hot sauce turns 30

Jason is the first of our friends to turn 30, so we just sat back and enjoyed being young still. :)

What started as a joke a little over two years ago has now turned into a birthday tradition.  Jason loves to dress his son up in costume, so I figured it was only appropriate that he join him (hence getting him an adult pajama costume onesie for his birthday).  Jokes on me, though, because Jason has always loved a good costume, so it's not surprise that he wore the outfit... pretty regularly. 

real life baby doll

This one passed. out. on the car ride to dinner and slept on my lap until we signed the bill and were getting up to leave.  Inappropriately, when Mike showed me the picture the first thing I thought of was that it looks like I'm nursing my two-year-old, while drinking.

Our friend's daughter asked if she could put Keegan in her stroller.  Why not.

Getting some shopping done with CC.

brotherly love

Despite being only a few months younger, Brent's weight allows for him to be pulled anywhere by Declyn. Conveniently enough, his height also allows him to fit perfectly on a carry on suitcase. 

James is pretty obsessed with Keegan, and I think the feeling is mutual. 

Getting comfortable for some duck, geese, turtle, snake and fish feeding. 

Exploring past the bridge. 

I asked for a group hug.  This is what I got. 

coming in hot

Mike made it home just in time for bedtime, so he was the requested reader for the night.

Declyn also went through a phase (and still occasionally dips back into it) where he has to have something (or two things) in his hand(s).  Clearly Keegan is following in his path. 

inching along

D found this little guy inching along at the playground and had to of course pick it up.

Practicing gentle on a real-life baby doll. 

ralph lauren

We were walking into church and I noticed all three guys were wearing some shade of blue button-up, and I was wearing navy.  Fingers crossed people think we dress like this all the time. 

Kid can't pick a favorite sport.

Practicing numbers and letters with Parker P.

a beachy weekend

Keeps started a new thing ... and oddly enough both James and Brent also do it.

Beachin' it on a Saturday afternoon.  

Keegan tried to chase the seagulls literally right into the water.

wind blown hair

Mike put a little gel in D's hair for dinner.  Add that to a rolled down window, and you get a glimpse at an amazing hairdo you can't even try to re-create.

Don't let them fool you -- they love us.

always stay hydrated

I understand this picture may look like Declyn is just going to town on Cali's face with the hardest setting of the hose, but truth be told Cali would chase after the water and try to play with it.  They both thought it was a riot. 

I'm not sure how he even did this, but it was a trick I have to applaud him for. 

And this multi-tasking is also a proud moment for me.

"I go work with daddy"

D came down the hall dressed like this, telling me he was going to work with Daddy.

Whenever he looks for something, he has to put his binoculars on.  Makes sense to me.

A pre-dinner walk to feed the ducks has become a little bit of a tradition. 

a free spirit

I asked him who he was drawing. His answer? "Momma. Dady. Schatzi. CC."  Truth be told, I don't see any of those people / animals in his artwork.  But who am I to judge? 

Sometimes clothes aren't a requirement in our home. And it's always acceptable to slide around the floor on a pack of toilet paper. 

quite the comedian

This kid can eat ... until he gets full / tired of it, and starts banging his hands on the tray so that the food flies everywhere. 

Chewing on everything his little mouth can get a hold of, while thinking he can't be seen.

This was the third time this had happened, so I had to take a picture.  All I heard from the other room was, "Momma.  Keegan's stuck."  I mean it had happened so many times that Keegan wasn't even phased. 

This hunk is obsessed with balls.  We have a bin in the playroom and all that he does (every single time) is go to the bin, pull the balls out, and just throw them around the house.  Or in this case, put it in his mouth and crawl around the floor.

a three year vacation

Mike got an amazing opportunity to further his career while serving a client in Virginia Beach, which started our three year stint here.

I love this text that my mom sent me ... maybe 10 minutes after we had left. :)

Declyn refers to our current (vacation/beach) home as our "new house", but in all reality neither of these cuties fully understands where we are living / how far away (or close) everyone is to us.  I wish life was that easy for adults.

five double wide

I can't believe how old he looks here, but this handsome boy got his first professional haircut.  Can you tell how stoked he was about it?  You would never know that he would vehemently disagree with getting one whenever you presented the idea.

Everything was "choo choo trains" today.  He even sat behind Keegan in the bath tub and told me that Keegs was a train.

Got his foot measured.  Apparently he's a 5 .... double wide.

Celebrating Casey's birthday a week early.  "Take picture of my hand."

unexpected backdrops

Celebrated Declyn's friend Madison turning three, and her community pool was ah-mazing.  I wish I could say somebody went down this slide, but instead the boys decided to send a boogie board down as a test run.  Good thing the lifeguards were cool with it.

Never noticed how neat the backdrop in front of Home Goods was until these loves were waiting for me on the bench.

good night, even better friends

My mom caught this moment on film.  Looks about right.  But seriously, how big does Keegan look??

Got to hang out with these kids ... and I enjoyed every second of it.

I turned the corner and Keegan was pulling Declyn down the hallway.  No surprise there ... the kid's a beast. 

#thedaymikewaitedfor

Just a behind the scenes moment of what motherhood is really like.

My best guy friend from high school got married ... and his pretty wedding included this stud.  I mean who has a live horse at their wedding who you can feed and take selfies with?

A beautiful wedding for two beautiful people.

Love these two. Bad.

But I love this hunk even more.

High school friends (and their significant others).

Such a picturesque setting, and to top it all off there were whimsical white lights inside the barn.  Absolutely dreamy. 

I made that limbo stick.  I guess I just don't know my own strength sometimes.