Ryan's Project!

Ryan loves a project. We have been wanting to change several things in our bathroom since we moved in. So, we started...there isn't anything HUGE that we are changing. However, it will look so much nicer when we are finished.

Here he is cutting out the sheetrock so he can get the shower out. He is going to make a tiled shower! So pretty! This is our shower insert in the doorway as we try and figure out how to get it out of the bathroom! It was more difficult than it sounds!
Surveying the situation...looks good. On to the tub tile!
He is taking the white, shiny tile off! Yeah!
Demo is done!
We bought a "floor" only shower insert so we don't have to try and tile the floor and get it to drain correctly. Then we picked out some tile for the shower and the front of the tub and tub backsplash. Nothing too fancy, just tile. Then we are going to get new coutertops (probably granite), new mirrors and light fixture. We are also trying to figure out the best way to restain the cabinets. We are wanting to take the doors somewhere and have them dipped and stripped by someone else, then we are going to stain them! We aren't changing the floor or walls, just other cosmetic things. Next will be the guest bathroom! Same thing. Just new counter, mirror, light fixture and stain the cabinets in there! Our final project (if we live here long enough) will be our kitchen which will be a MAJOR overhaul! One day....

Lindsey's Party!

Watch out....PICTURES galore! All the kids! So many of these friends came from MOPS! I'm so thankful for that group! I met some at church, but became great friends with them at MOPS. Obviously Cole (blue shirt) isn't from MOPS...he's Martha's! Caroline couldn't stand, but she was there too!!

Lindsey had such a good time on the play stuff!

Lindsey and her friends up high playing!
Lindsey, Kennedy and Courtney
The group listening to the rules during the gymnastics part! They got to jump on the trampoline and swing on a short trapeeze! It was a lot of fun!
Lindsey jumping...
Lindsey swinging...(I had a great video but can't get it to load on my computer for some reason!)
Courtney jumping (not really...just standing there!)

Lindsey's cookie cake!

All the kiddos lined up on the bench watching Lindsey watch open her presents! They did so good just watching her open!

This party was so much fun! The kids all seemed to have a good time! Lindsey had a great time I know. It was like a private party because of the way it was set up and run. I was very pleased with it and will do that again if we live here when Courtney is this age or close to it!

Lindsey is 4!!!!

For the past several years Lindsey and I have made cupcakes for her birthday. She really likes helping and it is something fun we can do together.

The birthday girl before church!
We subbed in her class so we took cupcakes to her friends at church.
Her princess scooter from us!
As we sing happy birthday...
She was sweet and let Courtney help her opne one present.
We took a Smith family picture since Uncle Taylor shaved his beard! My mom was so excited. I was excited to see him. He wasn't supposed to be able to come, but he showed up. Lindsey was so excited to see him and Amber! She loves her uncles...they are fun!

Our Destin Trip

Our trip was wonderful! We had so much fun. So many people had told me that the drive was not going to be as bad as I expected it to be. They were right. The girls just did great. Answer to many prayers! For myself (and the few others that care) here are more details than I'm sure anyone wants to read!

We left Friday afternoon late and drove all the way to Hattiesburg. I had gotten the girls some "surprises" to pull out along the way for new entertainment as we needed it. So those are the presents they are opening in the car. Little things like a coloring pad, new colors, a fun pen, calculator (they play with Ryan's at his office), color wonder markers, play bracelets, etc. Nothing big, but still fun, new stuff. When we got to the hotel around 12:30 and the girls had been asleep for a couple of hours. They went to bed really well. I heard Courtney for a while, but she never cried. We got up and ate breakfast at the hotel and got on the road.

We checked into the condo around 1:00 and went right to the pool! When we headed to the beach Lindsey liked the sand, but not so sure about the ocean. Courtney HATED the sand! She would walk in it for a little bit, but then would get fussy. She just kept saying "swimming pool" the whole time. She had to be in the chair without her feet in the sand. Then she'd say "wipe my hands, wipe my hands" until we tried to get more off. Lindsey wanted to get in the water but was very unsure about it. She wanted Ryan to hold her (so she wasn't even in the water) and that is all she would do. Ryan got tired of that. He tried putting her on the raft, but she was more unsure of that. All of this to say....we loved the pool at our hotel! :)

The condo was super nice. We owe it all to Ryan's mom! She treated us! Thanks Cynda!!! The rest of the week Lindsey would go to the beach from 8-9 and when the pool opened she'd come swim there. One day I tried that with Courtney, but only once. She was NOT happy.

Lindsey became a fish! She was swimming I thought before, but now she goes anywhere and everywhere. She is so much more confident in the water and so sure of what she can do. However, she doesn't scare me because she knows her limits and is afraid enough not to push them. It is nice!

We went to eat at Pompano Joe's, Fudpucker's, and Captain Kidd's. All were fine. I'm not a seafood person, so I can not appreciate the good cuisine like most appreciate down there. But I enjoyed my burgers! Ha!

One night we went to Village at Baytown Warf with Kyle and Miah for a date night. It was SO SO SO great! If you are in the Destin area it is a great place. There are a ton of shops, resturants and is just a neat place to walk around! It is only about 5 min. past the outlet mall, so it is away from the traffic! Even better!

One day we went to the outlet malls, but I DID NOT BUY ANYTHING! Ryan and the girls both loaded up, but not me! :) I was ok with it...I had just hit a GREAT sale at Gap in Fayetteville!!

Our last day there I think the girls were bored with the pool, they didn't seem interested in swimming right away so we headed to the Gulfarium. Lindsey liked it ok, but Courtney was not as entertained! They had some fish, but several shows. Courtney didn't like the show so we didn't watch all of them, just the dolphin one. We walked around and they liked looking at all the fish, stingrays, turtles, and penguins.

