Time for Kindergarten!

Walkin' and Prayin' for a Cure Update!

Imagine a Day of Fun...

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!