SEVEN!

really? seven? If I don't write this post, does that mean he will still be six? Yea, I know the answer to that, so I am writing this post...

Our big guy is seven. Unbelievable. I can't believe our parents are old enough to have a 7-year-old grandson!

Wilson decided he wanted to start the day off with his presents... still sleepy, still in jammies, ready to kick-it-off...he busted this open later in the day and is already learning a few of the magic tricks...
...tearing open one of this birthday cards...carefully, of course....
checking out his bag of little gifts... to include "Pop Rocks"...
opening up his last gift... an xbox controller so he can play with Daddy... which he did yesterday
Wil stayed home from church with Daddy and played some xbox and Wii and then went to the commissary to pick out the steaks for lunch... that boys loves some steak!

showing his age by his birthday banner...
Wil requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for his birthday... but he also requested some white cupcakes with vanilla frosting for his Daddy because he is extremely thoughtful like that...
Wilson also requested some balloons, he and Walker had fun with the ones Brad didn't blow up... (Wilson took this picture of Walker)

Its amazing to see the person Wilson is becoming. He has a compassionate heart and a thoughtful spirit. He loves to try new things, but, man, he wants to know all about it before he jumps in. He's a thinker for sure. We are blessed beyond words to have this boy in our lives.

supporting our fellow Americans...

... we try to be good, patriotic citizens of our great country. Every once in awhile that means sacrificing for the sake of others... Considering all the trouble that the "Oil Spill" (really, the news hasn't come up with a more clever name for it?) has caused the folks in the Gulf, we thought we should do something to let them know we care. We just wanted to do our part.

So we packed up some camping gear & made a reservation at St. Andrews State Park and off we went... We arrived late afternoon Friday and set up our tent then went to the beach...

As we walked up to the top stairs of the boardwalk to the beach, Wilson gasped and said, "I forgot what the ocean was like..." And you could just see his face take it all in. That comment was totally worth the drive there!While playing in the water, Walker yelled, "This is fun! Hallelujah!" And that comment just made the drive home totally worth it!
The water was so warm. I haven't been to the Gulf in over 10 years and never in the summer... I had no idea! Two thumbs up from Wilson!
Wading with Daddy
The boys loved playing in the waves with Daddy... there weren't too many other people on the beach...
We went back to camp for dinner and drove around "the strip" downtown Panama City Beach for a bit. We got snuggled into our tent... and then realized we could barely breath. Brad decided to be our hero and went and bought a little fan (which also helped the local economy, so patriotic!). The fan helped... a little... it was sort of a long night though.

We wasted no time getting up in the morning, had breakfast, took down the tent and headed back to the beach...

There were a couple teams walking along the beach... they had gloves & plastic bags & no beach clothes... we assume they were looking for signs of oil and/or tar balls...
It was a bit breezier on Saturday. Walker loved digging in the sand and looking for shells...
As did Wilson.
Oh look its us! After Wilson brushed all the sand off of his hands he snapped this picture for us...

{one of the things we forgot to pack was a clothesline. Also, after day one on the beach my suit was FULL of sand (like seriously, unbelievable how much sand was in that thing when I showered). I tried to rinse it out, but you know it just sort of sticks. So, the Mr. and I hit the beach sans suits on Saturday.}

We stopped at the camp store between the campground and the beach and got some coffee. Let me tell you, that is the perfect way to start a Saturday...
Brad snapped a pic of the boys and I (see some of the tar-ball-team in the background?)
and, you can't go to the beach without writing something in the sand, right?

It was a super fun {super quick} trip. I was thinking the State Park beach was so beautiful, and uncrowded... but I can't help but wonder if it would be more crowded if it weren't for the Oil Spill. I don't know. It's hard to know when you've never been to this area before. It was beautiful though.

I definitely feel the urge to go back down and support our fellow Americans along the Gulf during their time of crisis... I'd like to stay longer and maybe spend some money at a seafood joint too... you know, to help them out... Anyone want to go with us?

summer classics...

...and a little PWOC update... ok, really, by now - y'all know what PWOC is, right? Well the training I went to this weekend was super-duper. The theme for all of the PWOC's around the world is the same - "Shine in the Light of His Glory." Isn't that great? The key is for each local PWOC to figure out the best way to incorporate this theme for their target audience. We spent a lot of time praying and talking over the big things God has planned for this place at this time. Its such a privilege to be involved! Here's the theme artwork - cool, huh?On to the summer classics...

Here are a couple pictures of the boys swimming at the pool while they were with the Clements' family this weekend. Wilson gives the slide a thumbs up!
And Walker was swimming like a freak with this little thing on his back! I've never seen such a thing before... I had a slight freak-out for a moment when I was certain that he was "swimming out of his thing!" But then realized that no, he just likes swimming with his head underwater...
I am sure this won't be a surprise - the boys had a blast with the Clements. As always. And the drive is really not that bad. (Thank you, Jesus!)
And Mom, just because you asked...

Popsicle pictures.
You know its summer when...
... some frozen sugary liquid on a stick...
...and a nice little spot to sit...
...with the people you love the most...
...is just about the best thing you can imagine.
(the Popsicle pictures are in reverse order... you still get the idea though, right?)

beach day at callaway (gardens)...

...except we didn't go to the gardens so I felt it necessary to say callaway {gardens}, get it? besides "Beach Day at Callaway" rhymes... clever, huh?

on with the post.

Daddy got home from work bright and early Wednesday morning. After realizing that I did not buy coffee on Tuesday he decided to make a coffee run, --- and y'all have heard this a few times, but I must (I MUST!) mention it again --- my husband rocks! Indeed he does, because he decided to not only buy some coffee, but to go off-post and buy us some donuts too... and this after working all night. He sure loves his peeps.

