Friday, May 20, 2016

Fun with the Jacksons

Yes, you read that right! We FINALLY got to see the entire Jackson Family in person! God bless them, they were driving from Oklahoma City to Destin, FL and decided to camp out with us for a couple nights! It was the most wonderful time and almost like we hadn't missed a day. Their sweet children, Owen (4), Laycee (3) and Cody (3 months) were just adorable and played so well with our crew. Matt even made it home from an out of town trip in time to share breakfast and visit a bit before they got back on the road. It had been so long since we saw our sweet friends and Baylee and I swear we won't let that many years pass between visits again!

We finally got to put Elijah's trundle bed to use. This was Elijah's first sleepover and it was awesome! 



Since we last saw one another, we've four children to our crew, two on each side. 

This was taken in the Jackson's first home, just a few months after Owen was born. 



Godmama Baylee selfies

Noah just loved Mama Baylee. It was so sweet how he instantly attached to her

Asher (9 months) and his buddy Cody (3 months) hanging out before bath time

The boys loving on Cody before bedtime on the last night

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Summer Adventures

After our amazing visit to Texas, we came home to the boys major huge super surprise birthday gift!







They love being outside and now they love playing games that incorporate their new fort/pirate fort. A special thanks for our amazing neighbor and friend, Mr. Keith, who oversaw the installation of this incredible playset!

The month of May brought so many new adventures and celebrations! I celebrated my birthday on May 1st with a special mid-day date with Matthew. We had a great lunch in downtown Roswell and enjoyed the scattered thunderstorms. We also celebrated another wedding anniversary and Mother's Day. 

Matthew had another work trip in May and we were thrilled to have a last minute Juju visit as a welcome distraction. The boys are over the moon for Juju and I'm pretty sure he feels the same. They had adventures of all sorts and Juju even took the boys to the creek at the back of the property. With all the rain we had, it was quite muddy and the boys (Juju and Elijah) definitely fell in the mud. I love that they get to build these special memories with J and we are blessed that he visits so frequently. 





Upon Matt's return, we attended our first air show as a family. The Atlanta Peachtree Air Show, which had a ton of different stunt planes, biplanes and even an Air Force Jet. The boys were AMAZED! Asher didn't care for the second fly by, when he had ripped off his headphones and his ears were completely exposed (minus my hands that I quickly cupped over his ears). Nonetheless, they all enjoyed the show and the multiple firetrucks and aircraft they were able to explore. 




 Besides the planned activities, we had a lot of fun just playing and finding little adventures along the way. I've thoroughly enjoyed my new camera as well, taking lots of high quality photos that just seem to turn out well no matter what! I am elated to be here to capture our sweet boys childhood each and every day.

The boys love playing dress up, big or small. Wearing a hat, cool shades and a metal is just plain awesome
Asher is so entertained by Elijah and his shenanigans. These two definitely have a very tight bond with one another and it shows in how Asher looks at Elijah. 

Asher finally got his first two teeth around the 7 month mark and he's been cutting teeth since
"Boys will be boys". Well they certainly will and with that, they will make a "shoot gun" out of anything they find! Noah was protecting me with his headphones, "man-work glove" (just one) and his new found gun while I worked on the playlet. 




Sweet Asher-Roo is always happy as a lark. He's always so entertained by what's going on around him, which tend to be quite a lot. 
This was from Noah's last week of school, Mother's Day Tea Party.  I never get tired of seeing his face light up when he sees me at the door. 


This is Noah's best friend, affectionately named Monster.  We recently read a book called "Monsters Love Underpants", so Monster stole a pair of Noahs and wore them around for several weeks. I never imagined Noah would love this Avengers Hulk Build-A-Bear so much! 



Some naked pool time...

Obviously a very rare photo of all three boys, sitting still, in the same space listening intently to the noisy tractor book before bedtime. Such a sweet time with their daddy. 
To celebrate the last day of school, they had a picnic/field day and all five of us were able to attend! The boys had a great time running around with friends, getting faces painted, jumping in the bounce house and eating candy. 
Just a little sweetness! He loves being outdoors so much. 
The boys were posing with their little water blasters. They love anything with water, like most kids, and were competing to see who could shoot highest on the trees. I love and loathe their compensative spirit with one another. 


Asher is finally big enough to get behind the wheel in the grocery cart and he LOVES it. This was the first time he rode (instead of being carried in the wrap). 

Noah loves wearing his man-work gloves....but when he can't find them, winter gloves will do. Yes, even when you're going in the pool, man-work gloves are necessary
Elijah got a big boy bike for his 5th birthday! Although he balances very well, learning the petals has been his challenge. He's improving greatly, but still has some work to do. 


We were lucky enough to get to Little Acorns at Avalon on Superhero Day. The boys thought it would be so cool, however when they saw this very realistic Batman, they were terrified. Noah wouldn't go near him without me and Elijah hung beside the stroller. I'm grateful Noah at least posed for a picture and muscle shot



Riding the choo-choo at Avalon. 
This kid just cracks me up. 
Noah loves the swimming goggles Daddy bought for Elijah
So Daddy had over 100 NFL footballs at the house that he was inflating for a work function. The boys were so enamored with them and I believe Matt was as well. Noah couldn't help himself, in the process of changing out of his bathing suit, he had to don his man-work boots and hold a football. Yes....he's a Bowerman
Just playing in the rain with Daddy

Last but not least, Elijah recently started Martial Arts and loves it most of the time. He's working hard and beginning to pick up on the language and technique. I've thoroughly enjoyed watching him improve with each class and I'm really looking forward to him earning strips and hopefully his yellow belt in the coming months. 

This was Elijah's very first day in class. He started very nervous, but warmed up after a bit.


Thankfully, it was another boys first day, so that helped boost Elijah's confidence a bit

This is several weeks later-Elijah was so proud for me to take his picture in the ready stance.