mississippi state fair

i love the fair. keith pretty much tolerates it; he knows it makes me happy to go. 

caleb starts asking in july when we're going again, however collin had no memories of last year. it's kind of fun to do new things with him, because you know he'll remember it all and look forward to it next year.

y'all will have to forgive me on all the pictures. i brought my REAL camera. i love my phone, but it doesn't compare to the awesomeness that is my DSLR (obviously, right?). the awesomeness is big and bulky and the lens usually hits my kids in the head when they walk next to me and there's so much to think about when i'm using it- BUT, these pictures are awfully pretty aren't they?

although he kinda looks serious here- collin was pretty enthusiastic about it all. just not about mama and the awesomeness taking his picture every 5 seconds.

and yes, i married a big bearded man. whatchall gone say 'bout it? it works for korie on duck dynasty. 

love them babies.

yeah buddy. drive that tractor!!

at first we had to keep collin from eating the carrots himself, and then he got all into feeding the animals. i'm telling you, the kid will eat anything.

caleb makes them work for their carrots, he barely holds it out there and will drop it quick if they make any sudden moves. he's cautious like his mama :)

collin would just about shove it down their throats. so different, my two. 

 he studiously avoided the camera at all costs! i'm not kidding. i was yelling his name and waving like crazy. or maybe i was embarrassing him. i don't know, but he ain't lookin'.

 big c kind of had a dilemma this year- he wouldn't ride any "baby" rides, but he wasn't too sure about big kid rides either.

 he loved this bubble thing. it looked kinda fun to me too!

busted!! big beard daddy on his phone. punk.

happy place

well, i know in my last post i said i would post these pictures later, but they're just so stinkin' fun to look at i decided to go ahead and do it now. i mean, what else do i have to do?? don't answer that.

i love this place. it's been my happy place always. since i was a little girl, i've been heading down to orange beach, AL. it's one of my favorite places- i mean, obviously. keith went on his own adventure to colorado with his dad while we were there, so it was just me and my boys. my parents were down too, so i got to be lazy :) we got to see my grandparents and aunt as well- which was a huge plus.

i was AMAZED at how fearless caleb was this year. he played in the waves for hours- going  under, riding the waves, letting them knock him down.

collin was too- but then again he is about most things.

yep, this was my view most of the time. 

i bet they only spent about 15 minutes in the pool. since we spent almost every day there this summer i think it wasn't all that exciting.

most our time we spent chillin' in the sand. 

photography by C

they also spent a pretty good bit of time playing in the sand.

one night for dinner we drove over to florida to eat at the crab trap. when we crossed the line i showed C the sign and he yelled, "seriously?! i'm in another state? wow. can we go to disney world?"

yeah, not this time buddy. the crab trap was good but a little pricey. not a huge selection either. but they did have an outdoor playground which made it a hit with the kiddos.

we did C's favoritest thing and went to play putt putt at pirate's island. i can remember playing here when i was little too!

thankfully, collin made it through the entire course without one of us having to take him to the car like last time we took him. he did good!

he wasn't sure about these pirates. when we got on the ship part of the course he said, "mama, 'dose piwates is wookin' at me."    "buddy, he's just pretend- he's not real". "but he's frownin' at me".

yep, my happy place.

life lately in pictures

look at my sweet boys. they make life so rich and full. a few things i want to remember:
-mrs. shirley cut the boys hair for the last time the other day :( she decided after 10 years of barbering to do something else. we'll miss her.
- collin wants to wear his brother's shoes, or his boots everywhere we go. he also loves a hat.
- caleb is such an "outside the box thinker". the other night he decided to use his linking numbers to make a bridge.
- collin went through a few days where he re-loved his paci. he hasn't used it since he was a year old, and all of the sudden he wanted it again. he didn't really suck on it, just carried it around in his mouth. and y'all know i let him too. he'll only be a baby a few more months!
- the boys are playing more and more together. when they're not fighting :)

keith was working the wildlife extravanganza here in town, so i took the boys to see him, and of course check out all the cool stuff.
we got to hang out at our friends courtney and david's booth for a bit- they own buck creek farms in IL.

chuck e. cheese! C is five and has never been. i just decided i wasn't taking him until a birthday party or some other event came along. i was really prolonging the inevitable. i mean, what he doesn't know he's deprived of won't hurt him, right? C's buddy cruise invited him a few weeks ago for his birthday and we had a ball. good fun had by all (even mama. i really had to fight the urge to not purell them constantly. and i wanted a can of lysol. but other than that, it was fun!)

bulldog bash! C's school does a little fundraiser each year to pay for things like a computer teacher/equipment, smartboards (those things are pretty amazing... C talks about the one in his classroom all the time), playground equipment- things like that. C met up with his friends and ran wild and crazy while keith and i visited with their parents. it was a good night.
there's also a pic from when i went to eat lunch with C one day on the bottom. every time i go my teacher friends will stop and say, "doesn't this make you miss teaching??". surprisingly, yes, it does!

here's two quick picks i snapped from kendall-wendall's THIRD birthday. can't quite believe that.

the other night keith and i had kid's club for our small group (it's a couple's bible study group that meets in homes. we study scripture together and hold each other accountable- ours is boss i tell ya.) the adults went down the street to our friends ashley and tiffany's house and all the kiddos came to our house. it was fun! we played outside, had a little snack, listened to a bible story, and then tried to keep them from tearing the house down while we waited on their moms and dads to come back :) no really, they were precious.
there's a picture on the bottom right of caleb and patrick where they're holding guns... see it? it was kinda obvious that patrick wasn't used to playing with guns. i thought, oh lord karin (his mama) is going to KILL us. they're probably thinking how heathen we are letting our boys shoot each other and animals and they're going to think we've corrupted their child. thankfully, they didn't think anything of the sort. or at least, they said they didn't :)
we're missing our friends corey and priscilla's little girl reagan, because they had just had their second baby, ethan. and, another couple of dear friends- zack and leslie are due to have their little one soon- so our group will be growing!

well, that's it. life as i know it!