Laughter is the BEST medicine....

Thank Heaven for big sisters..... xo xo xo

The picture is a bit dark because it is night....but you can still hear the happiness!!!!

Sissy is blowing Little Man's duck whistle he got from the Easter Bunny.....

Father's Day Thank-You

This post is dedicated to all the men in our life that help make us who we are. Those that shape and mold us as we grow. Those that inspire us to do great things. Those that lift us up when we fall. Those that teach us to never give up, and that all our dreams are within reach. We thank you, and love you so much.


This is our Poppa Steve. He has truly helped make me who I am today. He has taught me about perseverance. He has shown me how to conquer the real world. He showed me how to be a strong woman...including changing my own oil and tires as a cranky teenager who didn't realize right then that he was giving me tools to live with. He taught me how to drive as he was yanking his arm in the window so that it wasn't severed, and was patient through all of the curb-banging. He has been unwavering in his dedication to his family, and I thank him for that. He is a wonderful Poppa to his grandchildren. BabyGirl adores her "Pop" and loves every moment she can spend with him, although they are too few and far between lately as he works hard to support his brood. We love you so much.....

My Daddy. He is an amazingly strong and spiritual man. He has always been and continues to be my rock and inspiration to raise my children to achieve great things. I can always count on him to lift me up in any situation that brings me down. He restores confidence in me during times of doubt. His laughter fills the room and the hearts of everyone who encounters him. He is the gentle giant that my daughter has grown to adore. He is there for us in every way, and we thank him for that. He can take us fishing and teach us everything we need to know about survival....or he can sit on the floor of my living room with his grandchild and get a beauty makeover. We love you so much......

Our Pappap the Great. This is truly one of the greatest men on Earth. I have the BEST memories of him as a child. When my grandma would call and say they were coming for a visit (even if it were days away) I would get my little chair and sit in front of the screen door just waiting for him on the edge of my seat. He is the most patient, kind and loving man you could ever meet. He has a way of interacting with children that empower them, teach them, cradle them and make them feel as if they were the most special child in the world. He may be in his 80's, but he will chase BabyGirl around the playground pretending to be a crocodile and try to snap her up! He never tires of his children and great-grandchildren. Words cannot express the sincerity in all he does, and we thank him for that. We can't wait to see him again. We love you so much.........

This is our Papa Darrell. We are so fortunate that he has come into our lives. He fills us with beauty and knowledge. He is the most generous and loving soul. He plants his garden full of good things for the grandchildren to pick, and the memories are planted there as well. He always makes sure everything is just perfect for every member of our family. He gives of himself completely and we thank him for that. He teaches us about not only the world around us, but also about what is most important in life. The Papa and Mimi nights are the best, and the kids could spend every second at his house and never want to come home. We love you so much........

And now, my Bo. I cannot even begin to express my feelings or gratitude about this man. He came into my life 17 years ago and swept me off my feet. I love him more every year. He works tirelessly to support our little family. He allows me to stay home and educate our children so they don't have to go to a failing public school system. They get the luxury of never setting foot into a daycare center. There is no "schedule" here where you have to get up, hurry up and gobble breakfast, and run off to somewhere for 7 hours before you get to come home and spend 1 hour of quality time with your family before bed. We are creating the life for our children that we always dreamed of giving them. One where they are free to dream, explore and LIVE! And, this is all thanks to him. He never complains. His work is never-ending from dawn til dusk, but we always receive no less than 110% of him. He gives of himself completely, and we thank him for that. This is my prince charming. This is the man of my dreams. He is the Daddy that our children look up to and want to be like. I could go on and on, and still never do him justice. We love you so much.......

And....now for some Father's Day weekend snap shots.....

Bo got a head massager from Mimi for one of his Father's Day gifts. BabyGirl likes to put it on her head and say she's the Tin Man :)

BabyGirl spent some of her own money getting her Daddy this GI Joe Jeep. She has been wanting to give this to him for months!!!

Little Man got him this t-shirt. It says WORKING CLASS HERO. Isn't that the truth?? (thanks to Designs by T for this fab design :)

We had a pool party at Mimi's house for Father's Day. Here are the cousins chilling out after a long dip in the pool with some home made ice cream!!

Here is BabyGirl in the middle of a cannon!!

Fun in the Sun with Roman!

Me and Little Man in the kiddie pool with Laurel.

Now, this girl already has style!!

Lastly, here are a couple of videos of our pool time this weekend...enjoy!!!

Here comes the sun....

We are so happy to finally welcome summer! Here are some pictures of our first couple weeks....

This one is BabyGirl after she has thoroughly enjoyed her first of many smores this season! Here are a few from last weekend when we visited MarVal Resort in Gore. We had a great time at the Jones Family Reunion! We plan on making it a tradition, and can't wait to make many more memories at this fantastic camp ground!

The Cousins

Showing off!

Uncle and Baby V

Looking for crawdads

The search is on!

The twins chillin'

Daddy, Uncle and Levi with Cecil

Cecil showing the kids "Buddy"

Cooling off with a nice dip in the river!

Now, this is what I call fun!

Sleeping it off...

These are my home made Tom's from BabyGirl. She is the sweetest soul there is, and I'm so thankful to be her mommy.

Little Man in his walker for the 1st time

After seeing me put Little Man in the back pack, BabyGirl had to put Charlotte in hers so we could take a walk together.....

Showing Little Man how to swim in the kiddie pool....

First dip in the kiddie pool....

Ooooooooooo....this IS fun!

Sprinkler invented by my Bo...it reaches all four corners of the garden! Hands-free!

The next set of pictures shows the evolution of our garden this year. Here is the first one...it is showing the four rows marked off, and one of them tilled.

This one is showing our screen around the seedlings. Ha! We've out-smarted the kitties this year!!!

Here is our row of peppers and chocolate mint....

Here is a view from farther away....Daddy is planting the tomatoes and citronella. The far left is cucumbers and sunflowers....the far right are cantaloupe....

Enjoy the video of Little Man's first kicking adventure in the pool. I'm sure it will be the first of many :) Hope you enjoy every second of your summer! 'Til next time.........