On the way home we drove to Slidell, LA to visit Ryan's Grandma Scogin and his cousin Sarah that lives with her. We had not seen them since Lindsey was a baby. So they got to meet Courtney! It was so great to see them. Grandma cooked a delicious meal that I could have eaten 2 more plates full of! She made a delicious dessert too! It was fun to talk to Sarah and hear about her job and how much she enjoys it. Lindsey loved playing games with Grandma and Sarah. Courtney liked to swing on the porch swing. We didn't get to stay long but enjoyed every min. of our visit! Thanks for having us!

The drive home was longer as far as more in one day, but again, the girls did so good. I was so impressed! It was so good that it made me want to start pricing condos for next year already! It was our first real family vacation other than our trips to Branson and it was a fun one for sure!

Home Sweet Home

We are home! Millions of pictures to follow! It was a blast and just like everyone told me...the drive was fine. The girls were SO good! Thank the Lord we are home. We will be getting ready for Lindsey's birthday tomorrow. So, check back....lots of blog opportunities ahead!

Sorry to disappoint...

Ryan just told me that we are only taking his work computer. So I won't be able to update my blog until we get home. I can get on it, but Cintas probably wouldn't like me to upload all of our vacation pictures on that computer. I guess you will just have to wait on pins and needles to see our exciting vacation pictures! Have a good week!

Ready for the beach!

This morning I told Lindsey and Courtney that we needed to paint their toes since we were going to the beach! Lindsey said, "You have to have your toes paitned if you are going to the beach?" Of course! It is the important things in life that I teach my girls, right!? I just had this quick idea to take a picture of our "beach ready" toes! I love having girls!

We are taking our computer, so for my faithful few blog readers I'll try and put some pics up! I'm sure I'll have many to choose from.

We are leaving this afternoon and headed to Hattiesburg, MS. Then we'll be in Destin tomorrow! I tried this morning to show Lindsey how long of a trip we are going on. I showed her on the map how far was to Bentonville. Then I showed her how far we were driving. All she said was, "I can ride in the car that long." So, we'll see. She seems tired, so that is good for us....she'll sleep in the car as we have planned.

Please just say a quick prayer for us to be safe and those around us. We are so excited to go and are thankful that we get to!

Happy 4th!

We had a neat July 4th this year. We watched fireworks from the boat! It was so fun! We decided to just take Lindsey so we could stay and watch the fireworks and not have a craky baby! Thanks mom and dad for taking care of Courtney so we could have a fun day with Lindsey! She had fun being the "only child" for the day I think!She is her mother's child...this ONLY happens on the boat! NOT at home! We took a few toys for the long afternoon waiting for it to get dark.
We grilled hot dogs for supper. It is so fun to be on the boat and do that. I love it! That time of day (dinner time) is one of my most favorite on the boat. It is sunny, not hot and with a cool breeze. So peaceful! I had so much fun! Notice Lindsey's "plate" of a chip bag. I packed all the food but no plates. We have used them all so we had NO plates! Luckily we had eaten all of those chips (ha ha) and Lindsey could use it as a plate! Fun!
Lindsey and Ryan swimming! The noodles should have been bought at the beginning of the summer! They were great!! Lindsey loved them too! She was swimming all over the place!
We had a great 4th! Thank you to all of the people that serve our country and let us have the freedoms that we do. I have been reminded of that so many times this weekend! Wow! What a gift we have in freedom! Praise the Lord!

On Saturday we went back to the lake and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Miah came too! Cynda brought Megan too. We had a great time. We played in the water and had lunch on the boat. Megan rode in the tube by herself for literally 45 minutes! She was worn out! She had a blast though!

The riders!

Courtney...driving...she thinks!

Uncle Kyle and Lindsey riding in the red boat! Thanks Uncle Kyle!Worn out Courtney!

Of course there are no pictures of Miah and I! It is the kids and boys that end up in all the pics, but we were there and we had a blast!

Swimming Lessons and Daddy's Helper

Last week was Lindsey's last week of swimming lessons. She came SO far! She would swim wherever in the pool with her floaties on but not get her face wet. Now she jumps in the pool and doesn't even want us to catch her. She loves putting her face in the water and loves to float too. Here are just a few pics from her lessons. In this picture, that is her friend, Kennedy, right in front of her. They had fun together. It also helped because Kennedy has a little brother that is Courtney's age and they would play together while we watched the girls swim.Courtney and Scott watching the girls swim! Lindsey swimming to Mrs. Jane!
Lindsey floating on her back by herself (with a noodle)

So sweet! Courtney would want to lay down. This is her on the concrete (not sleeping) right behind my chair! She was so funny. This was the last day, so I had to get a picture. She had laid down at some point almost everytime! So silly!
Ryan's mom came to visit on Lindsey's last day of swimming lessons. It was so great to have Cynda (aka MawMaw) come and for Megan to come play too! The girls love them both. PawPaw had to work!
This is where I found Courtney the other night when I was cooking dinner. She was just laying in the toy room coloring! I was amazed. She likes to color, but usually doesn't sit still for very long to do it! Such a sweet moment that I had to catch it on camera!
This was precious too. They were watering some parts of the yard. Yes, SOME parts! We have our yard sprayed for weeds and they messed up the chemicals last time! So we have many many dead spots on our yard. Ryan called the guy who owns the company and he came and put sod in many yards in the neighborhood where the grass was killed. Needles to say, Ryan was out watering and had some help! Usually it is L that wants to help, but C was the lucky one this time. I was glad she got to do something alone with Daddy!She things that she is SO big!