Splish Splash, Having a Blast!

Yesterday was one of those days that make you want to freeze time for a little bit so that you can soak up every little bit of all the sweetness that life oozes with.

We started the morning off with family cuddles and snuggles,

one of my very most favorite things!

*Check out Dylan's little undershirt. He thought we was really big stuff wearing it. He kept calling it his "Little Daddy" shirt.

Then, we ran out to Highland Village so that I could do a little last minute shopping for our vacation. Also, Dylan needed his hair cut. (How cute is he with his new do?)

*side note: check out Sister's fashion statement. She picked this little ensemble out all on her own. I must admit that I had to take a deep breath before allowing her to wear it out of the house, but she felt beautiful in her ruffle socks so there was no way I was making her take them off!*

The kids were so sweet and well behaved while we were running around that I decided that they needed a little treat. So I threw them into their swimsuits and let them

run through the splash pad.

They had the best time.

And I loved watching them run and laugh and play.

Seeing my little sprouts loving life makes my heart so full of happiness

that I think it might one day explode from it.

After our splash pad treat, we needed something else sweet...

So we headed to McDonald's for another extra fun treat.

A lunch date with my two favorite littles!

Sometimes I am caught off guard at what little people my sweet babes are.

In my mind they are both still much smaller than they really are.

We sat and had lunch and the three of us carried on little conversations about this and that.

I remember taking Dylan to lunch when he was a small todler, and I would talk and talk and talk to him while he added only a few words to our "conversations". I would think to myself "One day, he'll be big enough to really converse with me!"

And now, he is a smart and funny little boy with so much to say.

And little London Lou is pretty advanced in the speech department, if I say so myself, and had plenty of juicy tidbits to contribute.

I can't help but to smile just thinking about it.

I love talking about cartoons, and robots, and babydolls over lunch.

I can't help wonder what our lunch conversations will be like in another 6 years!

Mommyhood is not always full of kumbaya moments.

Sometimes it is hard and stressful.

Sometimes it makes me question myself.

Sometimes it makes me feel like I need to commit my self.

But days like yesterday...

They are filled with love, joy, and happiness.

They are dripping with appreciation and thankfulness.

They are fulfilling and worth it all.

Vacation Bible School!

I was a little bit MIA last week due to...

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!

And I don't just mean MIA to the 'ole bloggity blog.

MIA to my housework

MIA to friends

MIA to family phone calls

MIA to time to myself

MIA to life in its normalcy.

But it was so worth it!

This year I bit off a big 'ole piece of volunteer pie by signing up to be one of the Directors for VBS. It was a lot of work, a little bit stressful, but I loved it! I even look forward to doing it again.

Volunteering is a family affair in our house.

My mom often comes to watch London while I fulfill my volunteer duties (room mom, pta, children's council, ect...).

Daniel often times gets roped into doing something or another.

Dylan even gets wrangled into helping with little odds and inns jobs.

This week was no different.

Daniel helped out at the the church on two of the three work days.

My mom watched kids for me on the weeks leading up to VBS

AND

she even volunteered to sign kids in the morning...

I don't take for granted what an amazing family I'm blessed with.

Some highlights from the week...

Dylan and London both had a blast.

Dylan was of course in the kindergarten class. He had a lot of his school friends in class with him, so that made it extra fun!

London went to the nursery every day.

She has always stayed home with me, so it was big treat to her to be able to go to "Bible School" everyday. They had all sorts of fun activities for the little ones in the nursery through out the week!

Dylan said his favorite part of VBS was snack and drama.

This does not surprise me.

My favorite part was watching all the kids in Music.

I just love seeing little ones sing and dance, especially when they are praising the Lord!

On Sunday we had a program where the kids sang all the songs they learned over the week.

Then a few kids, including Dylan, gave a little presentation on what the week was all about.

Our little man only had one line

"Be ready for God!"

but he totally rocked that one line!

And while singing the songs, I could hear him above everyone else!

He's our rockstar!

After the program, we had a big BBQ for all the families.

Even though my job was over, there was a still a lot of clean up to do, so Daniel stayed and helped break down all the tables and chairs under the tent when it was all over.

He's such a good sport and a great guy!

I'm a lucky girl!

I have so many special memories of VBS growing up.

I feel so blessed to be able to invest in and be part of these memories for my two little ones.

