Camping

A few weeks ago, Phillip and Lofton joined Grandfather, Kim, and Papa John at Centerhill Lake. Phillip and Lofton stayed two nights; one night they got to sleep in Papa John's camper, but the last night Lofton said that he wanted to sleep in the tent. They enjoyed fishing, swimming, boating, and tubing. I wish that Phillip would have gotten a picture of Lofton on the tube with Kim, but I think he forgot his phone that day. Lofton loves to camp, and he has told Landon that maybe he can go sometime, so I guess that in a year or two Landon and I both will tag along, or I can send the boys away for a few days while I stay home.

The Dog Days of Summer

While Lofton, Alex, and Landon were playing in the water today, Vandy, our neighbor's dog, joined them in the fun. Lofton and Landon thought it was the greatest thing ever, but Alex, who used to be afraid of Baker, wasn't so sure what to think.

At the Shores

Nashville Shores

After naps on Tuesday, Phillip and I took the boys along with the Griffins to Nashville Shores. Lofton, Ella, and Jude as well as Jonathan and Phillip enjoyed the water slides. I even got to take a ride down the slides with Lofton, and I must admit it was fun, which is why Jonathan and Phillip even went down a larger slide without the kids. Of course, Phillip is a big kid himself, so he enjoyed himself as much as Lofton. In fact, there is an obstacle course type of thing in one of the pools, and Lofton and Ella decided they wanted to do it. As they were waiting in line I went to grab Landon a snack so that I could sit and enjoy the show. When I got back over to the pool they were still in line, and Amy said, "A grown man just took forever to get across. I wonder why a grown man would want to do it." I looked at her and said, "I bet that you are about to find out. You will have an up close and personal interview in a minute." I was right; before the kids went; Phillip took a turn. He successfully got across, and so did Ella. Lofton attempted it twice. He tried his best; Amy said that he even was trying to shoot webs to help him get across. If you are around Lofton at all, you know what this is.

All in all, we all had a great time. Even Landon played in the pool a little, but of course, he enjoyed snacks and just walking around much more. We ended our day at the park with a game of putt putt, and then headed to O'Charleys because everyone had worked up quite an appetite; even Lofton ate really well. It was an exhausting day, and Ella and Landon did not even make it home before falling asleep!

Family Fun

Family Fun

This past weekend was filled with lots of family fun. First of all, on Friday, April and I kept Maggie and McKenna so that Phillip and Charles Jr. could golf. It was a fun and eventful day. The kids had a lot of fun together, but there were times when I was telling myself that I was definetely content with two kids because it seemed like everything happened at once- everyone was tired and hungry at the same times. However, we survived without any disasters, and Lofton and Landon got to enjoy some time with their cousins, and I got to enjoy my neices. Lofton is obsessed with McKenna. He held her a large portion of the day, and he would talk to her so sweetly. If she would get upset while he was holding her, he would pat her and say, "Aah, it is just me." He talked about her quite a bit after they left, and even told me that he needed a baby sister like her that he would name McKenna. Nana also came up later that afternoon, and we all went swimming and ate dinner together.

Then on Saturday, we went to a surprise party for Ann, Phillip's step mom. We again got to see Maggie and McKenna as well as cousin Hayden and Aunt Hee Hee and Aunt Ashley. We enjoyed seeing our family and spending time with them. Lofton can't quit talking about his cousins, and we need to make a point to get them all together more often.

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

Lofton sure has gone through his share of phases; he has been a Wiggles, Buzz, and Lightning McQueen fanatic, but none of these compare to his new love for superheroes. He loves superheroes so much right now, and I am pretty sure that this phase is here to stay for awhile, so I decided to decorate his room in a superhero theme. I must say it has been a lot of fun, but I have shed a few tears. His room has been decorated in the Pottery Barn football stuff since he was born; I still had his quilt on the wall. Taking it down just helped me to realize that he is growing up; he is four now and not my baby anymore as he reminds me quite often.

I plan to sell all the football nursery stuff if any of you know of anyone who might want it, and once I sell it I guess I will go hog wild and buy some of the Pottery Barn Kids superhero stuff. Hopefully, this "big boy" room will last us quite awhile.

E.T., Don't Phone Home!

Lofton spent the night with Nana last week, and of course, he came home with several things which included new Batman toys and some movies, which included E.T. Phillip couldn't wait for Lofton to see it, so when Lofton woke up on Sunday at 6:00am, Phillip took him upstairs so that they could watch it. I really wasn't sure about it; I thought that Lofton would be afraid, but he came down after the movie in tears asking me why ET went home. He said, "That little boy (Elliot) wanted to keep him." I can't believe that he actually cried in a movie, and Phillip said that I did not see the half of it that as soon as it ended tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Happy 4th of July!

Well, we had our sixth annual fourth of July party at our house this year, and we again, had a wonderful time. We started a little early so that the kids could enjoy some fun playing. It started to rain, but that did not put a damper on their fun since they were playing on the slip n slide anyways. Even Phillip joined in on the slip n slide fun after he was finished cooking dinner. After dinner, we dried the kids off so that they could play with the Pop its and Sparklers that I had bought. These did not last long, so luckily Aunt Heather and her boyfriend Ben brought over a package of fireworks, and they entertained the kids for at least thirty minutes, which gave them something to do before the White House fireworks began. Everyone had a great time; even Landon enjoyed the fireworks. I thought he would be afraid, but he loved it. The pictures pretty much wrap up our night, and thanks to Amy I got a few more pics off of her photobucket. Check out her blog if you want to see even more pics from the night.

The Fourth of July

Our trip to Destin

We vacationed in Destin, Florida with my parents this year, and even with two young boys it was still a vacation. It is great to have Mimi and Pop Pop's help, and it is great that Phillip likes to take naps, so I got a few moments to relax on the beach. When Landon was on the beach with us, it was not relaxing at all; he hated it, but I really think it was the heat because the few times that we went to the beach in the evening, he loved it. On the other hand, Lofton loved it all. This was his best year; he even liked the ocean until we saw a few jelly fish and sting rays, and he wouldn't get in too far, but he still enjoyed the beach. Lofton also enjoyed the pool, and he made friends so easily; he always had someone to play with.

Lofton and Landon both enjoyed all of our afternoon and evening excursions. One day we went to Big Kahuna water park, and Lofton talked about it every day after. He loved the water slides. We also went to the Track one night to ride rides; I think Phillip had more fun than Lofton. Putt Putt was a big hit of course, and mom and I took the boys on a dolphin cruise one day. The cruise was a big hit; Lofton got to steer the boat, play with fish caught in the net, and feed the seagulls; well, the seagulls didn't get much food since the food given to us to feed them was Cheetos! Landon got most of them. Lofton also enjoyed climbing a coconut tree. The man working the booth said he wasn't sure if Lofton could do it since he was so young, but he is determined and after a few tries, he did it.

We all had a great time, and we are already looking forward to next year when hopefully, Landon will spend more than 20 minutes at the beach since it takes that long to get them ready to go for the day! Thanks mom and dad for taking us with you.

Memories of our trip to Destin