july with the littles

I am now 7 months behind in blogging, and the thought of catching up seems very daunting!  But, here we go...These pictures are from July.  Brooke has taken an interest in feeding her "baby Colby".  Colby, on the other hand, wants to be independent.  Hence the spoon grab, haha. 

They are beginning to play more together as well, which is so much fun!

I gave Brooke a snack one afternoon as I went upstairs to put Colby down for a nap, and later found this.  Apparently the pea pods weren't as easy to crack open as I thought, haha.

Bath time remains a favorite for this little chunk.

Brookie was pretty proud of the fact that Daddy was giving her a shoulder ride, and she was giving her froggy a similar ride.

I have never participated in "Cow Appreciation Day' at Chick-fil-a, but when some of your favorite friends invite you to join them, you throw together some cow costumes.

More bath time pics with these cuties.  Although bath times adds a considerable chunk of time to our bedtime routine, I really think it helps them relax and sleep better.  Not to mention the fact that Texas is so hot, and we are all sweaty messes throughout the day!

soaking up the sun

I really think it has been 100 degrees all summer!  What do you do when it is super hot?? Spend time in/near the water, of course. Brooke loves digging and building castles at Joe Pool Lake. 

We met Joanna there one afternoon, and thankfully, it was SUPER windy, which made the heat bearable.  I guess the picture is deceiving with Brooke's long sleeves...but I was trying to protect her from a sunburn. And once the rash guard is wet, it keeps her pretty cool.

Ventured over to the "sprays" at Uptown Village in Cedar Hill.

They conveniently have a Menchie's Frozen Yogurt right next to the sprays, so that was our next stop.

Have I mentioned that Colby LOVES ice cream?  He does, and he cries when I stop feeding it to him.

Colby and I were pretty hot watching Sissy run around and play, but we survived and it was nice to do something different. Colby doesn't not look impressed, hahaha. 

Brooke made a few little friends that afternoon, which is fun for me to see.  And I love that she didn't seem to notice or care that all the kids were either black or Mexican.  It was the morning after the shootings in Dallas over the whole "Black Lives Matter" nonsense, so it was refreshing to see that kids don't see color.  One little girl cut her toe while they were playing together, and she came up to me and commented that her toe was bleeding.  I asked where her Mom was, and she pointed to a table a little ways off.  I told the girl to let her Mom know, and I had this feeling that I should go get a bandaid from my car.  I brushed the feeling aside, then again, felt strongly that I should go get the girl a bandaid.  So, I got the kids ready to head to the car, and as I passed the Mom, let her know that I would be right back with a bandaid.  She seemed really surprised that I would go all the way to my car to get a bandaid, so by then, I was really hoping I actually had one, haha.  It seems like a small thing, but maybe it was a big deal to that lady.  Or maybe it just seemed like a bigger deal in light of the events that had transpired the night before.

Colby was a wreck by the time we were ready to leave, so I took off his shirt and nursed him in the car.  Muscle shirt + white upper arms= a very cute combination. 

We used our season passes one Saturday to go to Hawaiian Falls with Daddy.  We haven't used them as much this summer because it is harder for me to go alone with the kids, but it's been fun nonetheless.

Brooke wanted to try the ropes course again, and was able to complete it with Daddy's assistance.

This last picture should be titled, "What NOT to do on a hot day".  I had a hellacious time hooking the bike trailer up, then after riding around the block once, felt like the tire was flat.  I couldn't figure out how to pump up Kevin's road bike tires, so we had to call it a day.  I have since learned how to pump them up, so at least I won't feel like a total moron the next time I try to take them on a ride.

red, white, and blue

Since Sunday was July 3rd, Brooke and I dressed in our red, white, and blue.  Brooke was already in her dress, and was next to me while I was getting ready.  She commented that she didn't have any red, and I told her that it was okay since she had blue and white.  She left, then reappeared wearing my red heels.  Sometimes a girl just needs a red accessory :)

On the fourth, we headed to the parade in Arlington.  We went to it years ago, but honestly didn't remember much about it. Supposedly, it is one of the best 4th of July parades in the nation, so we decided to give it another shot.  It stormed all night, so the parade was delayed one hour.  I had been checking the Facebook page all morning for updates, and we are so glad we went. Such an awesome parade, and due to the night's storms, the temperatures dropped and we were left with perfect weather.

We found an awesome spot underneath some trees, and we already determined that we will try for the same spot next year.  We counted like 10 marching bands, lots of fun floats, and a group of 30+ middle-aged men dressed as Elvis doing tricks on miniature dirt bikes.  Made for an entertaining morning, to say the least.

I was holding Colby and stepped to the side to take a picture of Kevin and Brooke with the parade in the background.  I wasn't paying attention to where I stepped, and I literally sunk into this mud hole all the way to my ankle.  I am just lucky I didn't drop Colby!

As we left the parade, we passed Mellow Mushroom, and decided to stop for lunch.  I love their pizza, but we had the worst service known to man. I definitely won't be going to that location any time soon. The afternoon was spent with cousins at the lake.

Aubrey loves her Colby.

Everyone had such a great time, and the kids all did so well in the heat.

The girls were in love with their little flags and glow sticks courtesy of Aunti Mel Mel.  We ended the night watching the fireworks show as we floated on the water.   I am grateful for this great nation and for all those who fight to keep us safe.

surfer girl

I am so stinkin' proud of this cute girl!!  Kevin has been talking about surfing with Brooke since she was probably a newborn. Last summer, he wanted to try, but I felt like she was too little.  This year, I gave him the green light.  Brooke seemed excited about the idea, but when it came down to it, she seemed pretty nervous.  One particular boat outing, it was just our family and G & G Meador.  Brooke and Kevin were swimming out behind the boat, and Brooke was jumping off the swim step into Kevin's arms.  She seemed so comfortable and confident in the water, so I think Kevin decided to seize the moment.  He asked us to pass him the rope and the board, and she seemed ready for the adventure.  I took a million pictures of the process because I knew this was an epic moment for Kevin.

Can I just say that Kevin is such a fabulous Daddy for his girl. He is so patient and sweet in the way he interacts with her.  I hope that she always has a special connection with him, even though I love that she needs her Mama as well.

Kevin made it look super easy to get up while holding on to a toddler.  Brooke seemed to be having fun at first, but then she had a look of panic on her face, so I signaled for Kevin to be done.  He made a gradual fall, but I guess Brooke seemed pretty concerned that the boat was so far away from them.  Kevin assured her that she simply needed to say, "Papa, come back and get me", and he would turn the boat right around and get them.

When she got on the boat, we were all cheering for her and congratulating her, which made her feel pretty special.  Jerry commented that she should give her Daddy a big hug, and I was able to capture this picture of a sweet, sweet moment.  She hasn't wanted to surf since then, so it may be a one-time-deal this summer.  But Kevin's summer has officially been MADE!

Colby has been a champ in the lifejacket, so we are officially a boater family.