Scott's Birthday and 4th of July

Scott turned 29 this year! His last year in his 20's! We took him to Pappadeaux for dinner so he could get his favorite meal, Crawfish Etouffee.

He requested an ice cream roll for his birthday cake, his mom's recipe!

The next day, 4th of July, we had originally planned to go over to a family friend's house for a pool party and a BBQ but since it was rainy and windy all day we decided to postpone it for another day. We went over to Scott's parents instead for a BBQ and we hung out there all day. It was such a beautiful day, wonderful weather! We went to the Jr. High and parked to watch the fireworks over at the high school. It was a great spot, we were so close to where they were lighting them off. And the weather...It was beautiful! In the 70's!!! We all sat at the back of our van. Zach was super cranky though and Rylee fell asleep in our little umbrella stroller.

Rylee woke up for the fireworks and she enjoyed it. Haylee fell asleep and Zach screamed. He did not like the fireworks at all.

That Saturday we made it to our pool party! It was a lot of fun! My kids loved showing off all of their new skills. Still not swimming yet, I had to rescue Haylee multiple times because she would get to deep and go right under. I hate that feeling (as Im sure she did too!), can't wait until they figure it out and we can all relax more at the pool! (I borrowed these pictures :)

Swim Lessons

I took the kids to swim lessons again this summer. The girls were both in the same class and they improved a lot! They both were 2 out of the only 3 kids that jumped in the deep end. Rylee is so close to swimming. She floats so well and sorta swims in a panicked very splashy sort of way. Haylee does amazing underwater she just doesn't go anywhere when she swims!

Rylee passed to the next class (yay!) but Haylee did not. She was very bummed, as you can see. As I told her she's only 4, she's not even old enough for the next class yet. She was having major little sister blues that day.

Zach and I took a class too because I figured if I will be at the pool daily with the girls anyway, why not go swimming too! He did pretty good! He doesn't like going under though, and choked every time regardless of what I tried. He loved jumping in though to the point my arms would get tired! He improved daily on the other skills which was fun to see!

I miss it now, it was nice going swimming everyday!

The Cabin!

 My mom and my aunt bought a cabin up north so we now have a place that we can escape that heat anytime! It does need a lot of fixing up though so while we are there enjoying it we also are working hard! The second trip we made there, we went up with Tony and Holly (and their boys) so Scott and Tony could fix the ceiling of the deck. It was a major improvement, its amazing what a difference it made! They worked very hard!

Before and After

The cabin is unfurnished and it will take awhile to get everything that's needed. So at this point it has been kind of like camping in style! The first time there we all slept on air mattresses and sleeping bags.

We also use camping chairs as furniture. :)

Eating watermelon on the deck.

There is a neighbor boy who came over and introduced himself. All 6 of our kids and him instantly became friends and he hung out all day with us! They are watching a 3D movie here on our tiny portable dvd player, and he was so excited! He said it was just like being at the imax... ha!

When the boys were finally done working we finally got a chance to relax! We went to one of the nearby lakes for a picnic lunch.

Then played in the lake.

Afterwards we stopped and got ice cream cones

There will be many many more trips to the cabin in our near future, yay!!

June

Just wanted to share some of the randomness from the month... 

We got Zach his very first action figure (it was time, since he lives in a household filled with princess dolls)

Made a stop to get milkshakes for the kids and Zach got his very own! Man was that boy happy.

Holly and I took the kids to Tempe Town Lake to play at the splash pad. They had a lot of fun, it was a great day!

Father's Day! 

We went over to Scott's  parent's house for lunch and swimming which was fun!

but then we took him out to dinner which was sort of a bust since the kids were all punks that night!

The girls were treated to a movie with their Grammie and their Uncle Mike so I took my boys out on a lunch date! They're twins!

Catch Up

I haven't posted in awhile so I will try to catch up with everything!  It's mostly just a bunch of random pictures from my phone!

I had to share this picture of Zach with a peep stuffed in his mouth...

