Saddle Up for God!

We were very graciously invited to attend Vacation Bible School this year at Salem Baptist Church by our dear friends, Erica and Ella. I have very fond memories of VBS as a child when I went with my best friend then, Melissa Arthur (Moody). So, I was excited for the children to have the opportunity. However, old diabetes often gets in the way of stuff like that involving dropping the kids off anywhere. It ended up I just decided to volunteer so I would be in the building to care for Jackson as it was needed. It worked out great! I got to keep the nursery even!!! Ahh..those babies!!! It was so fun to rock and feed babies without the pressure of being a first time mommy or an unsure mommy. I felt like an old pro! That in itself created memories for me! But, as you can see by the pictures below lots more memories were created that week as well!

The kids even square danced!! And, Jackson still remembers his moves. We went to a fancy birthday party recently at the local country club, and he showed them off for everyone to see!! :)

I need to take a moment to brag on my little Preston, too. This was his first "school-like" experience. I was very curious how he'd do since 7 weeks later he would be starting real preschool 3 days a week for the first time. I went and got a sneak peek in his room often, and I also had a few "spies" (ahem..Erica and Kora ;)) working for me. We were all so proud of him! He did great! The last day he was tired you could tell. Which reinforced my decision to not do 5-day 3K this year. So, that was expected. But, he really fit in like a preschool veteran. :) I was very proud of him!! And, even though I haven't blogged about school beginning this year (yet), I'll go ahead and spill the beans...He is doing great there, too! He is way surpassing my expectations!

So long VBS! Until next year!

Our Summer Vacation

While it was really early in the summer, so it kind of felt like late spring vacation, we spent our summer vacation this year in Panama City Beach trying to beat the oil spill. We were successful! :)

We stayed at a place we'd never tried before called Splash! It has its pros and cons, but we still had alot of fun! Jackson got to try out his level one swimming skills!

And, Preston got to show us his belly! :) He is so cute! Well, he was cute up until he peed all over the concrete right by the pool. :)

Jackson is sporting Mr. Joe's hat! Joe, Gail, Shane, and Treasure (Gail's niece) also went with us! I love going to the beach and staying in a condo with friends and family! I always wanted to do that! I am so glad we have found beach buddies!

Paul can't take off work so we always fit in several small vacations throughout the year. So, since we were only there a short time, we cram in a ton of stuff in just a few days! Poor Paul, and well according to some of these pictures poor kids! :) They can't keep up with me. I am Larry, Jr. We stayed busy..

We even went to dinner one night where the kids slept straight through! Preston then got to the car and said he was ready to eat because he woke up. Then, I hand him his to-go box and look back a few moments later and realize he fell right back asleep!

This was the night we ate dinner at Boondock's. Highly recommend that place! This was also the same night they fell asleep during dinner! They look bright-eyed here!

Sadly though since Jackson is diabetic, he HAS to eat. If he skips meals, you'd think he wouldn't need insulin, so he'd be ok. We learned the hard way early on he HAS to eat and HAS to have a shot or he gets ketones. So, we forced him to eat as tortuous as that sounds! I did not think it was possible to eat while asleep..and I mean really asleep. But, he proved it is. Poor guy! The food was delicious! They missed out!

**Note: Blogger moved my picture of Jackson falling asleep eating to the top of this post! And, I can't figure out how to move it back! ugh! Sorry!*

While I don't prefer shaded pool areas because they get chilly, the indoor water park at Splash is perfect for kids! Well, Preston was a tad scared..but Jackson loved it!

The day we arrived was mine and Paul's wedding anniversary!

Paul had a great time, too! He mostly stays at the beach, but when he did come up to the pool I convinced him to stand under the dumping bucket with Jackson. It was priceless! :)

And, while Preston was not about to be dumb enough to be dumped on with buckets of cold water, he was still up for some Daddy time on the outskirts!

We pretty much went to the beach early every day, then spent the afternoon at the pool, then went out to a nice dinner. I love that schedule! Preston was pooped!

The kids did have bunk beds though, and I honestly think that is quite possibly their most favorite part of the trip!

One night we went to ride go-karts! While I hate this picture of myself, I love how Preston is waving! :)

I think this one is hilarious of how frightened Jackson looks. Hmm..I don't think he trusts mommy's driving abilities!

Each trip we try to take family beach pictures, but I tell you it is always almost dark by the time we get down there! This year we got there on time, but then the camera (yes, my nice camera!) plain just stopped working! I have no idea to this day why. It still is acting up some. Anyway, the ones we got are still good even if I look like a lobster on the beach at midnight.

These last three pictures make my heart skip a beat. I am so thankful for great friends and an awesome husband and two gorgeous boys! While Disney is the happy place, really anywhere can be a happy place when you are with the right people!

One Fish, Two Fish

The boys took swim lessons this summer, and they really enjoyed it! Mrs. Doris rocks! :) It was Jackson's 2nd year with her and Preston's first. While Preston was not much for the whole head in the water thing, and he was busy worried his band-aid on his toe might fall off in the pool so he tried to swim holding his toe out of the water (hilarious to watch trust me!), he still did great. He really wasn't afraid of the water beforehand..he's always been very good about that for his age. Still though he is even less afraid now. Maybe not a good thing..not sure. :) Both kids loved the diving part. And, she is super good about teaching survival skills. One day (when I didn't have my camera) they even had to jump in with long pants, long sleeve shirts, and shoes on! She wanted them to see how it would feel to swim with clothes on in case they ever fell in the pool fully clothed. See why I love her? How practical! :)

Notice how his hair is dry...

