Lake Cumberland, Part I

I was crazy to think that I could actually compose one single post about our vacation... between the little one sitting on my lap wanting to hear about the story associated with each of these images (and not just one time) and the fact that there are absolutely a million things to do in the next ten weeks (decide on nursery furniture, theme, bedding, etc... in addition to soaking up as much one-on-one time with my little one), it just wasn't going to happen.

And so, my friends, I leave you with part I. It was a vacation that we will forever remember as one of the best... where my entire immediate (and growing) family... all eleven of us... vacationed on an eighty-five foot houseboat for five days. Complete with private bedrooms, a hot tub, a slide, kitchen and two bathrooms, we cooked, relaxed, fished, swam, and enjoyed the simpler things in life (things that can only so perfectly happen when there is no television, internet, and business that we all get too easily wrapped up in).

And it all began right here in the main room of the boat.. where my mom presented my dad with a gift - only on loan - from my dad's dad... his captain's hat.

And yes, this was a big deal for our Poppy to loan out his captain hat.



And Dad was really excited.



And besides the fact that yes, we did get stuck after docking one evening and yes, I did call Poppy to let him know of this occurrence, Dad did quite well as the Captain of the boat.



And still claims that the reason that we got stuck was because of a mechanical issue with the boat, not the way we were docked.



The littlest ones quickly adjusted to the week's new schedule.. beginning with early morning fishing the minute the sun was out.



We have certainly had a lot of "firsts" during these last two years... one that might be at the top of the list was witnessing Little Man's first catch.



And the moments of extreme happiness that followed.













If you ask the little ones how big the fish were that they caught, they will open their arms up as wide as possible and tell you "this biggggggg!"



Side note: No fish were actually harmed during this week. They were captured, released, and even given a little bit of love in the process.







And meet Dana. We love the fact that you packed an evening dress just in case we got fancy one evening, adored how you fit right into our family so perfectly, and are so happy about the fact that our littlest brother found the most perfect (and gorgeous and smart and funny) girlfriend... Jacob continues to ask about when he will see "Justin & Dana" again....







It's not everyday that you are able to spend an entire week with the people that are most important in your life...



And how fortunate we all feel that we had this week to do just that.



There were funny moments....



moments that made you say, "awwwwwww"....





and moments that you knew you would cherish always.



Of course, more to come from the vacation.

And a very happy 33rd anniversary to my parents.... that continue to show us how to love and always put family first...



It's hard to believe that it's already the end of July.... we've been melting in this heat, enjoying ice cream almost every single day, attending soccer practice, and staying as cool as we can.

Summer as it Should Be.

It's an understatement to say that it's been a busy few weeks. We have packed, moved, unpacked, packed for a week long vacation, come home and unpacked, tried to get some little two-year-old settled and yes, hopefully sleeping through the night again, and enjoyed these oh so very hot summer days.

Oh, what two-year-old is still not sleeping through the night? That would be this one. Perfect in absolutely every way except for the fact that he's never been a sleeper. Not when he was six weeks old and not today. But he certainly makes up for it, doesn't he?



And because I'm still catching up on editing all the many galleries from the beginning of July, I've yet to even touch the nine hundred images I took on our vacation.. a blog post about that amazing trip to follow, I promise. Until then... a hodgepodge of summer at its finest.

Beginning with a growing seven month belly...



And softball games in the front lawn.... really, it's what I always envisioned a summer would be when we had a family. Perfectly complete with swimming, barbeque, family get-togethers, and softball games.



And my two-year-old striking out daddy.



We tried to explain to Jacob who "mommy's mommy" is. That mommy's mommy is Yaya and Yaya's mommy is Mama. He thought this concept is the funniest thing ever and continues to say, "Noooo... that's Yaya." Maybe in a few months....



Meet Jacob's six year old cousin, Joseph. That always takes care of him when they are playing together...



...until they start going after the same flyball.



Yes, it was painful to have to watch this moment. Perhaps even more painful to listen to the dads cheer them on and tell Jacob to just get back up and do it to Joseph. Not quite the message we want him going back to school with come August...



But I do suppose he has to learn to play with the big boys.



And of course, some amazing Fourth of July celebrations....



Beginning with a parade that the little one enjoyed this year even more so than last...






(Jacob's outfit is from our newest amazing sponsor - Buds 'n' Branches that specializes in designing custom clothing for infants and toddlers... they have absolutely the cutest items and I strongly suggest you check them out!!)



Just when you think the parade can't possibly get better with the clowns and the horses...





with the flags and the unlimited flow of candy...



It does. Welcome, the bubble machine.



And quite possibly my favorite catch of the whole day....







We celebrated until the late hours of the evening, far past the very last moments of the fireworks finale and, sweaty and sticky and completely in love with every moment of the day, the little was asleep before we could even leave the parking lot...



More of summer fun to come...

Goodbye, Baby's Second Home.

Yesterday, we said goodbye to our house.... a place where, in just less than two short years, we witnessed first steps, first tastes of homemade momma food, a big first year birthday party, handfuls of gatherings with family and friends, and a million other memories and special moments. It was never going to be our forever home and we are more than happy that, even with the shape of our housing market, we are able to move, but I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness when we pulled away from the house. Combined that with the fact that moving is an entirely stressful experience, moving at six-and-a-half months pregnant is even more stressful, and that we've had a sick little one on our hands for the past four days and the emotions really started flowing. On top of that big mess, momma forgot to bring the camera on goodbye-house day. And it's not that images of us in a big empty house is that exciting, but you can imagine how I felt when I reached into the back seat to grab it and realized that I had left in at the new location.

So instead... I leave you with the last memories of baby's second home....

Finger painting on our deck.



I love how curious little ones are. The look that he gives me right before he wants to attempt something, waiting to see if I will react with the go-ahead look or the don't-you-dare-even-think-about-that one. Painting yourself? Why not.



Painting in your undies? Much less messy.



With your toes? Absolutely.



Leaping over your paints? If you must.







Water play in the front yard.



Observe how excited this little one when he is planning his water attack on daddy.



Until daddy attacks him unexpectedly.





He's become quite the fan of the golf ladder game made especially for him from his Papa (one of his great-grandfathers). And the crazy thing is? He's actually quite good at it.





And late night summer ice cream treats. I went from being the momma that rarely allowed anything sweet to enter this child's mouth to making time for these special treats every evening. Besides, it is summer. And he really likes it.



Always insisting to say "cheers" with a fellow ice cream cone.







And if you thought I was stressed out from moving and packing up all the many, many boxes we had, I wasn't. My job was really to take care of the clothes, the organization of where everything was going, and the little one. I can't possibly give enough credit to my husband for packing up and getting us moved out in a timely fashion. {and a BIG thank you to our family members and friends that helped us out during the past few weeks... you all ROCK!}





And now, while we adjust the little one back into our normal day-to-day activities, continue our search for baby's third home, and try to remember where in the world all of our belongings are stored, we will always the remember the house that did become a home to us for a few short years.



Not that we think we will have any problems creating new memories, a new place of love and good things, in the ones to come....



Happy Weekend to you. We're taking a week off and couldn't be more excited about the empty schedule of relaxation and family time we have in front of us....