Holding Down the Fort

While Matt, Sam, and I were at the church enjoying ourselves Friday evening and Saturday all day, someone had to be watching the little ones. Grammy and Grandpa did a fine job of managing the kiddos. Grammy didn't get as many pictures as you usually gets...she was too busy caring for the kids. Despite their efforts Jason never took an afternoon nap on Friday while Matt and I were setting up for the party and their naps were all staggered on Saturday which didn't provide much of a reading break for Grammy!

Despite not taking an afternoon nap on Friday, Jason was a pretty happy baby at the party.


Carson and Jason spending some quality time together Saturday morning.

Carson and Madison entertained Jason while they pushed the bus back and forth.

How do you keep an active baby entertained?....tie a bunch of balloons to their feet while they sit in the bouncy seat.

Grandpa does a great job keeping everyone in line during lunch time.

An afternoon swim in diapers was a highlight.Grandpa and Jason settling down for a well deserved nap.

And if babysitting all day wasn't enough, Grammy spent any spare moments she had making a nice birthday dinner for Sam. And then after dinner she volunteered to give all the kids baths. You Rock Mom. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming into town just so we could be gone practically the entire weekend. There's no way we could've enjoyed this time away without knowing our kids were in good hands!

Busy, Busy Weekend

I honestly can't remember the last time we were so busy outside of the home! Our busy weekend began as Grammy and Grandpa arrived Thursday night from Ohio. Friday morning we headed out to Sears to get 6 month shots of Jason and 18 month shots of Carson. What an adventure. I think I've determined that heading to a studio is a waste of time. They never really seem to cooperate (the kids that is). Here are a few pictures from our morning.

Oh sure, now you give us a great big smile!

The day continued as I headed to Sam's Club to pick up a few items and Matt was heading to Safeway to pick up the birthday cake for Sam's surprise 16th birthday party. We met at home where we were quickly on our way again heading to the party store to pick up the balloons and a few other items. Back in the car and headed to Black Hills State Park where we had a little under 2 hours to prepare the shelter for her arrival. The surprise was a success! A good number of her friends were in attendance and we enjoyed a few hours with some great food.

The group shot of Sam and friends.

From the party we headed to Covenant Life Church for prayer and ministry night which was focused on the next generation. It was a powerful evening of worship and prayer. We headed home and practically fell into our beds. We headed out again the next morning bright and early (6:45am) to Royal Bakery for bagels and then back to Covenant Life Church for the Rebelution Tour. What a great day of worship and teaching from Alex, Brett, and Gregg Harris. Alex and Brett are 19 year old twins who are challenging youth to do hard things. Their father is Gregg Harris a pastor out of Oregon. One of their other brothers is Josh Harris, senior pastor at our church Covenant Life.

Here are the pictures of Sam with Alex and Brett Harris after having her book signed by them.

Brother and Sister Love

Recently Carson has become willing to hold Madison's hand in different situations. Here they are ready for church one Sunday morning and posing in front of the door.
And here we were taking a walk at a park near our house.

4th of July Weekend

While we didn't enjoy the traditional 4th of July celebration, we did have a wonderful day together as a family. With thunderstorms and rain forecasted for the evening we decided not to drag the kids out late in the evening for a fireworks show that they would likely not remember. Perhaps next year we will venture to Germantown for Germantown Glory. But this year we headed to Great Falls Park in Maryland for a little hiking and sightseeing. Matt and I used to visit Great Falls often to hike the Billy Goat Trail. On the 4th we just went to go to the overlooks. Madison was very excited about the big rocks and she kept saying over and over "big rocks, be careful."

They loved holding onto the fencing and looking down at the water and rocks. It did make me a little uneasy as Madison started putting her legs through the posts.
A beautiful lizard we saw as we walked.
And a squirrel enjoying his meal until he was disturbed by our presence.
Jason and Carson decked out in red, white, and blue for church the following Sunday.
Madison didn't want to be left out so she joined in the fun.

Never A Dull Mealtime

With three little ones now around the table, mealtime is never boring! Matt sometimes comments that we should just eat our meal after they are done so we can enjoy it. We are constantly moving in one direction or the other monitoring little ones. As Jason is now eating solids we can only imagine the chaos that will take place at mealtimes once he moves onto finger foods! UGH!

Here Madison has realized that yogurt is much like fingerpaint! Needless to say, I did not share in her excitement.
Corn on the cob is a summer tradition. Both Carson and Madison really enjoy it as you can see.

Here's the latest discovery--both of them love black olives. They'd eat an entire container if we'd let them. Madison has realized it is great fun to put them on all of her fingers and eat them off one at a time--she does need a little help getting them all on!

Jason~Half a Year Old

It's difficult to believe that our baby is half way to his one-year birthday! He is growing so fast. Yesterday I had his 6 month check up and he weighed 17 pounds 12 ounces (57%) and is 27 1/4 inches long (79%). He is loving his baby cereal and fruits and veggies. Last Saturday night he woke us up twice with crying as he was getting his first tooth. He is such a happy boy who is so easily entertained by Madison and Carson. Before long he will be crawling all over the place. Wow--time flies. And for all of you who are wondering but scared to ask---no I'm not pregnant again!