Zach helping Daddy

At the end of April, we noticed a small bump on Haylee's upper thigh. Since we had recently dealt with MRSA with Zach, it instantly alarmed us and we treated it as such. By the next evening it was looking worse and she could barely sit because of the pain. We had to drain it again and took her to the doctor first thing in the morning . It was confirmed it was MRSA and she was put on antibiotics. The doctor drained it a lot more which is a very painful experience. Haylee screamed and screamed at the doctor and at one point started yelling "Come on!!". We were told that if it got worse or she started running a fever to take her to the ER immediately. Well, around 5pm she started running a fever. I took her to the ER and we waited there for about 4 hours. I was starting to think they forgot about us, and Haylee would go through periods of extreme uncomfortableness and would cry. It was miserable. They finally got her back and there was so much built up under the skin they had to do a minor procedure to drain it and then pack it. I'm normally a tough mama when it comes to these things, I don't cry when my kids get shots. I barely held it together this time though, they were essentially torturing her. It took 6 shots to numb her and those are shots being placed in the already extremely painful and tender abscess. I found out later from her pediatrician, she was surprised they didn't put her under for it. Poor little girl, she is a tough cookie. Thankfully she got to come home that evening. And thankfully, that was the worst of it and it cleared up. We are praying that we are done with MRSA for good. 

My precious baby

Scott and few other guys stayed very busy this month landscaping our new church. Our church was able to get a building so we have a 24/7 home!

Scott also joined our church's softball team again this year so I take the kids out there as often as I can to watch him (and their uncles) play. They love going, especially this particular evening. We stayed all 3 games, even Zach was running around having a blast.

The super moon rising over the field.

Pasta night, I think Zach liked it a lot. That, or just smeared it all over himself.

A big storm rolled in one evening. The dust storm was crazy, the whole sky was orange. It was so eerie, the pictures don't even do it justice!

The next picture sums up the month of May for us!

 

It started with Haylee and the MRSA. Then Rylee had a sore throat and a fever and missed a day of school. The next day, Zach had a really runny nose and that afternoon he was sick to his stomach. This lasted for about 6 days. During that time Rylee was coughing like a mad woman, coughing so hard she would gag herself. Haylee ran a fever and was just lethargic for a length of time. She also had stomach issues for almost a week. On Mother's Day, Scott and all of my kids were sick. Scott had the stomach bug and was in bed all day. The next day Rylee got the stomach bug and missed 3 more days of school. That Friday, she went back to school and Scott and I snuck away for a date to the movies. We were SO excited to get out of the house to see The Avengers (we had been anxiously waiting to see it!) and be normal again. Unfortunately, right when the movie started I got a phone call from the school nurse. Rylee threw up in class so we had to go get her! The next day was ok. We all seemed normal. Things were looking up. But that evening I started feeling yucky and was hit with the stomach bug too. And it lasted for a good 3-4 days. I couldn't believe another stomach bug went through our house just 2 months after the last one. Yuck! I was so happy to flip the calendar to June, that's for sure! Memorial Day weekend was fabulous, it was nice to be normal and healthy again. 

During all of the sickness, Rylee's school had a Breakfast with Mom event and I got to go to school with her and have donuts together. It was very special, especially when I left she hugged me so tight and she teared up as I was leaving. I love her so much, and I love those moments.

Playing out back, trying to beat the heat!  

The girls in their swimming pool lol...

I was very sick the evening of the solar eclipse so Scott took a bunch of pictures to show me. You can't tell the moon is there but I thought it was a pretty picture.

Rylee had an award ceremony at school. She received a medal for being on the honor roll all 4 quarters! So proud of her!

Rylee's last day of School! (It was PJ day) I CANNOT believe how fast that year went. Her first day seems like just yesterday! Now she is a 1st grader!

The first day of summer vacation we went and picked peaches. There weren't many left, so we searched hard for good ones. We came home with a full box and I made 8 cobblers to freeze! So delicious!

Love this picture of Scott. They found this guy while working at the church.

 

Scott surprised us yesterday by bringing home a kiddie pool. The kids played in it for hours!