happy fathers day

To my amazing husband. The fact that Logan ran through the house, and yelled "I love you!" clear as day just shows how much you truly mean to him, and what a great job your doing in his life. 

Also, happy fathers day to my daddy, and two men that are very important in my life, Doug and Shawn. All three of you deserve to have an amazing day, and I wish I could spend it with each of you. 

I love you guys so much! 

first trip to the beach

Now that the wedding is all over and done with, and I no longer have to worry about getting tan lines in the wrong places, me and the Flowers family decided it was time to attempt a beach trip. There were some doubts, and we pretty much planned for anything and everything to go wrong, but in the end, it actually turned out awesome! 

The kids had a blast, the weather was perfect, and we didn't forget anything! Even the water was nice, which is rare for Galveston. 

It was Ryker's first trip to the beach, and he LOVED it! And sierra got to ride the boogie board for the first time, and was actually pretty good at it.. When I tried, I'd fall off, it was sad. 

There were quite a few attempts to build sandcastles, but as soon as we got one up, it'd get knocked down by Sierra the Giant. Besides the knocking down, Sierra and Logan were very helpful in filling up the buckets with sand. 

It wasn't until the end that things started going wrong.. The storms that we managed to avoid, moved in quick, and even though we were just about packed up to leave, we didn't quite make it out without getting rained on. We made the best of it and laughed about it, until we went to leave and one of the vehicles wouldn't start (I blame Michelle and her bad luck). We ended up having to call some of my family to come lend us some jumper cables, and help us out. In my opinion, it made the trip that much funnier. 

This trip was probably one of my all time favorites, and I can't wait to go back, hopefully soon! Of course, since everything went so well this time, next time will most likely be a disaster. Lets hope not!  

recap of our night

Sunday, I married the love of my life, and my absolute BEST friend. Months of planning, stress, and hard work came together, and it was a blast! There were a few things that really stuck in my memory, but all together, the whole night really was everything I could have asked for. 

Logan did amazing as the "ring bearer," although he didn't really carry the rings, or the carrier I put together for him. I'm just so ecstatic that he actually ran down the aisle, and he did so with the biggest smile on his face. He also had a part in the ceremony where he got to come stand with me and Mike, and naturally, he couldn't do so without some goldfish. I think my favorite part of the whole night is when he decided to feed both me and Mike a goldfish in the middle of the ceremony.. I will always, always remember that moment, and how happy I was that he was there to share and put his own little touch on our day. It was like the goldfish was his gift to us, and I wouldn't have had him do anything differently. 

I'm so blessed that I had the 3 best bridesmaids ever, and they were so good at helping me with every little thing I needed, and keeping me calm. We had such a blast together, running around fixing flowers, putting last minute things together, and over all just hanging out. I love those 3 girls more than they will ever know. I'm also so happy that Mike got to spend time with his brothers and that he had a good, relaxing weekend too. It was much needed, and I don't think he would've picked anyone else to have spent it with. 

The food was awesome, the wedding cake was perfect, and the surprise groom cake that I got for Mike was a hit. There were plenty of tears, and laughter.. and definitely a lot of emotions. 

I can't stress enough how much I appreciated the photographers and assistants who happen to be some very close family friends. They did awesome, and I will never be able to repay them for capturing this once in a lifetime event. I want to say how much I loved having my mom, and step-dad there for me, I love them both so so much, and it means so much that they supported me and Mike. 

Mostly I need to express my thanks for my mother-in-law who was there whenever I needed her and always answered any questions, and offered so much help. She was awesome, and I'm so glad we have a great relationship!

I'll be posting new pictures from the night here and there, as I get them.. There are a ton! 

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT CAME AND SHARED THE NIGHT WITH US, WE REALLY ENJOYED SEEING EVERYONE AND HOPE THAT IT WAS AS MUCH FUN FOR Y'ALL AS IT WAS FOR US. 

surprise shoot with granny!

Since granny was in Beaumont at Jeremy and Mandy's (my brother-in-laws), me and Logan went to go visit! I really do wish I could help out more over there since Mandy has so much on her hands between the three kids and packing up/selling everything to move to Malaysia in two weeks. I have to say, she is stronger than anyone I know because I sure as heck couldn't handle it. Kudos Mandy, kudos! 

In an attempt to keep the kids busy while Mandy tried to gain some sort of sanity back, me and granny had the kids out back entertaining each other. When they all have something to do, they are actually a great bunch of kids. 

It's been forever since I got a picture of all four of them (actually, not since Logan was like 2 months old), so of course I had to get one before they move. I'd say they came out decent considering it was four kids with the shortest attention spans known to man. 

Ice cream really did the trick in keeping them quiet and still, even if it only lasted two minutes. 

I also wanted to get some of granny with all of the grandkids since we didn't have any.. I wish I would've just recorded the whole thing. Pictures do not do that little amount of time we spent trying to get photos justice.

I only picked a few to put up because I'm positive my mother-in-law would murder me if I actually posted some of them. Instead, I plan to give her a CD with them so that she can share when/if she feels like it.