And, Jackson's is sopping wet.

See Jackson above practicing all on his own. They had trouble keeping him on the steps this year! He was just r.e.a.d.y. Nothing was holding this boy back. Where he lacked in perfect technique, he made up for it in courage and determination!

They both (even Preston) loved diving down to grab the rings and water Woody! :) (from Toy Story in case you are confused.)

Preston also hates the sun in his eyes..haha! He is so silly! And, to think her pool has a canopy on it!

So, when it was all said and done, we had fun and learned alot...

AND...drum roll..Jackson got his LEVEL ONE swimmer's card! I wasn't sure she'd do it. They unexpectedly tested him the last two days, and he was really close. She said she'd go ahead and give it to him providing that he keep working hard. I was like yeah right. We were headed to the beach, and I admit I was thinking he will want arm floats. Nope. He RARELY uses them at all now. Especially if he can almost touch. He jumps in without them, swims without them, and only really needs them when his sugar has been low and he is tiring out or when a pool we are in is 4 feet or deeper throughout the entire pool. I am so proud of him! Several times this year we went to water parks where you could not wear arm floats and he couldn't touch at the bottom, and he went on down, swam face in to the steps, and proved he deserved that level 1 card! I think his own pride in himself really drove him. Congrats, sweet boy!

And, Preston, you did great, too! Just think you started swimming lessons with Mrs. Doris a whole year before big brother and you are already doing like he was when he was four!

Trophies

We had a great baseball/tball season this year! I think Preston thoroughly enjoyed feeling "big" like Jackson..and he even had an even funner banquet at the end than Jackson did last year or this year! I like for things to always be even (yes, go ahead and laugh) for the boys, but I have to admit Preston for some reason it feels get slighted here and there, so I was perfectly fine with his being different for his age bracket. He loved it all! Inflatables, balloon man, tumblebus, Daddy (he was able to make it then run to the airport for a flight for work!), and...of course...trophies! Their favorite!

While it stinks Paul has lost one of his jobs at night, it is a blessing that he was able to be off to make it to Jackson's banquet, too!

Jackson LOVES trophies, too, and he was very excited. His coach described each player as he presented their trophies. I got so tickled hearing him talk about Jackson. He described him as the all-knowing informant player (didn't mention a word about his baseball skills! LOL!) He said, "I always could count on this player to keep me informed about whatever was going on everywhere all around the field.." haha! So true! He's a talker!

Whether they were silly on the field telling knock knock jokes and playing in the dirt..or being the informant.. (guess which is which:))...we are still so proud of them both! They both excelled and improved..both getting hits with the tee..and BOTH GETTING HITS WITHOUT THE TEE THAT WERE PITCHED! They went after the balls..sometimes more than others.. :) enjoyed their game snacks/popsicles..and tried their best overall. They exercised, prayed, and socialized. I am happy we were able to give all of that to them! (You know it isn't cheap to play sports!?) :))

Until next year...wait..until soccer starts this weekend :)

Noah turns five!

It is so neat to watch the boys make friends..and Jackson's friend from 3K, Noah, is a friend I hope we keep forever! We just love him, and his sweet Momma, too! Mrs. Cheryl was Jax's 3K teacher and ended up becoming a wonderful, close friend of mine at the end of it all!

We were very excited to help Noah celebrate turning five a few months ago at Heritage Park.

It was a fun party...complete with a very brave momma who volunteered to be the water balloon target!! Hilarious! The kids loved it!

Even though Preston wasn't in class with Noah as always he fits right in! He loved the water "bawoons."

As you all know we have been at the same school since 3K. Jackson entered kindergarten there this week. Preston will start 3K next week there. It is small, Christian, private school 3 minutes from our home. I say "private" lightly because most of the private schools near us are $4500 and up per year for elementary grades. Ours is less than that..and less than half of some bigger private schools. Although it is less than the average tuition, it is still not super easy to pay for. However, we are so blessed to be able to swing it. We love it. We love that it is close, we love the hours, we love having the boys at same place, we love the small class size, we love that they can pray and go to Chapel, the list just goes on and on. Most of all though...THEY love it. Jackson asked to go to "big kid" school there. He is right at home. I cannot imagine watching him adjust (and myself!) to a whole new environment this year after all the whirlwind school + diabetes creates already for us. Looking at this picture of this group of kids below warms my heart and makes me feel even more grateful for the opportunities we have had at this school. We know all these kids from school..we know their families..and we have become close to many of them. I cherish all the hopefully lifelong friendships being formed..between all the kids and the moms. It just makes the whole idea of school picturesque. I could not imagine it any other way..and it has far passed any expectation I had 3 years ago which means so much to me because I love school..and it is very important to me. What a blessing.

Happy Birthday, Noah! I cannot believe how big all of you have gotten!