reschedule due to weather. I knew that was a possibility so we never even told Carson about the party. We surprised him this morning when we knew the party would happen. Like all kids (but even more so) he has no concept of timelines. He would have worn us out asking when the party was. He was very excited this morning when we told him.

Of all things, singing happy birthday to him is definitely his most embarrassing moment.

They were all so sweet when it was time to leave. They hugged and said "thank you for inviting me" and "I'll miss you". 

We have celebrated "5" for weeks. We've had so many parties that Carson asked if he was six tonight. Next up, Miles turns 12!

Happy Birthday, Carson!

Carson has been sufficiently celebrated! We started decorating yesterday morning before church. 

I decided to make the cupcakes myself this year. I have a cake decorating kit that I bought to make Carson's first birthday cake. Carson helped me. He did a pretty good job!

I'm all about making life easier a lot of the time, but this kind of stuff is fun for me when I can make time. 

I saved some time by ordering his Avengers decorations on Amazon instead of going to a party store. All of it came in a party pack. I will definitely do that again if he chooses a popular theme like he did this year.

Yesterday, we celebrated with the grandparents. Next weekend, he is having three friends over to swim.

He racked up on the presents!

He was so patient to let Miles basically do it for him. Normally, he would freak out about Miles helping, but I think he was eager to see what was inside, so he accepted the help.

He was all smiles until we starting singing happy birthday to him.

Then, he got very, very shy. It was very unusual for him. I can't think of much that embarrasses him.

More candles in a donut this morning before daycare. I think he was more excited about his party at school than anything. 

For some reason, he thought he didn't turn 5 until he had his party at school. We assured him that he was five when he woke up this morning, but he didn't believe us. When I came home from work, he smiled and said, "I'm five now".

We gave him the choice of McDonald's, Taco Bell, or Mexican b/c he loves all three, and he chose Mexican. He hung on Darrin all during dinner. Darrin said if he ever runs for president, Carson will definitely be his campaign manager. 

After dinner, we surprised Carson will mini golf. We weren't sure the weather was going to hold out, so we didn't say anything until we pulled up. He was unsure of the surprise, but excited after it sank in. He said, "why you do that surprise?"

Miles told me that he had fun at least five times. I'm glad he enjoyed Carson's birthday too. They fight and argue a lot, but Miles loves him so much.

My heart could burst with gratitude every year on his birthday when I think about his birth and God's favor towards us. He is such a fun kid that keeps us laughing. He mixes up words and phrases, and says the most off the wall things. He talks more than any kid I've ever been around...every answer leads to another question. He doesn't take life too seriously. He loves and cares deeply and has no problem expressing it. He warms our heart daily. He is happiness and joy. Happy birthday, Carson Lynn. We love you so much!