I hope that their memories are as fond as mine.

Fathers Day

Happy Father's Day

to all the amazing Daddy's out there,

mine and my hubby being the top two!

As part of our father's day celebrations,

Daniel took London on her first "Daddy-Daughter-Date".

I am so grateful for a husband who loves our little girl enough to do

sweet things like this with her.

For their "special date"

I put her in a cute little dress,

which is asked me to iron even though it didn't need it

(I guess she sees me do this when D and I go on a date?),

and did her hair in my bathroom as a fun treat.

I even blow-dried it for the first time for her.

The whole time she was getting ready she kept asking,

"Do I look beautiful!?"

And of course, she did!

Her Daddy took her to her favorite restaurant...

Chick-fil-a!

I hope for this to be a tradition for her and Daniel

that they can do every few months.

As she gets older, she will enjoy going to "fancy" places to eat,

which will be right up Daniel's ally because he is a foody.

My Daddy always took me on little dates

and those memories are so precious to me.

Also, I knew what the standers should be for

any boy that wanted to take me out!

I must admit that at one point I got a little teary

thinking of how in 13 years or so, I'll be getting her ready

for her first date with a boy.

*sigh*

I know that time will be here before I know it.

For now, I'm so thankful for

her Daddy being the love of her life.

On Sunday we played a little hooky from church

for some much needed family time.

I did feel a little bad for missing,

but I do think that God takes delight in

investing time into ones family.

Daniel took the kids to a movie.

Going to the movies is his favorite thing

to do with the kiddos.

He could have opted for a couple hours of "me time"

for fathers day,

but he would rather spend those hours with his

two little buddies...

He is such a good daddy!

When I asked Dylan what we should do for for Fathers Day,

he suggested we take Daniel to the Chinese buffet.

So that is exactly what we did!

Grammy joined us and we had a delightful time.

I love how it is the simple things that

mean so much to children.

Daniel,

You blow me away with what an amazing father you are to our two babies.

You are patient and kind.

You are supportive and encouraging.

You are funny and playful.

You are everything that a child

could ever wish for in a Daddy.

We love you!

Baby Love

I'm telling ya...

These two little sprouts own my heart

(along with their hansom daddy)

and yet they still manage to steal pieces of it daily with

the cute things they say and do.

Here's a little peak into the day to day conversations in our house:

London: I know EVERYTHING!

Mommy: You do!? Like what?

London: About the park

Mommy: You know everything about the park?

London: No. I know EVERYTHING!

Dylan: Mommy could you "Re-con-scid-er" that?

He means to say reconsider

Miss Londy Lou has recently discovered how much

she can obtain and achieve

with her charming ways.

She will come up to you and rub your arm, give you a hug, or show some sort affection,

and then say something very sweet,

"Your pretty Momma", "I looove you", ect...

And then she'll swoop in for the kill with a

"Can I have...."

"Can I do...."

Sister's got skills.

Yesterday we had a playdate at Chickfila.

At the end all of the kids went to the counter and turned in their kids meal toys for ice cream.

When trading your toy, you can choose between a cone or a cup of soft serve.

All the kids come be-bopping back to the table with their cones and cups

and then comes Dylan

with a Banana Pudding Milk shake.

I instantly start laughing because I can only imagine the story behind it.

First I make sure he didn't take someone's from the counter.

He says "No! The man behind the counter handed it to me."

So I go to the counter and explain that Dylan got the shake, didn't know he had to pay, and let them know that I would be happy to pay for it.

The manager laughs and says its okay.

"He was just very insistent that he would like a shake.

He was sure he didn't want a cone or cup"

I guess the man did try explaining the policy about trading toys for a cone or cup,

but Dylan kept telling him it was fine and that he could pay for the shake with his toy.

I don't know if my writing does the story justice,

or if maybe its one of those "you just have to be there" moments.

But I'm still laughing.

Trying to talk Dylan into playing with her this morning:

"Bubba, PLEEEEEEAAAAASE play with me. I'm your little sister!"

If that doesn't melt you heart, I don't know what will!

Dylan: When I'm a teenager, I'm going to be a professional singer

Mommy: Oh yeh? What sort f music will you sing?

Dylan: Rock, Rap, and all the good stuff.

Mommy: Sweet! Will you be in a band or be a solo artist?

Dylan: Solo.

