Summer is officially over!

It has, once again, been too long since my last post. I had to go purchase a new camera cord for the computer because all the pictures from the last four months were stuck in the camera. Unfortunately, I did not take as many pictures as I wanted this summer and many other ones are in my mom's camera - but "Mumsy" has gone off on another adventure(Egypt) so I will have to wait for her return to get some of our Pensacola pictures.

We managed to keep pretty busy this summer. Baylen started the summer off going on his birthday trip with Mumsy to the Kennedy Space Center and Ron Jons. He learned how to boogie board and he still loves the beach. Baylen and Collin both attended a gymnastics camp at the local YMCA, which they seemed to enjoy.

Baylen celebrated his 6th birthday with a Star Wars party complete with a galactic battle between the Jedis and the Stormtroopers. The party was a success despite the fact that Britt was still laying sod up the the hour before the party started and the party was in our backyard. I couldn't find anyone around here who could do a star wars cake so I had to harness my creativity. I ended up making light sabers out of cupcakes. It was quite the adventure and will be another party we wont soon forget.

We traveled to Pensacola in mid-June for 9 wonderful days and saw friends and family. We also had another get together for Baylen at Peg Leg Pete's where the boys entertained themselves "fishing" off the dock. We had a blast!

We went to Savannah for the Forth of July with some of friends from here, the Bishops. We lucked out with our hotel arrangements and watched the fireworks right next to where they were being shot off.

Papa (Britt's dad) turned 60 this summer and we all went down to Sarasota to celebrate. We got to hang out with our cousins, Jonah, Macy, and Madie. The highlight for the boys was fishing in Uncle James' boat.

We then traveled to Atlanta where we hung out with Grandpa for the week and Baylen went to Sports camp. Grandpa taught the boys how to spit watermelon seeds. We also got to see Aunt Catie and Aunt Jordan while we were there. On our way home we dropped Baylen off at the airport so he could meet Grandpa John and go to Colorado. Britt was able to take some time and meet him out there where they fished, went horseback riding, and roping. The highlight of the trip was seeing a bear in the backyard!

We finished up the summer with another trip to Pensacola where Britt performed a wedding. We loved every minute of the beach and pool but we were ready to get home and get ready for school! Baylen started first grade and Collin started Pre-K and they both go to the same school. Brooklyn started preschool at our church. They all have gotten off to a good start and seem to really like it. Now we are all getting focused on baby #4 - Addison is due in less than 4 weeks!

Brooklyn's big news is that she is now sleeping in a big girl bed! She made this transition remarkably well and we are very proud of her.

We miss you guys who are out-of-town! Please know you always have a place to stay in south Georgia! We would love for you to come visit!

Spring Break

We returned from a long Spring Break in Pensacola thoroughly rested. The weather was a bit cool so we only got three beach days in, but we managed to stay pretty busy. We enjoyed seeing everyone in Pensacola!

Moving into the house was delayed due to the horrible rain we have had. Baylen's school actually closed down for three days because of all the rain (I know all of you up north will get a good laugh at that!) The house is about 99.9% done and we move in next week. The bank gave us the go ahead today and we are SO excited. We wont have any landscaping at first because of all the rotten weather we have had, but it should not be too long. I really do hope to be writing from the new house next time!

We find out what baby #4 is next Friday (April 24th!) We can't wait. I have to give a shout out to my dad who is, I believe, 39 today. Happy Birthday, Dad!

March MADNESS

It has certainly been a crazy few months and I apologize for not keeping this blog up-to-date. We are in the final weeks before our house is complete and we cannot wait. I have pretty much given up on our current living situation - we are now surrounded by boxes and cartons in preparation for the move. Every wall in the house is lined with something, which makes us feel very cluttered. However, the end is close and it will all be worth it!

Collin was in a cast for a few weeks after he broke some cartilage in his elbow falling off a playground. He was quite proud of his blue cast. It really calmed him down alot for a few weeks but it has only taken him a few days to get back into the "swing" of things.

We have been inside for the past few days due to a tremendous storm that has managed to close our schools for three days! The kids and I are getting cabin fever. They are also bummed because their school Easter egg hunts had to be cancelled, but we are hoping they will be rescheduled for after Spring Break. Speaking of Spring Break, we will be traveling to Pensacola for the week and hope to see many of our good friends there while enjoying the beach (of course!) Daddy should be joining us during our trip at some point.

Baylen had his school chapel program last week and I have included some video and pics from the event. He was a frog and he had quite a few speaking parts. He asked every night for two weeks, "how many more nights until chapel?" Finally the big day came and he was terrific. The class puts so much time and effort into these things, its hard to believe they are kindergartners!

Brooklyn is still her adorable little self. The terrible twos have yet to hit, although she can pull the sass out when she needs to prove her point. She talks our ear off and LOVES Dora the Explorer. Her favorite phrase is "Swiper, NO Swiping!" which she says with quite a bit of conviction. She has even tailored the phrase to put Collin in his place, "Collin, NO Collin!" If you have never seen Dora, Swiper is a fox that "swipes" things from Dora unless Dora can stop him in time by saying "Swiper, NO Swiping!"

Brooklyn and Daddy went to the Daddy Daughter Dance last friday and danced the night away together. Daddy picked out Brooklyn's dress by himself and the two of them had a blast. Wish I could have been there!

Well, hopefully the next blog will be written from a different home. We look forward to seeing some of you very soon!

SANTA CAME!

Apparently, all the kids made the nice list. We woke up around 7:00 to a room full of presents. This was a tad early for Brooklyn and she took a bit to wake up. However, she soon perked up and enjoyed the whole experience. Our favorite presents are the Batmobile, remote controlled helicopter, "adult" transformer movie (Baylen is especially proud of this one), high chair, and, of course, all of Brooklyn's babies. The boys were hysterical "trying" to wait their turn. Brooklyn delighted in each gift and her commentary on each gift was quite comical. There are a couple of videos included in the slide show that capture the Hallmark moments. Mumsy was with us to help unwrap and we really had a great time. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday - we are ALL looking forward to school starting again!