Happy 4th of July Ya'll! This is how we do it in the South...

On the 4th of July we packed up the car and headed down to Cowpens SC and spent the day with friends and family.  We had a Redneck Independence Day as Ranee (my sis-in-law) called it.  We spent the day eating, swimming, making homemade root beer, and shootin' guns.  Aaron even got to shoot a M-16.  Who owns M-16's you ask?  Good ol' boys from Cowpens that's who. 

Aaron, just floating.  And yes that is you in the background Jake.  He was concerned he wasn't in the picture.

Riannon getting ready to try a front flip.

Jake in the middle of a front flip that kind of went sideways a little...

The big kids: Jake, Elliot, Alex, Della, and Riannon.

Don't you wish this was your backyard?  I do.

The big kids built forts out of all the rafts for most of the day.

This is just some of the arsenal...If we ever get attacked I know exactly where I am going.  Aaron saw me posting this and said we will probably get a call from the FBI. :)

Ranee and Amanda, 2 of Charlie's Angels.

Aaron shooting the M-16.  I really missed the best picture.  His face after he shoot it.  Like a kid in a candy store.

Riannon smelling the root beer.

Jake got a little too much sun and didn't drink enough water so we spent a little time inside rehydrating and letting the ibuprofen kick in.  This was their game room, fully equipped with this game, pool table, pin ball machine, air hockey and all the action figures you can remember from the 80's.  This is a almost 10 year old boys dream...

If you don't know what the South Carolina flag looks like than you should look it up.  I am not from SC but I admit it is the coolest state flag.  It was being recreated right in the backyard that evening.  A Palmetto Tree with a crescent moon.  The guys tried desperately to snap a picture with there phones...I had to take a picture of them. :)

My camera is just a point in shoot (that I LOVE with all my heart don't get me wrong.) and I couldn't get a good picture with it any more than they could with their phones!

Night swimming..

Glowing wrist bands for the big kids...

...and the little girls. 

The frog we shared the pool with that day was glad when we were done swimming and he came out of hiding.

This is a picture of the guys hurriedly moving the fireworks away so they wouldn't all light up at once.  Just a few seconds before this the fireworks were all about a foot away from the lite ones...

Happy Birthday America! I am thankful to live in the most amazing country in the world.  I am also thankful for our forefathers that through Heavenly inspiration established and fought for this free country.  I am also extremely thankful for all of our soldiers that have fought and continue to do so for all of us to be able to spend Independence Day this way.
(Sorry we didn't get to see you Nana and Papa Harmon.  We will be heading back done soon.)

Picture a day in May, Day 23: Memory Lane...

(This is NOT a hint that I am pregnant, because I am not...Just a picture that I couldn't resist posting.)

This folks is a  wonderful example of why you should journal.  Back in 2004 (can you tell that is when I finally learned how to put my pic's on the computer?  Before that it was putting them on a picture CD at Walmart...Every time I want to post an older picture the farthest I can go back really quickly is 2004...), we went to the doctor and  I remember Jake had "Blue Boo" (his blanket) and then stuck it under his shirt to pretend he had a baby in his tummy. :)  Was this at his 3 year well visit and he had to get shots that is why he had Blue Boo (yes it has to be capitalized because that is "his" name)? Or maybe a visit for me because this was the last time we did fertility drugs?  No idea.  It would be nice to know.  Let this be a lesson to me (and anyone else who needs this lesson too): Journal you dummy because you won't remember the absolutely darling things Jake did when he was 3, 7 years later!!!!  Seriously though how cute is he?  Look at that blond hair and little face...At least I always have my camera in my purse to catch the memory in a photo. 

Saku, you just made my day...

This is my sweet nephew Saku, last summer when we visited my sisters family in DC.  It is one of my favorite pictures ever because it is just so "Saku"!  Don't you love that feeling when you take a picture of a moment you want to remember and you just capture it-just the way you wanted to?  Okay I am already getting off topic...They live in a whole different country now(Can I say where Tina?  I think if I looked back I probably already have at some point in my blog...) and we miss them!!!

I just got home from dropping Jake off at school and I decided to check my emails. I am so glad I did because I got an email from my sister that just made my day. Since May is "my month" I decided to post it here because it makes me feel so loved and I never want to forget it. Indulge me please...

Carrie,

I wanted to tell you something that happened last night but I figured if I didn't tell you right away I would forget and it is like 2 or 3 in the morning for you...so I figured an email would work!

Last night as Saku was getting ready for bed he picked up his pillow sham and smelled it. (I had let Ben sleep on it for his nap and he ended up sweating on it so I was worried...) Saku said, "Did you wash this?" Me, "ummmm, what do you mean?" Saku,"It just smells really good and clean." (pause) "It smells like Aunt Carrie!!!!" And then I realized that you were probably the last one to wash it (it is Jake's old car and plane one) and it had been packed away when I stashed it in our UAB so we would have something nice to make our beds with earlier on. I was so happy that he has such a happy memory of your smells!!! Isn't that cool! (ok...so it sounds pretty weird when you write it down but hopefully you know what I mean!)

Hope you are having a great day...or that you will!!

love,

tina

I have happy tears in my eyes thanks to you Saku!  It is great being an aunt. :)  Thanks to my sister and sister-in-laws for having such great kiddos.  Happy early Mother's Day to you!!!!

Wordlful Wednesday: Easter Memories

All my childhood memories of Easter are purely Easter bunny, dying eggs, and hunting for candy. We didn't go to church when I was little, but I do remember fancy dresses and shawls so maybe we went for Easter. Did we Mom?

