Memorable 4th

We started our Fourth of July by spending the day at the pool!  We are lucky that all three boys really love it there for the most part, so everyone is happy and entertained.  I didn't get any pool pictures but Carter spends most of his time playing with friends, Coop grabs an adult to be his playmate, and Hudson hams it up for anyone and everyone who will watch him!  He loves to jump (or fall more like it) off the side, especially when he has an audience to come up to and he also loves to float on his back and kick like crazy, we call it his backstroke.  If you ask him to show you his backstroke, he immediately leans back and is off!  I put a video of Hudson jumping in at the very bottom of this post!  Our pool had games for the kids at 3pm so our plan was to stick around until then but unfortunately the thunder had other plans:(.  They decided to bring the games outside and had a cute water balloon toss that Carter and Cooper had fun doing.  

We came home for quick showers and headed to my parent's house for dinner and some fireworks fun.  We did a few sparklers, snap n pops, and smoke bombs before dinner and then headed to a parking lot to watch the fireworks from afar.  Hudson was a wild buck to say the least and kept us all on our toes running around in the parking lot and handling sparklers!  It was a late but fun night for the boys and by 10pm it was time to head home after the grand finale.  We got the boys loaded up in the car and went to crank up and the car wouldn't start!  We definitely found a way to end our night with a bang.  Thank goodness my mom and dad came too and parked right next to us so we at least had a ride home!  It ended up being the battery thankfully but what miserable timing!

Quite unamused by the camera at the moment!

All smiles in Nunu's arms!

No Pop, I can do it by myself!

Snap n Pops

Green smoke bomb fun!

Now let's run in the smoky haze!

Taking a little stroll with Pop.

Sparklers are the best!

Oh trying to take a group picture with three boys is fun!

If only Carter's eyes were open!

Waiting on the fireworks

Wild child

Dancing with Pop

Little pyro

Coop not so patiently waiting on the fireworks...if I had a dime for every time we heard when is it time!?!?

Finally time for fireworks!

Cooper was as still as a statue the whole time!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Go Monsters!

Much to our surprise, Carter has absolutely loved swim team so far and has really amazed us with how well he has done!  He has practice all the time and meets once a week and hasn't complained once.  Instead, he keeps asking when he gets to go again and if he can swim all year long so he can be in the Olympics one day!  I don't know what's gotten into him, but I do know where his competitiveness comes from!  We are so proud of you buddy!

6 and Under boys lining up for their first freestyle heat.  The little guy next to Carter is quickly becoming Carter's good buddy.

2nd place in freestyle!

The gaming corner, where Coop spends most of his swim meet time!

Take your mark...

Backstroke winner!

The look of a champ:)!

Ready for breaststroke...won this one too but their were only two kids in his heat.

1st home meet meant extra team spirit.  Thanks to Miss Amy for the Loch Ness Monster!

Go Monsters!

Backstroke time!

1st place!

I'm embarrassed by my crazy screaming but had to post the video of Carter's backstroke win!  He's in lane 5, right in the middle of the video.

Gone Fishin'

We have a pond right down the street and the big boys have been begging us to take them fishing lately.  I'm definitely a girl when it comes to fishing...I'm happy to cast and reel something in but I'm not a big fan of baiting a hook!  Thankfully we went on a Sunday so Jamey was right there to do all the dirty work;).  Some of our neighbors happened to be there as well and were so sweet to help as we had our hands full with Hudson tagging along!

This was before Carter ever caught anything so he's looking mighty envious of this bass!

Our neighbor Tom was helping Cooper catch his first fish.

Cooper couldn't believe he actually caught something!

I love how Coop won't take his eyes off the prize!

Carter's turn!  The Lightning McQueen rod was definitely lucky this time around.

Fatherly Fun

We spent Sunday just as we spend most summer Sundays, starting bright and early with church and then hopefully getting in a little afternoon pool time before naps.  I'm usually one of the nappers because I work pretty much every Sunday night but this one was thankfully different.  It was so unbelievably nice to have the entire day to enjoy with all of my loves and to be able to give Jamey a day of relaxation as those don't come too often!

My parents came over for a fun dinner and we all enjoyed a friendly game of coach pitch in the cul-de-sac.  I made Pop and Jamey photo books with quotes from Carter and Cooper that turned out really cute.  I don't really remember all of the answers but I do know Pop was born in 1700 and is 12 feet tall.  Jamey likes to drink beer, eat pork tenderloin, and calls Carter "Roo".  They were precious and I think it will be a fun thing to look back at in the future and have a good laugh.

I seriously have the luckiest little guys to be surrounded by the two best role models around. Pop is the apple of Hudson's eye and the best coach for Carter and Cooper.  He is patient and oh so sweet with them when he's trying to teach them how to do things just right.  That's really saying something considering who he is trying to teach!  Let's just say Cooper can be a bit of a challenge when he wants to be.  We love you so much Pop and can't tell you how happy we are to have you right here with us.  With Jamey, I don't even know where to start.  Watching him with our children is something I never imagined could be so overwhelmingly emotional and happy all at the same time.  He is patient and kind when he needs to be and can also be hard and stern when it's necessary.  They respect him, love him, and listen to him like I never thought possible for little ones. My heart is so full of happiness and love for Jamey as my husband but also as our children's dad.  We are so very lucky.  

Batter up!

Giving Pop his book

Hudson mowing the infield for us.

I don't take enough pictures with Jamey in them so I made up for that today!  They all turned out so well that I couldn't pick and choose my favorites.

This is so them.  Coop being sweet for the moment, Carter with his hand where it doesn't belong, and Hudson looking sneaky and happy.  Love it.

Happy Father's Day!