Kenan Found the Fire Ant Bed

Poor Kenan is allergic to mosquito bites and fire ants. He got bit by fire ants and his little foot swelled up so much!

The New Guest Bathroom

My Hubby Can Do Anything

So we were having company come over and while I was cleaning the guest bathroom I realized the toilet was leaking. Goldie got in there to investigate and discovered that the whole toilet needed to be replaced. So he got in there and DID IT. I am amazed at all the things this man can do. He is awesome. And our guests had a new toilet by the time they arrived.

Military Night at the Jags Scrimmage

The Jaguars offered a military night for one of their scrimmages. So we decided to take advantage of it because it was free and we thought the kids would enjoy it. When we first arrived the boys did not take any notice of the cheerleaders that were taking pictures with everyone. Then Camryn and Caylen arrived and they were all about the cheerleaders. So the boys took a little more notice. Well, the cheerleaders LOVED Sladen. He turned on all of his charm and he had them wrapped around his finger. They were asking him for hugs. They were picking him up and carrying him around. They took him to see Jaxson de Ville! It was so funny! Of course he was eating it up, too!

The Fire Station 2

The Fire Station

Our friend's son was getting ready to go to fire school so we had a little going away party for him at a fire station. It was great! The boys got to explore the fire truck and then we got our own personal demonstration of the fire hose at work. The boys thought it was awesome!

Spike and Martha Get Double Blessings

Our Sunday School class had a baby shower for Spike and Martha

Our good friends, Spike and Martha, have been trying to adopt. They finally got the call that they had been matched.... with twins. And that the birth mom was to be induced in four days. Luckily the birth mom was able to go one more week giving Spike and Martha an extra week to prepare. The babies, a boy and a girl, joined their family. It has been so fun to see them become parents. And they are wonderful parents! Those babies are so blessed to have them. They became "official" a couple weeks ago! Congratulations, Spike and Martha!

Potty Training

It is hard to resist this cuteness! ;-)

Sladen has started potty training. He does really well when you make him sit on the potty. He is making some progress even telling us on occasion he needs to go potty. We are hoping that by the time he turns three he will be potty trained!

Nana and Da'Dunn Visit

Da'Dunn always eats his cereal with a serving spoon. So Goldie brought him the biggest spoon that we own! Hilarious!

Da'Dunn was teaching Sladen to drink with his pinkie up like the sophisticates! This was Sladen's version! He was cracking us up!

Nana and the boys!

Nana and Da'Dunn were about to leave after being here for three weeks. They were a huge help while we tried to get the house in order. We enjoyed their visit and all their help! We are so thankful that they are able to come as often as they do and to offer as much help as they do!

The Nichols Visit

We had a visit from Gregg, Angie, Josh and Jacob on their way to Disney World. They were our friends at Texas A&M. Gregg was one of the first people I met while at A&M and we remained friends all through college. On a side note, I almost flunked my first semester at A&M because I was helping campaign for Gregg when he was running for yell leader! Ha, ha! It wasn't really because of that but that is what I have always said. Goldie and I went to their wedding. We have kept in contact via Facebook and Christmas cards over the years but we have not seen them since we started our Navy adventure. It was so great to see them and catch up. I wish we lived closer because I am sure Angie and I could compare stories of raising boys. She is a few years ahead of me so I am sure I could learn a few things from her. The boys had a blast playing with Josh and Jacob and Kenan cried he was so sad when they left. I hope it won't be so long until we see them again! Thank you for fitting in time to stop by for a visit!

The Many Adventures of Sladen

That is salt in a batch of homemade Baby Ruth Bars! So sad! Compliments of Sladen!

He is always into his shoes but hardly ever matches them and that is the way he wants it.

Sladen was supposed to be coloring in his coloring book. I left the room for a second and this is what I found.

He colored the bottoms of both feet

Fingernail polish poured on the table

Cleaning the fingernail polish off of Sladen's foot

Sladen found some headbands!

