Our Week with Justin

Justin came for a visit this week!! We had so much fun having him hang out with us. The boys definitely loved it!!They were so excited to show him all the cool toys in their rooms and the fun things we do around town. Come see what we did!

Justin and Alex chillin' after nap time/quiet time on Monday (which is the most boring day of the week since that is grocery/laundry/I-don't-want-to-but-I-have-to day LOL)

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Tuesday was MUCH better - we went to the McWane Center!!

Andrew and Alex playing a game together while waiting to head out.

Funny story. NOT A SOUL was on this floor. We had the whole place to ourselves. We played and played building a fort with these huge blocks. And, then...the summer camp kids showed up and DEMOLISHED our fort with in a few seconds. Justin said it was like watching ants go after some food! Crazy!!

Playing with the giant light-bright. I made a heart for my hubby since he couldn't come along. 

Working the crane :)

Can you tell who is who in these pictures?? So funny!

Left - Andrew

Center - Alex

Right - Justin

Mr. Piano Man ;)

Alright...for those of you who get on me about NOT posting any baby bump pics...here ya go! Sheesh! Me at 20 weeks and 5 days. I know! It's not a good one...but it's one!

Dino Alex!

Alex making some gear art with Justin

My little extreme-angler-wannabe checking out HIS catfish (click here to see what I mean)

Ales pulling as hard as his little arms can pull!! Look at that face!!

On Justin's favorite floor of McWane - playing with the hoses where you try balancing the balls on the air and water. The boys like the Nano exhibit, too, that was on this floor. It was pretty cool to see how small some things really are!

Doesn't this look fabulous!? Summer Squash Bake!! Easy peasy, too!

Squash, zucchini, season salt, lemon pepper seasoning, and some monty jack cheese :)

Bake at 350 until the cheese is browned a bit. 

YUM!!

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Wednesday was, of course, Zoo Day!!

 Hanging out by the macaws and being closely watched by a peacock. Justin was the bravest and went over to the stinky thing. Kristi, all the boys, and I...yeah, we stayed back. No thank you, Mr. Peacock! 

 Zoo train!!

 Going back in time to see the dinos! So strange...this time Braxton (just ahead of us with his mama) got scared (which didn't happen last time), then Alex flipped out, and Andrew just plain didn't look at them. What is going on here?!

After that dino ordeal, we headed out of the zoo to have a picnic in the shade. Another fabulous day at the zoo!!

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Thursday was Justin's last day with us. And, we want to say thanks!! Thanks for mowing the lawn (again, you so didn't have to do that!)! The boys were watching you and Alex said, "He go fast fast!." Andrew told him, "Daddy's bigger so he is not fast fast, Alex." LOL!

 

We had a great time with you and hope we get to do this again next summer!! Have a safe trip back home and a great last year of seminary!!

Bits and Pieces from Last Week

NOTE: If you haven't heard the news yet... We found out if we are having a boy or a girl! Click here to see who we will be welcoming in the fall!!

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Well, something bad happened to my laptop last week...

Oh, the agony... And, really, Geek Squad? Actually a throwing star would have worked better than these lame backup discs...

So, please bear with me and this blog as these posts are going to be a bit more here and there. In the meantime, please make sure you are following us via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to keep up with our madness! ;)

Check out my little architect!! Andrew built this during quiet time! Is that just the coolest?!

We headed to the zoo with Amanda and her little boy last week. And, I'm telling you. These animals were truly wild. The birds were going crazy, the monkeys were singing, the elephants were playing together, it really was wild! And check out that goat!! Cracks. Me. Up.

First, I know..I have GOT to get a better picture of our new ride.

Second - Hello, SPACE! How on EARTH we fit ALL of what you see into either my old Saturn or Jason's Accord...the world may never know. I LOVE OUR ODYSSEY!! 

And, yes, the boys INSISTED on being in the VERY back of the van. At first, we were worried, but wow... I think that was the quietest drive to family in a LONG time. We have NO issues at all on our way there. They were as happy as anything. Except in this pic where Alex is beyond ready to get going. Haha!

Nana and Papa's house!! After a long ride and a good night's sleep, Andrew and Alex helped Nana make breakfast for everyone. 

The boys had a fun trip to Costco with Papa. 

And, ok...why are these carts ONLY at Costco?! Those things are AWESOME! 

My birthday cup! I know...it's just a cup. But it is an INSULATED MASON JAR cup. Hello! Awesome.

Alex chillin' in the grass with Papa talking about golf and things. 

Yep, he Andrew even gets his "railroad on" while on vacay. :)

On the road again... Poor Alex was sooo tired (from not taking a nap at all on Saturday) that he fell asleep with his little hand in his gold fish bag! Too cute. 

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Wow! I am actually up-to-date on posting pictures! Score!!

Up next: Our adventures with my brother-in-law, Justin. He is here this week loving the life of an uncle to two very silly boys. :)

It's a... {Baby Reveal!!}

BOY!!!!!

That is right! Please welcome our THIRD boy!! 

My doctor teased that my husband maybe needed to be checked to see if he really carries any of those X chromosomes! LOL Gotta love my doc! 

