Remember Me?

Hello, interwebs! So sorry for yet another unintentional extended absence! Life can get busy with three littles during the summer months, amiright? Sheesh.

Looks like my last update was E's 3rd birthday that I wrote about back in May. I guess two months isn't that crazy long of a disappearance, is it?

Just have time for a few quick updates tonight. I'm in the home stretch of putting together LO's 9th birthday party for this weekend. Can you believe I said 9? Right. All sorts of crazy. But this party planning has been extra fun because LO is much more involved now than she's been in the past. Seems soon-to-be 9-year-olds are chock full of opinions. Who knew?

This party will be quite epic at the hands of my darling LO. Check out #mom2lobdaybash9 on Instagram and Twitter for pics of the planning, prep, and even the big day! I really hope she has a wonderful time celebrating with her family and friends. She's so precious and I just can't get enough of my LO! LOVE.

Another child of mine hit a big milestone today: CHASE LOST HIS VERY FIRST TOOTH! And it only took him 6 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days! Haha! The kids were watching Kung Fu Panda 3 while I was cleaning up in the kitchen, and he came running over to me with the tooth in his hand, crazy excited that it finally fell out! I was so surprised. Hubs and I have always talked about the D.R.A.M.A. that IS Chase, especially about medical things (go figure!), and we just assumed it would be quite an ordeal for him. But NOPE! Not this kid! He surprised us once again. LOVE.

The littlest one of our bunch is just as crazy as ever. E is talking all. the. time. these days. His favorite question: "Why?" Oh, yes, it's everyone's favorite, The Why Stage. The good thing is he's just so darn cute that I can't help but laugh and scoop him up for tons of hugs and kisses. He's such a sweetie. LOVE.

Okay. Break's over. Time to get back to party prep! Or maybe just call it a night... ;)

Random Summer Fun

Here are some details on the other random things we've been up to since I literally had only posted one time in 2015 (back in January!).

We colored Easter eggs. This was especially awesome since LO didn't get to color eggs with us last year.

LO went on her first overnight trip WITHOUT MOMMY OR DADDY. It was a Mission Trip with the Children's Ministry at our church. It was literally ONE NIGHT but it may as well have been a week! I hated not going with her, but she was in good hands and had a great time sharing her love of the Lord with others. I'm so proud of her! ((Sorry I don't have any pics to share.))

We went blueberry picking last week and the kids had a great time, although none of them seem to be fans of blueberries (yet... I'm still working on them!).

This boy!

Love his face in this pic!

This kid. He has my heart!

Oh how I love him so!

This crazy, 8-year-old, faux tattooed girl is all mine! Love her bunches!!

Oh. Right. We went on a family trip to Great Wolf Lodge a few months ago. It was a lot of fun! The kids especially enjoyed this MagicQuest game thing they were able to play throughout the hotel. Oh, and the waterpark was cool, too!

Just my kids being, well, you know, my kids! Goofballs.

Speaking of goofball... here's my handsome hero chilling on the new hammock (LOVE).

The bike that Chase refuses to give up is now the perfect size for his LITTLE brother. I'm hopeful he'll let us get him a new bike for his birthday in a few months...

We went to a cool Make-A-Wish event at a minor league baseball game, which included face painting! I think this is the first time Chase had his face painted! He of course chose Mario! He and LO also were able to run out on the field during the lineup with the center fielder, which was super cool!

Can you believe it? LO chose Rainbow Dash. ;)

Our local museum had a cool exhibit for Magic Tree House books series... and here is LO and Chase dressed like Jack and Annie from the books.

Pretty close, right? Hahaha!

We took this little DUDE rollerskating for his very first time! He did great and really loved it!

This guy clung to the wall almost the entire time. He's not so comfortable with wheels under his feet. We gotta work on that!

I guess that's a pretty good summary on some of the things we've been up to over the past few months. I'm hoping to get back to regular posting on the blog mostly because it's a great reference for me to remember some of the fun we've had as well as to see how the kids are growing up so quickly!

Stay tuned for homeschool updates and maybe even some pics from an upcoming (early) anniversary trip -- just the hubs and I!!! ((insert gasping shock n' awe here))

Summer Catch Up: Beach Edition Part II

In addition to our beach day trip back in June, we recently spent a few days at Myrtle Beach at the end of July. Here are some pics of the kids enjoying the beach as well as the hotel's waterpark. And lots of ice cream, of course. ;)

P.S. I don't know why my watermark is crazy huge on some of these pics... but it's like 1AM and I don't feel like figuring it out right now... ;) Please forgive me!

I'm guessing he saw one of those airplanes with the message thingy behind it. Or maybe just a regular airplane. Or a bird. Or a cloud. Or the moon even. I don't know. This kid really likes to point out things in the sky.

Yes, she was glaring at me. No, I didn't adjust the shadow in iPhoto before posting. #tiredandlazy

Love this girl!

What a rare sight! Three little monkeys in a bed... all smiling and/or not fighting (for a brief moment).

What?! Talk about a rare sighting! Non-prompted sibling love caught on camera! WIN!

Meanwhile, back at the table...

She's buried!

He's buried!

He's buried, too!

Lazy river. My fave.

Okay, so this was Chase after daddy literally forced him to go down the waterslide... something he's refused to do every summer at every other waterpark we've ever visited. For one reason or another, this stubborn little guy has not wanted anything to do with waterslides! He wasn't very happy about the experience.

The next time around (because yes, we, like the amazingly awesome parents we are, forced him to go again even after he was kicking & screaming the first time), this joker was ALL SMILES. We knew he'd love it once he was over the fear and newness of it!

Aaaaaannnnddd... guess what Chase did for the rest of our time at the waterpark?

Over and over...

...and over and over again!

Here's a little panoramic of our view from the 10th floor of our hotel.

I know this is super grainy, but I had to capture the morning snuggles I had with sweet E. He woke up waaaay earlier than we wanted (think 7:00 AM, folks), so I let him cuddle up with me in my bed. It was pure heaven!!!

We ate some ice cream on vacay.

Lots and lots of ice cream.

Our final morning on the beach. I so love this little beauty!

E loved the waterpark, too!

We put our 2-year-old to work on this vacation. He's pretty strong for, well, you know, a 2-year-old. ;)

Devious.

Surprise! More ice cream!

Yum.

Yes.

We had a great time in Myrtle Beach and can't wait to go back again next summer!