Trot line

Brandon and the boys went trotlining before the 4th of July to try to stock the freezer for a fish fry for the 4th.

The live minnows for bait

Daddy had his hands FULL in a flat bottom with 2 wild boys, hooks, and live minnows along with trying to paddle his boat.

Trent only lasted for a few minutes...it wasn't near as fun as he imagined.

So sorry that I didn't get pictures of their catches. 2 large turtles and one fish. We decided for burgers for the 4th festivities.:)

Happy Birthday, USA!

We love watching the fireworks that a local church does every year near the 4th. We met my brother's wife and kids, Nicole and Natalie, and Grandmommy to watch the show.

Jack wasn't sure about the noise. Here he is trying to find some safety in Grandmother's lap.

Cute boys!

Enjoying the show...they moved closer and closer as the display progressed

Trent, Zachary, Jack, Natalie and Ali

We had a FABULOUS 4th with lots of great company and great food! We invited friends over to the Milam's house on the lake to enjoy swimming and boating. We had a great crowd...at one time I think I counted 13 kids in the pool. Brandon pulled skiiers, kneeboarders, and tubers until dark. Then we loaded up and watched all the fireworks around the lake from the water. It was an awesome day and I'm sick that my camera didn't join the fun!

Happy Birthday, USA! We are blessed to live in such a wonderful country!

Circus Celebration

We celebrated Trent's 3rd birthday with a circus themed party on Saturday. We had water slides to help beat the heat and circus treats...popcorn, snow cones, nachos, and cotton candy to go along with our birthday cake and cupcakes. The kids had a blast!

Three!

Popcorn was a hit!

No circus is complete without cotton candy
Trent requested cupcakes instead of cake

Fun cake

Zachary quickly figured out how to make the slide more dangerous
Coming down the "Cyclone"

My niece, Ali Grace
Birthday Boy

Splash!

Kayce and Emerson

Dakota

Brayden talked his daddy into joining him

Grelyn

Rustyn

Emma having a break with a snow cone

Nicole and baby Daxton

Ready for some cakeHe loved the singing Family effort to blow the candles out

Trent and Granny-Great who allowed him to poke his fingers
all in the cake because it was "his party!"

Enjoying the tables that Uncle Tripp built usTrent and KK were in deep discussion over cake and nachos

Cousins, Jeni and Lexi finally got on

And Raegan, too

My nephew, Jack loved his green cupcake

Present time

"It's my party...."Trace and Zachary

Raegan and Thomas
More sliding....

Daddy couldn't resist

The party was not without injury [SURPRISE]...Zachary took another hit on his already dark, dead tooth. He was a trooper and continued to party amidst the blood and tears after a quick oral exam from a dentist in attendance!

The party was a huge success...by my standards. Unfortunately the birthday boy told us on Sunday that he was still 2 and wouldn't be 3 until he had a B-I-I-I-I-G party. (????)

Three!

T: Terrific brother; Talkative; Tatoo lover; Story Teller

R: Rambunctious; Really funny; Ridiculously adorable; Ready for adventure

E: Entertaining; Energetic; Enjoys life; Easy to love; Endless supply of hugs and kisses

N: Naughty and Nice, too

T: Turned THREE Today!

We celebrated Trent all weekend. He has added so much fun and love to our family in his three short years of life. We thank God that he's a part of our little foursome...we cannot imagine life without him. Happy Birthday, Baby Trent!

Summer Days

We have spent the entire summer at the pool. We've enjoyed the water at both of the grandparents, at friends' houses, at my aunt's house, at our cousins' house and at the country club. My boys cannot get enough of it. They are so easy this year because they can be in the water without me so I don't mind taking them everyday.

This morning we headed to Grana's for some pool time with a friend and then we came indoors for the rest of the afternoon. For some reason I decided to attack my craft closet for a much needed clean out. I wish I had taken a before and after, but I was too embarrassed of the shape that it was in.

Seeing all the craft stuff in plain view got Trent in the mood for painting. He sat at his little table and quietly worked for a long time. I love to see his little mind at work.

While I was busy at work in the closet, I felt something wet on my leg. I kept asking Zachary what he was doing and he was giggling. I truly had no idea that I was the proud new owner of this...I'm playing tennis tonight and I'm pretty sure all the other ladies will be interested in knowing where I got such a classy piece of art on the back of my calf!

Trent and I were working on dinner and Zachary was so quiet I had to go check on him. He was in the door of his bedroom...

It was a nice, quiet, productive afternoon inside!

Some things aren't for sharing

As we drove away from our house today, I noticed that I forgot my wedding ring. I said aloud, "Oh Man, I forgot my ring."

Zachary asked, "Why do you always wear that ring?"

I began to explain how wedding rings are a symbol of your love and show everyone around you that you are married. I told the boys, "Like if someone who didn't know us were to walk into Daddy's dealership and see him wearing his wedding ring, they would know that he already has a wife."

Zachary said, "Then some girl won't ask Daddy to marry them."

I laughed, "Yeah, because he's our daddy, and we aren't sharing him!"

To which he replied, "Yeah, and if someone tries to take our daddy, I'll pop a cap in 'em!!"

Consider yourself warned.:)

All Stars

Mt. Pleasant Tball National Team

Before our first game
Cuties
Zachary was SO proud of the black under his eyes!
They introduced each player and then they all lined up for the national anthem. They were all a little confused...definitely should have practiced it! But, once they figured it out, they thought they were BIG TIME!
After the tournament....everyone's worn out...especially coaches!!!
We survived our first t-ball all star tournament over the weekend. Our kids had a great time, but were the youngest team there and it showed. We were out matched in both games, but really did pretty well in the second game. [The first game was brutal!!! Our team only got ONE out the entire game and it was because one of their runners ran out of the base line!!!!] It was a good experience and we will be ready for next year!!!