We were wondering (though we kinda figured this little one would be a boy) if we were maybe going to have a girl this time since I was feeling icky a few times. But, nope, must have been just "one of those days" that us preggos have every now and then. 

Are you wondering what his name might be?

Are we sticking with an "A" to keep the theme that somehow started? 

Well, those that guessed we would...you are right! 

This little guy is now...

AUSTIN!!

And, he is just the cutest! Look at those chubby cheeks!! And he is waving, too! Ha!

Wondering about that orange color? Well, we are thinking that orange goes pretty well with blue and green. But, who knows...that part could change. 

For now, Andrew and Alex and VERY excited about meeting their little brother, Austin, this fall. 

And, so are we!!

Half of June...is done??

Wowza.

This month is just flying by, isn't it? So, far we've been to the zoo a few times, rode a train with our besties, had a few parties, enjoyed the hot sunshine, and been busy working at Vacation Bible School.

I know, right? Aren't you ready for a nap just reading that?!

The great thing about being this busy is that the day we find out is Baby #3 is a boy or a girl is coming up very soon. We find out next week!!!! Any guesses???

While you think about it, here is a look back at the first part of the month :)

Wii would like to stay up all night!! Andrew has really figured out how to work to wii now. And, he has passed his old "controller" down to Alex. It was really a candy dispenser made to look like the real wii controller. Do you need to appease a younger player without risking any damage to anyone or anything? My friend, Rachel, found ours at Toys R Us, but here's one on Amazon if you don't want to go on a wild wii chase.

 Railroading :) 

 Jason's parents came into town for his birthday earlier this month to head out to the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek! We got to go out on a date night to celebrate both of our birthdays for this month, too! OH! And, this baby seems to like Star Trek - he or she started kicking (finally!) during the movie!! Too funny :)

 Play ball!

 Birthday party time!

 Just keep swimming...just keep swimming LOL

 Jason's birthday dinner! Andrew, Alex and I made Daddy a birthday cake decked out with super hero "booms" and lightning bolts. These guys crack me up! they picked out everything for Jason's birthday - even a gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings. They are pretty amazing little dudes. 

 SO NOT a fun morning... Alex is out little motion-sickniess prone guy...which by the way is all random. I get no warning of any kind. Nothing. Awesome. I had to get my laptop out to figure out how to take all the belts/buckles out. UGH!! He is fine, of course, but, yeah... Thank you to some friends that gave some great tips on taming this little tummy of his. If anyone has any tips/suggestions, please leave a comment. Thanks!

 This is how we watch "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" - which is the best way to do so!

 Working hard on our writing skills! I'm so proud of him!! 

 Impromptu math lesson at Chuy's! Andrew was telling us the math stuff he knew then asked how to get the answers for other numbers. I will take what I can! :) 

 Finding bugs on our morning walk after a rainy night.

 This is how an engineer puts away confiscated legos...strategically placed in a box

 Riding the Rails Day at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum! Our friends, Kristi and Braxton picked us up and away we went for a fabulous day at the tracks! (From left - Andrew, Braxton, and Alex)

 You silly boys...I asked them to smile. Got one pick, but they blinked... I asked them to smile again because they blinked. So what did they do? A very exaggerated blink. Nice, guys. LOL

The boys have a new show that they LOVE...and you will never guess... 

River Monsters on Animal Planet! That show is a little intense...but they LOVE IT! Andrew now wants to go fishing (like Jeremy Wade, of course) and catch a catfish. Love these boys!

Well, I have one more day of VBS this week and then it is minivan shopping!!!!

Make sure you check back next weekend -- we find out if we will be having a boy or girl!! Make your guess!! What do you think this baby is?? 

Wrapping Up May - Welcome Summer!

As much as we were hoping Summer would get here, but WOW! May decided to finish up in quite a hurry! We did enjoy a lot of time out in the sun, a day (or two) at the zoo, fun at the library, and just enjoying each other. June is just around the corner and is going to be a VERY busy month!

Filling his dump truck with water for his "quarry" in that back corner 

We are at the zoo, no joke, every single week it seems (unless it is cold and rainy), but this is the first time they needed a map LOL. What funny boys...

The reptile/amphibian house is one of their favorite spots

But this time we actually spotted the toad that lived with the snakes - he is never out!!

Train ride past the giraffes

We headed to library to grab the boys' reading bags for joining the summer reading program. And, wow! They got the coolest bags, too. I made sure to sign up the morning that the online sign-up was live. Glad I did! They have the cutest canvas bags for all of their books. So, mamas - sign up first to get the awesome freebies for our kids. :) I'll get a pic of the bags posted soon. For now, you get to see them so excited about their gummy "book worms" - Love it!

With all of the fun, I am definitely making sure that some school working is still taken care of each day. Andrew has to do 3 pages from a workbook every day - we have quite a few to choose from, too. As long as he is happy doing it, I am happy! We have to keep the school work going. Just because it is summer doesn't mean that the learning stops. :) 

Ah, here is where we get to take a breath of relaxation... June is here and it is hitting us hard! It is a lot of fun, but we can't believe it is already 1/2 way over (almost)!

Hope y'all are having a fantastic summer, too!!