Looking Back July Edition

We tried to squeeze every bit we could out of July. With school starting back in early August and my hubby going back to work mid July we wanted to have a good fun July to finish off the summer. A lot of July I specifically posted about so i will just add links to some of these photos.

We started of July with Little girl getting to read a verse in both contemporary services at church. I posted about it here.

my hubby and i were able to take a quick date to our favorite Mexican restaurant for a margairta

we celebrated the 4th with family and friends at the front of the neighborhood to watch the fireworks.

last year we watched them over the Washington Monument

This year it was over the Space and Rocket Center

The next day we dropped the kids off with each set of grandparents and headed to Destin for a few days. I posted about it here.

This guy got his 3rd pair of hearing aids.

We also celebrated him turning 11 with a family swimming party and a fishing cake that he picked out and designed. I posted about his actual birthday day here.

Little girl got to attend a painting event with some friends from school. They painted a mermaid tail and did a pretty great job. we will for sure be attending another class next summer. she loved it.

Golden boy had never seen the Original Jurassic Park so we watched it with him 

we played with some fun face filters that are on my phone first

and he held onto this Lego Raptor through the whole movie

The kids did WinShape Camp again this year. It was Golden Boys 4th year and Little Girls 2nd.

Golden boy say the Incredibles 2 with my parents earlier this summer but said that he would want to see it again if we all went and we have been waiting for a squeal for years, as i am sure everyone else as been too. So we went to see it and loved it. i hoped to get a family selfie but managed to snap this one when we were leaving.

A local Orthodontist office rented out a trampoline park and our office was invited so we attended and had "the best time ever." ~Little girls words

We ended the last weekend in July with a trip to the Lake.

We caught the train at the exit that we take. When Golden boy was tiny, catching the train was the best part of his day.

Little girl couldn't wait to get out on the tube when we got there.

my social butterfly and her Bear

i got on the tube with them. it was fun

my momma and me

when we left the lake we went to spend one night with my sister.
there was cartoon watching......

super hero uniting.....

Popsicle and all the snack eating, swimming.....

and me watching this beautiful-ness unfold. 
i wrote about this photo over on instagram. this is what i said:
I'm going to admit that I am not the best at teaching the kids how to do some things. It's easier for me to just say, I'll do it myself and do it. It's something I am working on being better at. 
I'm hoping it just comes naturally for him. It appears to at times. Today his little cousin wanted to know how to load the nerf bullets. Sawyer patiently sat there and showed him the button to press to release the cartridge. He unloaded the bullets and showed him how they go in and how to load the cartridge. I was smiling at how sweet and kind he was being. I want to be more like him and take time to teach instead of just doing. It's a process that I am trying to learn. 

Books read this month:

Sunset Lullaby by Robin Jones Gunn

Austenland by Shannon Hale

My Plain Jane

Three Wishes by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Looking Back April Edition

so i have occasionally done "What we learned....." with emily p. freeman here on the blog

i thought i would do a looking back on each month.

i am sure it will be filled with things i have learned and things i have done but i wanted to keep it a looking back post to try and start being better a blogging and writing and keeping track of what is going on in our lives at this time.

April started with Easter Sunday. I can't think of  a better way to start a month. 

Easter is my Hubby's favorite holiday to celebrate. We went to church and then took the kids out for brunch.

Easter 2017

Easter 2016

Easter 2015

before Christmas i bought a letterboard for my coffee bar

my sister sent me a text because she saw it on ig and was mad that i bought one because she had bought me one for my birthday in December. She said that she would just keep it for herself and has posted come pretty funny letterboards on her ig account.

in April this is the only one i posted and put on ig.

sometime i have some other funny ones at the #andyletterboard

but this month we kept it coffee related.

I got to attend a field trip to Montgomery with my oldest. We took a charter bus to the state capital and toured The Civil Rights Museum, Old town, The Capital and A museum. For lunch we did a river boat cruise.

Posted this photo on ig with this caption....."It's not kids moving but ripples.

Beautiful fountain memorial from the field trip i went on with my son. '....until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.' -Martain Luther King Jr. May our lives make ripples that affect others for good."

I had a friend call for me to keep her kids for her to attend a meeting. Her boys watched a new movie but her girls had a great time playing with Little Girls toys. Her youngest was fascinated with doing the dolls hair and getting them dresses. I noticed after helping her get her baby dressed that she put a pretend lip stick in the dolls pocket. she isn't wearing pants but she's got her rain boots, jacket and lipstick.  all a girl needs right!?!?

The school had Muffins for moms this month as well. We ended up holding up the wall this year with some friends. It was the most moms we have ever seen at Muffins for moms. it was great but very crowded, which seems like a good problem.

 The kids had a half day in April so we headed for the Lakehouse to see Honey and Bear

It was a fun weekend. Golden Boy caught a few fish and Mom did an Easter egg hunt for the kids even though it was a few weeks past Easter. We don't turn down the fun of an egg hunt though.

  

I have been communicating with a lady on Etsy about a weighted blanket for Golden boy. here is what i wrote about it on instagram......."There were years where I wondered if he could benefit from a weighted blanket. I would think about it but never really act. He doesn't seem to have a problem sleeping but likes pressure on him and night time can be an exhausting time where a weighted blanket could be beneficial. I am so thankful to have found the sweetest lady who communicated with me back and forth and answered all my questions and made this beautiful blanket. He picked the fabric after visiting hobby lobby and the colors."

Here is the link to the etsy page that i purchased the Weighted blanket from. Nancy was wonderful and very helpful.

We walked for my nephew and his daily fight with Type 1 diabeties.

Little Girl lost tooth #3

A field trip with Little Girl

And Camping with friends

Lastly the books that i read in April:

Miracle on the 17th Green by James Patterson and Peter deJonge

A Name Unknown by Roasnna M White

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Crossed by Ally Condie

If I Run by Terri Blackstock

The Christmas Wedding James Patterson

If I'm Found by Terri Blackstock

Wow 7 books. I had no idea. Yay. on my way to 52 in a year, i may even surpass it. I have a list of books that i have read every year since 2006 on the blog but i have been writing them down in a  notebook since 2004

If you want to see the list from last year it is here and at the bottom of that post there is a list from every year dating back to 2006.

April was a pretty eventful and GREAT month.

13 years of December.....minus 1

I was encouraged when reading one of my favorite bloggers post, 9 years of Decembers.....

she is intentional about looking back through her blog posts and remembering 

so i decided to do that same.

i have been blogging for 13 years with one of those years only having 8 blog posts the whole year and that last one that year was in May so there was no December that was blogged then.......

My Decembers have been full of some of the same things like posts about the books that i have read every year.......chances to see best friends......

thoughts on life.........52 adventures that we experianced.......myself expressed in words when i can think about the answers later and not spur of the moment answers............celebration of new life..............funny kid experiances............



the gift of hearing................vacations................





Christmas pictures...................mom advice..........first home purchase..................before kids.................



sentiments on friends....................Three Things Thursday

It has been so fun to go back through the Decembers of blogging past.