After a lazy-ish morning we determined that we should head up to Callaway to check out their beach...(We even remembered to bring their sand toys because we are awesome like that). The boys approved!Walker did some "swimming."
As did Wilson. I'm not positive, but I think Brad may have gone under water once.
It was a nice little lake to play around in. It was H-to the-O-T out there though. Good thing we brought some cold water with us. Because Brad is active-duty, we get into Callaway for free. (If we paid the regular price to get in, it would be $18 per adult and $9 per kid!! Unreal, huh? Military isn't free on special occasions, but its still half-price - we've never gone for a special event though).

Anyway, the beach had some pay-to-play activities as well. We thought we'd try the 4-seater paddleboat. What a fun adventure, right?
Nobody was overly thrilled with the paddleboat. And because we had to balance that thing out, Daddy was left to paddle alone - in the 95+ degree temps - wearing a life jacket. Pretty sure we didn't stay out on that lake for an hour... or even a half-hour. But I do think we may have ruined the idea of paddleboats for our kids, so we will probably never drop another dime on it again. Ever.

And in other news... Wilson has another something on his calendar...

He got the day wrong, but as you can see he's been looking forward to it! Tomorrow the boys get to hang out with Miss Barbie & Logan at their new house! They are semi-settled in and I can hardly wait to see it (or them, of course!)! The boys will be staying there for the weekend because I have PWOC leadership training (and Brad works a crazy schedule).

Wilson is looking forward to having "a break" from me. Those are his words not mine.

I am sure they'll have a sweet time. I am trusting that my training will be a blessing as well. And Brad has big plans too, he is going to change the brakes on the van on his off time. I think if things go well he and I will be able to go to church together before I head to Alabama to get the boys... I would try to explain his work schedule and my training schedule, but its really confusing -- trust me, it worked out well that Barbie asked me again what weekend my training was... man, she's a good friend!

a quick visit!

we were thrilled to have some visitors this weekend... (I use the term "weekend" loosely because Brad's schedule is so crazy... he wasn't working while our company was here, so it was technically the weekend for him and us!) We thought we'd partake in "Thunder on The Hooch" after dinner Sunday evening, but the kids were all playing so contentedly that it seemed like a crazy idea to head down into the crowds to keep all the kids up late again for fireworks... so we just hung out at home.

After some good sleep and a lazy morning, we headed over to the National Infantry Museum... Brennan, Victoria, Colson, Wilson, Walker & Jacqueline posed with the Follow Me! Statue...Drill Sergeant and the new recruit...
We went to the pool for a little while in the afternoon, then came home and chilled for a bit before dinner.

--- sidenote---
I had promised (PROMISED!) Wilson that we would make s'mores while we were in Michigan - he tearfully reminded me of that promise after we had said all of our good-byes. The promise I had broken.
I know s'mores is a silly thing, but a promise isn't... and I felt awful.
The day I found out that Dad & Mom and the kids were coming, I went and bought everything for s'mores. I wasn't going to miss this chance!

So, thankfully Monday evening, I got to mend a bit of a broken promise...

S'mores can be serious business...
Doesn't she look adorable with her s'more?
P.S. I made that little pillowcase dress she's wearing. I am pretty sure she is the kind of girl that makes anything look cute, so she's the perfect model for my handiwork!


We had a great visit. Quick, but memorable. We are blessed.

Happy Independence Day!

(I sure hope Alaska and Hawaii aren't mad at me...) I made the boys these t-shirts on Friday. Super simple, I found the idea here. The USA coloring page that I printed out didn't have an upper peninsula on Michigan (gasp! shocking, I know!) so I had to free hand one on there, I think they turned out mighty cute... although not everyone was thrilled about me getting a picture...Brad had to work yesterday so the boys & I went to the on-post celebration yesterday with our neighbor and her four kids (her husband is deployed, pray for her). They had a TON of inflatables...
and a brief skydiving show, I loved the flag on this skydiver, how cool!
Here's the crew (minus the baby who was in the stroller sleeping and you can only see part of one foot of the four-year-old behind his sister).
and, what is an independence day celebration without cotton candy? really, can anything be celebrated well without cotton candy? (we totally should've had cotton candy at our wedding, why hadn't I thought of that sooner?)
Walker loved (LOVED!!!) watching the stars come out while we waited for the fireworks! Here he is pointing out the "wishing star!" (just look at those lashes...)
----
sidenote: I didn't think we would stay for the fireworks, but the boys were having fun and it was a LONG walk back to our car, and I didn't really want to leave T there by herself with her 4 kiddos. It was a good fireworks show. The traffic afterwards was CRAZY!
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Friday afternoon the boys were invited over to decorate some cupcakes & make cookies at our neighbor's house... here they are with their aprons on... crazy group, huh?
and the end result... the kids did a lot of sampling while working...

p.s. see all those sprinkles on the table? there were even more on the floor! I tried to help clean up the mess a bit before we came home. it was a sweet time for the kiddos!

pool party

the boys were pretty excited to go play at a friend's house last week... it was a water play party, and the boys had a blast... all the kids did! look at the little pool-full! This genius-down-hill-slip-n-slide caught Wilson's eye about 3 seconds after we stepped into the backyard...
SPLASHDOWN!
Wilson even got a little air as he entered the splash zone!
The boys had such a good time, (us moms had fun too.) There was even a super-tiny-pool for the under 12 months set, oh my goodness, those babies were adorable! Walker had dinner there and you can see he was pretty worn out on the way home... (photo courtesy of Wilson).