This is what I woke up to one morning - Q-Tips in the toilet and poop on the seat! Sladen took off his dirty diaper and tried to go potty by himself. Notice diaper on the floor!

Sladen did put on a pull up (even though he was still dirty) after he attempted to go potty. He also tried to put on his shorts.

I walked in one day during nap time and found Sladen and his room covered in baby powder!

This is the infamous paint on the brand new carpet!

This is after the paint incident!

Sladen, Sladen, Sladen! Where do you start? Since we have moved to FL Sladen has discovered a new found freedom. He has moved into a big boy bed and there is really no place for me to contain him in this house unlike in Chesapeake. So needless to say I have to keep a close watch on him. I cannot leave him alone for any time because he is constantly into something. I've been trying to take pictures because I didn't with Kenan and wished I had. However, I don't remember Kenan being quite this curious. He was curious but nothing like Sladen. I do think it is just his curiosity. I don't think he is trying to be mean or to harm anything. The paint has been by far the worst of it. We scrubbed for several hours and we still have a brown and green blob on the floor. Not pictured above is when he got a bottle of Gorilla Glue and poured all over himself and the tile in the kitchen. Then he tracked it through the kitchen. And one morning I found Sladen in the bathroom and he had poured out three bottles of shampoo and body wash all over the bathroom! What am I going to do with this boy? ;-) It is a good thing that he is cute!

Dinner with Friends

Caylen, Camryn, Makenna, Abree, Sladen and Kenan

Goldie, Me, Sheila, Shannon, Joe, Alison, Mike and Amanda

When Goldie was in the operational squadron there were four of us spouses that hung out all the time while the boys were deployed. It had been a long time since we had all been together. I think the last time we were all together we each only had one child. Now we all have two. It was so fun to all be together again and the kids had so much fun together!

Mom and Dad Come Visit

My mom jumped on the trampoline

My dad eats his cereal with a serving spoon (notice in his bowl) so Goldie being funny brought him the biggest spoon we have.

My taught the boys to hold out their pinkie finger when they are drinking from their cup. This is Sladen's version of that. It was so funny!

Nana and her boys!

Nana and Da'Dunn about to hit the road to go home! Sad!

A couple weeks after we moved Mom and Dad came to visit. The original plan was for them to leave on July 5th and take a couple days to drive here. I got a call early on July 5th that they were in Louisiana. They left late on the 4th and drove all night and all day without stopping over. They arrived about 2300 that night. CRAZY! We were excited they were here though. We managed to get a lot accomplished while they were here. They were a huge help. They helped us unpack, assemble things, and watch the boys so that Goldie and I could paint etc. We worked most of the time they were here so there wasn't a whole lot of fun time. We did go to the zoo one day and went to "look" at the beach and eat one day. Hopefully next time they visit we will get to do more fun stuff. As always, we enjoyed them being here so much and were sad when they had to leave.

We Got a Trampoline

Me and Kenan jumping

Stephen, Amylynn and the boys

Stephen and Goldie assembling the new monster grill!

One of the things I wanted to do when we moved back to Jax was get a trampoline. The boys have been on them a couple times and always enjoy it so much. Secretly Goldie and I like to jump just as much as the kids do. So we took the birthday money that Granny J and Grandpa Steve sent the boys and money that P-Mo and PopDaddy put toward the trampoline and got a really nice one. We have all enjoyed jumping on it. We are looking forward to some cooler days so we can spend more time on it.

Goldie also got a new grill. He and Stephen put it together one day and we have used it a ton since then.

Stephen and Amylynn came to visit the first weekend we were in the house. They helped us get some house stuff done. The best help was breaking in the new trampoline. When the boys were napping all the adults jumped. We enjoyed their visit so much! We look forward to many more... hint, hint!

Happy July 4th

We are so thankful to have been born in the United States and live in freedom. We thank the Lord for how he has blessed this country and us. We live in the land of the free because of the brave. I thank my hubby and all the other service men and women who are and have served our country. We truly live in the greatest country! GOD BLESS THE USA!