The Boone Family

The ornery little man turned 4 years old.  On his birthday morning we had to wake him up at 9:40. We woke him up by singing Happy Birthday and boy was he surprised. He climbed into Haliey's arms when we woke.  Too cute. The night before we asked him what he wanted for his birthday breakfast and he said doughnuts.  Bob went out late night to grab doughnuts just for him.  When he woke up he decided that he didn't need doughnuts but wanted Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  It was difficult to put candles in the bowl but we made it work. After singing Happy Birthday, he got very quiet and said, "I don't want to make a wish."  This kid never ceases to amaze me. We went over to Toys R' Us to let him choose his birthday present.  As we were going in I asked him what he would like and he said, "A penguin and a watering can."  This is what he chose…such a little gardener. He also snagged a stuffed penguin for his present.  He has be...

As the door closed on the Lokers', the door opened to welcome the Hammer's.  We always say and truly mean our house doesn't feel like a home unless it is full!  We jam packed our days with fun in the sun!  The temperature was 88 degrees by 9am so we were outside splashing in the slip 'n slide, water table and sand box filled with water.  Our sweet neighbor yelled over the fence and requested that we come and swim in their  in ground pool while she was gone.  After lunch we walked over and spent 2 hours having a blast in the pool.  Then we came back for a snack of watermelon (we ate the whole watermelon) and then packed up and went to the splash pad. Watermelon smiles Fun at the splash pad We ended the evening with a smorgasbord of food and trip to the beach.  Such a full day of activity resulted in major meltdowns during bath time but that meant sweet dreams very quickly.  They awoke to a gloomy rainy day.  We tried to m...

We have been looking forward to a visit from the Lokers since the last time we saw them at Easter.  Carter and Landon were counting down the days and anxiously awaiting their arrival.  When the Loker-mobile pulled into the driveway the kids were super charged with energy trying to catch up on everything that had happened since our last get together.   After playing awhile we decided it was bed time. This time Carter had requested that everyone sleep in one room together.  This sounded so great in theory until they were talking all through the night!   Jackson and Nolan sucking down pouches together Check out this picture of Nolan sitting next to Owen…so cute…Owen is a growing boy! Relaxing with Owen Nolan fed Owen…just a little messy So fun watching these kids grow up Indulging in some frozen adult juice boxes as Bob photo bombs! You know that every time we get together there has to be a "craft or activity", this time was Marshmal...

It's the season for blueberry picking!  This is my most favorite fruit to pick because it takes me back to my childhood memories of racing to the bushes of my Grandparent's farm and eating all the berries.  We met our friends for an early morning pick.  It was a little chilly that day but the sun came out while we were picking.  Nolan was quite the picker…he picked every berry he could get his hands on.  Carter would fill up his measuring cup and Nolan would inhale them.  Landon loved going off with Nikki and just picking berries off one tree to fill the bucket.  Carter was head of quality control. Not only did he examine every berry he picked from the tree but he looked and disposed all the bruised/not yet ripe berries in everyone's bucket. After picking the berries, I thought we would have plenty to make pancakes, muffins, bread, and smoothies, but we ate them all up! We had such a great time and can't wait to do it again.  

The t-ball season for both boys has approached the end. Bob and I agree they had made quite a bit of progress. Landon started out with the attention span to challenge a gnat, but by the end he wasn't wearing his mit as a hat. Carter was still kicking dirt at the end of the season but was no longer hitting off the tee. It has been fun watching them learn and develop. Their favorite part of the season was getting a trophy and eating celebratory ice cream. Proud papa  Even Nolan was excited for them

I know it is silly but I love summer! Sometimes I think I am Olaf from frozen because I could sing about how much I love it! Here are more pictures of us enjoying summer.

Another year, another birthday!  We were lucky to be on our journey home from vacation and able to make it to Danielle's house to celebrate.  It was a beautiful day and we took advantage of being outdoors for the majority of the day. Landon loves his goggles A fun day in the sun with family!  Great birthday!

The vacation was coming to an end and we needed to finish seeing the last few tourist attractions in Gatlinburg.  We began the day with something the boys had been looking forward to since the first day we arrived…Lazertag.  We dropped Bob, Landon and Carter off at the Lazertag building.  Maw Maw and I went shopping on the boardwalk shops.  When we went back to pick up the boys they were full of stories of shoot-outs from lazertag.  After lunch and a family nap, we were off to Ripley's Believe it or Not Aquarium. This place was super cool.  There was a huge glass tunnel where you stood on a moving walkway and watched creatures swim above you.  We enjoyed looking at the sawfish, sharks, and turtles.  There were quite a few touching pools with creatures to touch.  Our first stop was the horseshoe crabs. Bob went to pick it up and poked it in the eyes.  He was worried it might be angry and attack. Nolan had so much f...