Summer Swim

I have never - nor will I ever - entered the water head first.

But my children?

They do it every day.

A Trampoline and a Lesson

I thought I'd take some fun pictures of the boys on the trampoline.

But I soon learned a valuable lesson:

Sometimes, it's better not to watch what the children are doing.

For my sanity.

And for their enjoyment.

So I walked away.

And all was well.

Yesterday

Yesterday after swim practice, we made a cake.



Then we played in the pool.

And on the trampoline.

And we had silly water balloon races.

Then, after blowing out SEVEN candles,

we ate that cake.

It was a good day.

The Ballgame

Take me out to the ball game!

Take me out to the crowd!

Buy me a hotdog...

...and cotton candy,

I'll do a dance in the seventh-inning-stretch!

'Cause it's 'root, root, root' for BOTH teams;

If the Mariner's don't win I might cry!

Oh, it's one, two, three strikes, 'You're OUT!'

At the old ball game!



Thank you Poppa for an amazing evening of baseball!  We had the best time at the Nationals-Mariners game the other night.  We enjoyed the atmosphere, the incredible seats, the food, and most of all - the exciting game!  It came down to the bottom of the ninth, and we really thought the Mariners were going to win.  But...  With two outs and two strikes, you'd never believe it - a HOME RUN!  Three runners in, and the Nat's won it all.  So exciting, and everybody was thrilled.  Except for one little Mariners fan.  (I promise, if it had been any other match-up, he would have been cheering for those Nats right along with the rest of us!)

PS. A quick little note for all my lady friends.  Go to a baseball game pregnant.  Honestly, it's the best!  I got free water, a free extra scoop on my ice cream cone, and a sweet elderly usher brought me a soft padded chair when we left our seats to seek shelter during the lightning storm.  That baby belly can really come in handy!

I Love My Neighborhood

I wish I lived on a farm.  With acres and acres of fields to plant, care for, and harvest.  I wish I could have chickens and goats and bees.  I wish my children had unlimited space to run and play and explore.

But here's the thing.  If I had all that, I wouldn't have this perfect neighborhood I live in.  With great friends.  And tons of kids.  And dogs.  And ice cream at the bus stop on the last day of school.

I love my neighborhood.

SEVEN

My boy is Seven.

Have I ever mentioned just how much I love Seven.  Best age ever.  I promise.

This is going to be a good year.

And now, without further ado, I present to you Seven of my favorite things about Camden...

1. Camden gives the best hugs.  He wraps those (not so) little arms - and legs - around you and you know you're getting a good hug.  Mmmm.  I could use one right now!

2. Camden is an athlete.  Give him a ball, a bat, a hoop, a pool...  The boy can do it.  He pushes himself hard, always wanting to do his very best.  He is so fun to watch!

3. Camden has a great sense of humor.  He can laugh at himself and can even carry on a joke started by others.  That little giggle of his is probably one of the cutest things you'll ever hear.

4. Camden is generous.  He loves to give gifts to his friends and family and takes great delight in their happiness.  He uses his own money to get gifts for friends' birthdays and will spend a long time picking out just the right thing.

5. Camden loves to clean his room.  (As his mom, I really appreciate this!)  He loves things to be neat and organized and once started will work until that room is spotless.

6. Camden is excited about learning.  He loves to show us his schoolwork when he brings it home and tells us all about all the books he reads.  He always does his best and is learning so much so fast!

7. Camden wants to live with his mommy forever.  He tells me he's going to marry a nice lady who will like me and they will live with me.  Sounds like the perfect plan to this mama!  (I'll soak it up while I can, because I'm thinking in a few years this plan may change a bit...)

My list could easily go well over Seven.  I could talk about the cutest freckled nose in the whole entire world.  Or his (usually) calm nature and quiet little voice.  Or how he runs to hug me when I pick him up at school.  Or...

But I'll wrap it up.  Because I've got a lunch date with one absolutely perfect Seven-year-old and 17 other first-gators.   We're having cupcakes.  With sprinkles.  Yum!

It's a...

BABY!

And a pretty cute one at that.

If I do say so myself.

Field Day

We headed off to Gatorville slathered in sunscreen and very excited.

We danced when we were supposed to be paying attention to the game.

But who can resist when the music is calling?

We played kick-ball.

Our feet grew thirty-five sizes.

It was a little hard to walk.

We spent some real quality time with favorite friends.

Who are about to move away.  Boo.

Like I said.

Favorite friends.  Moving.  Boo.

We got wet.

We (moms) spied on our children.

We enjoyed the snow cones.

We look forward to those every year.  Yum!

Did I mention we got wet?

We love Field Day.

And we really love Gatorville.

Happiest place on Earth!

Happy Tick-Day!

When you live with men, you get to celebrate your birthday by going camping.
You get campfire smoke in your face no matter where you sit - smoke follows beauty, you know.
You lay your big fat preggo body on the hard ground to sleep.
You share your pillow with a smelly six-year-old.
You piddle in a toilet that serves as home to hundreds of mosquitoes.
Your children - and loving husband - sing Happy Birthday and tell you the itchy bites on your bum are your birthday present.
You eat s'mores for breakfast.
You hike three miles.
You remove eight ticks from various members of your family.
You bathe the dog.
You do five loads of laundry.
You have three handsome dates for your dinner out.
You eat yummy cake lovingly made by sweet - probably dirty - hands.
You love every single minute of it.
Well, except maybe the tick part.