Poor granny was actually taken to the ground, where she then took on "tickles" which I'm sure felt more like tiny jabs in the gut. She also got some actual jabs too, along with three of the four kids jumping on her, and using her as a jungle gym. I had a lovely time watching hahah. Logan did too.. he played it smart and sat by me, safe from all the mayhem.

Those kids always provide great entertainment, I love it!

first "camping" trip, day 2

Saturday was extremely busy, but worth it! It started with painting, which I missed mostly so that Logan could hangout with out me for a bit, and so that I could have a tiny break. I did happen to catch the end, where he painted over that purple and gold LSU dinosaur with burnt orange, which just tells me he is a true longhorn! I'm so proud! 

Hanging out with these kids takes up so much energy.. But man, they are always just so happy and playful.

It actually got pretty warm out, and we figured we'd take the kids swimming. My god, the water was freezing! Logan was not feeling it, but that could be because he just woke up from a nap. It wasn't until I took him down the mini water slide that he actually started enjoying himself. The rest of the kids on the other hand, had way to much fun, although I'm pretty sure Ryker had the most fun.

Logan did however, enjoy watching Ryker "jump" of the side of the pool. He just refused to join in.

 

After all the kids admitted to being cold and tired of the water (more like we told them we were), we headed back to eat and get ready for the bike parade! It was so fun watching and chasing the kids around the park so we could see them with their bikes all styled and glowing with the glow sticks wrapped around the bikes. I couldn't help but laugh when we kept asking where Owen was, and finally saw him trailing behind the others, taking his sweet time. It was great!

We ended the night with "mystical fire" that the adults had more fun with than the kids. They were just to worn out from the day to even think about sitting around the fire. They actually told us that they wanted to go to bed.. why can't they do that every night?! 

We didn't do much the next day besides pack and clean, and get ready to head home. All in all though, it was so much fun, and something I would really like to do every year. So far, we've gone on a few trips with The Flowers family, and it always ends up being so memorable, (good and bad haha).

One thing I will always remember and love, was that when me and Logan would walk down the road, he would hold my hand, swing it back and forth and "sing" to me, which was mostly "la's" and "da's". He's got such a great personality. He also surprised me when he went to go off on a trail.. He looked back and yelled "da da" and looked around, expecting daddy to come down the trail. It made me have mixed emotions because I was sad that daddy couldn't be there to go with him, but happy that in that moment of happiness and excitement, Logan thought of daddy. I don't think Mike realizes how much Logan really loves him and looks up to him. One day he will believe me.

A big giant thank you to the Flowers family for having us with them, they are always to nice to us!

first "camping" trip, day 1

I guess I would consider what we did the past weekend camping.. just subtract the tent, sleeping bags, and sleeping outside. We agreed to split a cabin with our friends out at Yogi Bear Park up past Houston, and it was a so much fun! 

I was a little worried since I was taking Logan alone, and I had to go out there straight from picking Logan up from daycare. Somehow the trip there was not bad what-so-ever! Traffic was not bad considering it was Friday at 6pm, and Logan was in a surprisingly good mood (could have been because of the giant bag of cheetos he had for the trip).. until it was time to get out and see everyone. I cannot explain how bad his stranger anxiety is. I keep hoping that its a stage and that it is going to pass soon, but it's just not letting up.

Eventually, he settled down, and he got a little more comfortable with everyone. There were a few times where I walked away when he wasn't looking, so that he would interact with the other adults there. For the most part, it actually worked!

As far as I know, once I'm not around, he's an angel.. funny how that works, huh? 

We did do some of the well known camping traditions with all the kids, like fishing, roasting marshmallows, and "hiking" which was really just walks around the lake, and occasional trips off the path to see if there was any hidden trails. It's always fun to see how excited kids can get over the littlest things, I love it! It makes me get excited too.

Sitting around a fire with our pretty much second family was fun, as always. It would've made the night a million times better if Mike could have been there but unfortunately he had to work a few hours away. 

It took a little while before I could get Logan to settle down in our bed, and there were a few times when I thought he was going to wake Ryker up.. luckily that kid sleeps hard! 

I'll share some more pictures later, there are so many!

momma's day!

I feel like I've just left my blog hanging, but between working, wedding planning, and spending time with my family, I've been way to busy to post.. But man, oh man, I have a lot to share. I'll just start with my mother's day.

I seriously couldn't have asked for more.. I got to sleep in, eat some good food, run around wild with my baby boy, and spend time with my soon-to-be husband. It was fun, and relaxing, and just what I wanted. My only wish is that there was more time in the day to spend with them, because I seriously can't get enough. 

Logan is saying so many new words now, including "cheeeeeese" as you can see ^. 

We also went by the mall today, where Mike got me this gorgeous ring! I'm so blessed to have him. 

dear baby, 

I just want to say thank you. I could not imagine my life without you.. Your laugh, your smile, your goofy attitude, and most of all your sweet hugs, kisses, and cuddles, make being a mommy the greatest thing. I love you so very much! 

-mommy