I watch commercial's on TV that show children hunting for plastic eggs outside...I grew up in New Hampshire so April is mud season (if there isn't still snow!), which meant our egg hunts were in the house. My mom hid individual jelly beans instead of the plastic eggs. There may have been chocolate eggs too, but I am a jelly bean fan so I don't remember anything else-except peeps of course. We have kept up the same tradition with Jake. Plus it always fun to find random jelly beans 3 months later that no one found. :)

I remember one Easter Tina (my older sis) swore she saw the Easter bunny and said he had a huge head. :) I am really considering coming clean on the whole Easter Bunny thing this year. I was torn at Christmas with the whole Santa thing but I didn't tell him. I think this Easter is going to be it. Jake always says "don't you trust me?" when I ask him something, and then ask him again to make sure...and yes I do trust him. So, it feels kind of like we are big fat liars. I can't believe he has believed this long! One year I forgot to hide the candy before I went to sleep and he still didn't catch on...

Easter...actually any holiday was special when I was growing up because my parents rock like that. :) I hope Jake will say the same in 20 years. We will see. I love the memories of Jake on Easter. He gets excited about everything and then is so thankful after wards. I think this is a good year to shift from Easter Bunny and Jesus' Resurrection, to just the real stuff. He knows what Easter is really about (His kindergarten teacher called him "little preacher" because a girl in his class said Jesus died on Easter and he corrected her and told the whole story of what really happened to the class), and it is about time we focus on what is really special about the day. I know that the Savior rose again and I have a testimony that we will all be able to live again. I am so thankful to know the truth and to be able to share it with Jake. Wish me luck that dashing Jake's childhood dreams of the Easter Bunny, will lead to better understanding and a stronger testimony of the Savior. :) We can still have egg hunts and jelly beans, even with out the Easter bunny...We have been doing it just fine all these years. So here is to our new Easter memory: complete focus on the Savior. Sounds like a great new tradition to me.
What are your Easter memories? Learn about other peoples over at Cocoa's blog.

Ignore this post...

Just remember that this blog is also my journal, so I have to document things that I want to remember!...This is a post just for me. This is just to remind me in 25 years that I thought I was cool for a minute...

Same boy. Different dog.

It is official: 2 out of 2 Black Labs (I use the term loosely...I think Sadie may have something else in her too...) love bubbles. Our first black lab, Emily LOVED bubbles. We found out yesterday that Sadie does too. Sadie however was a little harder to photograph enjoying bubbles than Emily was. In Aaron's words: "That is the most jumpingest (is that a word? No...but that is what he said...or something close to that any way and no Aaron isn't my child he is my husband. We make up words whenever there is a need in our house.) dog!" Jake had a great time blowing bubbles for her and Sadie had a great time eating them. I took a walk down memory lane today when I pulled up these pictures: (humor me people this is a lot of pic's...)

Jake and Emily blowing bubbles:





Jake (picture me sniffing and maybe even a tear...Look at how big my baby has gotten!) and Sadie blowing bubbles:






I am glad we waited almost a year to get another dog because it gave me time to get out of my mind I needed another dog just like Emily. She was...amazing. So, amazing I wrote a post about her here. (If you don't have time to read it you at least have to look at the pictures-she was a beautiful dog.) Sadie is Sadie. :) She is a crazy and loving little puppy. She is ADORABLE. She may end up being a little more Marley (I never saw the movie...yet-I still plan on it...but we read the youth version of the book and LOVED it.), than Emily but that is okay. Emily (don't tell Jake this) was my dog. We had a connection-like human and dog soul mates. Jake has that connection with Sadie and it is SO fun to watch. My friend from work, Sharlene, came over last week and dropped off a file cabinet her family was getting rid of (it will come in handy for home schooling and it was free!) and she brought her teenage son to help with the heavy lifting. While they were at our house they watched Jake and Sadie playing crazily in the front yard. Sharlene told me the next day at work that her son said Jake and Sadie feed off each other. It is so true. Jake laughs hysterically while they are chasing each other and I am sure Sadie is on the inside too. :) I almost forgot! Sadie is 13 weeks today-about the same age Emily was when we got her. They are so different, but they both won our hearts. I love dogs. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he made man's best friend. :)

Simple pleasures...

I love opening up my cupboard to get a cup and seeing a childhood memory. When my Nana Lee (my fathers mother) passed a way the beginning of 2007 (...wow I can't believe it was that long ago), I mentioned to my Uncle Gary that I would love to have the cup that I always drank out of at Nana's house. Each of the grandchildren had a color that they drank out of every time we were at Nana's. Mine was yellow...Uncle Gary searched for the cups to no avail, until last summer when he came across them in a box in Nana's garage...All the grandchildren got their cup, plus an extra one from the set. I thought about putting them up in a safe place to make sure it would never break. I am so glad I didn't, because now I get to have the simple pleasure of seeing it in my cupboard and drinking out of it whenever I want to reminisce. It is also an amazing way for my son to remember how important my Nana was in my life. It is an honor to drink out of my treasured cup.


****THIS IS AN UPDATE! A new blog friend told me how to do the link thing and I did it! So, this last paragraph doesn't make as much sense as it did before, because you can click on the link now!****
Check out other people's simply pleasures at chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com...I really need to figure out how to link it...Yes I am serious I don't know how to that. Little help anyone?...It is also a simple pleasure to change my blog background whenever I feel like it... :)