Mommy: Will you go by your name or another name like Lady GaGa does?

Dylan: Hmm. Oh! I think I'll go by another name

We then discuss many options

Dylan: I think I'll go with "Mama's Boy". It sounds cool and rocker.

So there you have it, be on the watch out for one bad-ass Rocker-Rapper, Mama's Boy, in the next 10 years!

At Target Yesterday:

London: Bubba, will you be my boyfriend?

Dylan: I can't... I'm your brother, London

London: But please?
Dylan: Don't worry you'll find another boy.

London: You be my boyfriend, Bubba!
Dylan: London... I'm your brother. Brothers can't be your boyfriend.

Just like I can't marry Mommy.

I love that she loves her brother so much! haha!

Everytime we go to walk out the door

London stands in our way and blocks it.

Then she says

"Answer my riddle"

We say okay and she gives us something crazy like

"The splash park"

And then we say something about it like

"The squirt guns"

and she gives a satisfied nod and a "Yep!" and lets us past.

In the drive threw at the bank paying our mortgage yesterday:

Dylan: Why are we here?

Mommy: I have to pay our house note.

Dylan: WHY!? Why would you pay for our house? We already live in it!?

I then explain the process of borrowing large amounts of money from the bank and paying it back monthly and how you do this for a houses, cars, and other big stuff.

Dylan: Well, that's not fun!

The wisdom of babes!

The one thing that stinks about living in Texas?

Being so far away from most of our family.

On the off chance that you don't know (you most likely do though, if you are reading my blog)

Daniel and I were both born and raised in good'ole

M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i.

Yes, I feel the need to spell it out everytime I say it. Wierd, I know. Maybe its stems from when we first moved here and people would say to me, "Where are you from with that accent?" And I would tell them "Miss'sippi" and they would say "Oh! Can you spell that!?" Swear. This happened more than a few times. I'm not sure if they themselves were curious on the spelling of my great State.....or they thought I was a hillbilly and wondered if I could spell?

Being away from "home" and most of our family is hard

and we all get "homesick" from time to time.

But last week, we got to have our cake and eat it too.

Or pie. Because good Southerners love them some pie.

Or maybe its a redvelvet cake, another staple of any good Southern Holiday desert table.

(Sorry, I don't know why I can't focus)

We got to stay put here in Texas and Mississippi came to us!!

Well, two of the best part of Mississippi did anyways!

Memom and Umpa came to visit!

The kids have been counting down since mid-May and I think they would tell you it was worth the wait! Memom and Umpa's visit was laid back and tons of fun... perfection!

They arrived at Case De Hilburn Wednesday night around supper time. Wednesday night, Daniel and I ran to the church with Dylan for a quick meeting and M&U got some good Lou Lou (this is Memom's nickname for London) time in!

Thursday we woke up (duh) and had an easy, laid back morning. Then we headed to the kids favorite park. Sadly, London tinkled on herself within five minutes of us being there. So we came home. Oh well! Life happens.

Once getting Lou Lou in some dry clothes (and cleaning her, of course) we packed a picnic and headed to our other favorite park... the SPLASH park!

The weather was pretty much perfection...

and the company wasn't too bad either.

After an hour or so of watching the kidos splish and splash, we headed to our favorite yogart shop. We though it would be a fun treat for M&U and we thought it would be something new for them, but turn out Mississippi is on its game and they have one too! Go Miss'sippi! Swear... It always felt like they were years behind "trends" when I was there, but guess not!

Friday we woke up again (I know, I'm blowing your mind!) and did a bunch of nothing.

I had asked everyone if they had something they wanted to do, but we all concluded that it would be nice to just sit around, visit, and take it easy.

This was most likely a very welcomed break since my brother in law worked poor M&U to death while they were staying with him. Totally kidding, brother in law. But it is funny.

This was extremely nice until we started going a little stir crazy.

By we I'm not sure if I mean everyone. It could have just been me.

Either way, its safe to say everyone was excited when I decided it was time to get it together and go do something fun.

Bowling won the bid from our "something fun to do" list.

Not sure who had more fun...

The kids or the adults.

It is so fun to watch M&U inaction with our little sprouts

They are fantastic grandparents!

We love them and enjoyed their visit so much!

Now the count down begins until July when we visit them

at Case De Hilburn Sr. haha!