hand hug

One of the girls in playgroup turned one, and her party was absolutely darling -- pink and gold everything.  Not to mention their front yard opens up to this playground, the perfect place to host a birthday party. 

When Caden and Dec aren't arguing over toys, they sometimes like to hold hands when no one's looking. 

My mom was rinsing Brent off after the pool and when she took of his swimmie - surprise!  He had a loose stomach and when she notified the lifeguards, this was the result.  What I didn't take a picture of was the lifeguard in his hazmat suit.  I couldn't stop laughing ... talk about leaving your mark. 

lady O

I was getting ready to leave for Pittsburgh when I looked over and saw this sweet moment.  All around perfect placement of hands.

I got to meet my good friend Kristi's sweet baby girl, Olivia.  Our JMU crew is slowly but surely popping out their babes one at a time.  Don't be fooled by the angle -- this little lady is as petite as they come. 

This beautiful hat covered more than just her head -- it pretty much shaded her entire tiny body as well. 

Ladies brunch!  Our college family is slowly growing, and it makes me so happy. 

mini golf, carousels & train rides

Thankfully our backyard is full of trees.  But to that random jogger taking a morning stroll, my apologies. 

Busy day at the nearby lake.  In just a few hours we rode the train, carousel, had lunch, played mini-golf, and ate scoops and scoops of ice cream. 

Probably one of my favorite pictures of these three. 

catching rays & speed

Tried taking a picture of just Fen and Cal.  You can see how that played out.

This jeep has opened up a whole new world for this little man. And taking it outside? mind. blowing.

Although I know they mean well, sometimes these little munchkins treat poor Keegan like he is an exhibit at the zoo.  They're just fascinated with him. 

Love walking in and seeing these two helping each other, even if washing hands turns into splashing waters and bubbles all over the sink and themselves. 

Thankful for the lost and found at the pool so they can each have a pair of googles that they pretty much use just for show. 

welcome to atlantis

This waterpark is ah-mazing.  Describing it would be doing a disservice with how awesome it truly is. 

This is the same position he has started taking in the bath tub, except he'll completely submerge everything except for his eyes, mouth and nose.  Not sure what this phase is about, but I'm glad he's not afraid of the water.

man, I feel like a woman

Headed to the Shania Twain concert.  I won't deny that I knew all of her songs.

An explanation for above: Mike's boss spilled wine on himself at dinner, before the concert, so we thought it'd be hilarious to buy him a Shania shirt he could change into.  

Someone beat us to it.  With the exact same shirt. But the joy on both of their faces is absolutely priceless. 

The lady herself just taking in the crowd. 

Half of the Blues Brothers eating ice cream.  With sprinkles, of course. 

The splash pad near our house is pretty sweet.  Luckily Declyn doesn't like to get soaking wet, so even if we don't have a bathing suit we're safe to play near it because I know he won't completely submerge himself. James and Brent, on the other hand, there's no way an inch of them is dry. 

parker p turns two

We fit three kiddos into one car, since our SUV was packed to the brim with birthday party festivities, and I can't say they didn't enjoy it.

Of course Declyn was obsessed with Parker's sunglasses. He also highly enjoys wearing sunglasses upside down. 

I can't remember what he was saying, but he was likely yelling at me for taking another picture. 

out. cold. 

Day two of Parker's second birthday celebrations was just as fun as day one. 

Staying fit on the beach. 

What may have been the only time he wasn't trying to crawl off the blanket and onto the sand. 

Joe built them their own private pool to lounge in oceanside. As you can tell, they loved it. 

baller

Falling asleep on CC is one of the best places to fall asleep.  I mean look at that drool pile... that is a legit nap.

He's big into gouging out eyes, even if they belong to poor Nanny. 

I love when I get to see a new facial expression. 

When these kids laugh, my heart is full. 

outside eatery

Having multiple children makes it fun for moments like this when I can think back of the exact moment / picture I have of Declyn pulling himself up on the exact same plastic toy bin.

Starting to strengthen that core from a young age.

Summer mornings are meant to have breakfast outside in your pajamas, just ask D.

laughter so hard you almost pee

Eventually we had to take a little break from seeing the animals, and puppet show, to get lost in the grass and have a few snacks. 

Future couple. 

I will completely butcher even an attempt to explain what happened here, but I will let you know we were all laughing ridiculously hard. 

1. Declyn was giving Brent a hug that lasted about eight minutes ... at one point Meagan asked him if he was OK and he just gave a thumbs up.

2. The hug turned into Declyn treating Brent like Keegan, and Brent becoming doll-like, not even attempting to move any limb in his body.  Declyn was decorating him with rocks and even propping sticks in his hands.

3. Once they finally got up, Declyn asked Brent to lay back down so he could take on the hug from another angle.

... the whole thing probably lasted legit fourteen minutes ... and I laughed hard for at least twelve of them. 

riding in style

Yup.  Even half asleep, it still looks good. 

You know we've had a fun, busy day when this is the end result. 

D refused to take the 'gloves' off even after he was done riding. 

Even Keegan knew no one could take this attempt at a picture seriously. 

Left : Who's holding me?

Right : Oh, it's James. Cool.

I don't know who came up with the idea to wear socks as 'gloves', but these two ate it up.

sunday funday at the rents

Before church I took Keegan into his room to get dressed, Mike took Delcyn into his, and we met in the hallway.  This was the result. 

He made Pops play horsey for at least seven minutes before a break was even considered.  Such a good sport, this one. 

a key west vibe

Lyss found this fun little event at a local winery.  It was Key West - themed.  And amazing.  I mean, they had wine-a-ritas.

And got to meet (the future) Johnny Depp. 

Mom and Aunt Denise took D to get a snake painted on his arm by a ... clown? 

I love everything about this picture.  Declyn is also big into throwing his arms around your neck and trying to climb your back. 

This flamingo now has a permanent home between the Kessler's home and my parents.

Reaching for his Godmomma ... he could probably sense the pain she was feeling from her bike injury (hence the hand bandage). 

Post-winery dinner at Aunt Denise's is not complete without watering plants. 

He tries to hide it, but Justin has a soft side.  Plus he thinks all kids love him.