Beach Bums!!

Still just hanging out on the beach! Here is Owen and Lila doing what they do best...nothing!

And sleeping!

Here's the beach bunny herself chasing waves!

Priceless!

Precious little Emme! She is 22 months old and loving her some Patdog (a.k.a Pat!). Lynlee and Emme are having a great time together!

We drove into Destin tonight. It is only 5 minutes away from Okaloosa Island. We ate dinner and then headed to the Destin Commons. Lynlee had a blast. We built a bear/unicorn! I think it was the ugliest stuffed animal they had, but it was her favorite! It has already had 3 names: Sleeping Beauty, Auroa, and Tinkerbelle! She's really creative!

Next we headed to the sprinkler/fountain thingy! I was chasing Lynlee around the perimeter trying to get a good action shot. All of a sudden, a man came out of no where and grabbed my camera as he ran off. I screamed and looked at my prince charming wondering why in the world he wasn't chasing and form-tackling the bandit. Then I looked and saw that it was Trent, one of the boys I nannied for years. Whew-sigh of relief! I was already having flash backs off all the cute pictures I took today and would forever miss! So of course, we had to take pictures with the stinker!

He is 17 and I started babysitting him when he was just 10! I love that guy so much and he is turing into an amazing man! All his future girlfriends are going to have to past the "Sarah Test" before they can continue dating!

Crazy sprinkler girl! She is being sooo good and having an amazing time!

Me and the newest man in my life! He has also been so good! We are truly blessed with a happy, easy baby!

The three amigos! Look at Owen looking at his sissy! Lynlee Kate can get that boy to belly-laugh better then any of us! I really think he thinks she hangs the moon!

We will end with that amazing leg shot! I know you all want to kiss on that!

Warning: Cutest pictures ahead

Ladies, get in line! There is enough loving to go around!! He's resembling his G-pops more and more every day...wild glasses, goofy hats, and an impeccable physique (ha just had to say that you know I love you dad...you also know who I get that from)!

I mean seriously...talking about melting a mother's heart! I know his future wife is going to love this picture.

A face only a mother could love! Eating prunes to be sure he stays "regular" on the vacation.

Now this hunk is all mine! We are having a great time. Both kids are doing really good on the beach and sleeping good too! The water had a little bit of seaweed today, but that's not slowing us down.

Beach Bound

We have made it to the beach! Today is our first full day at the beach and we are so excited! We are staying at Okalossa Island near Destin, FL at an amazing condo with some amazing friends! Here's some pictures of Lynlee exploring the beach and pool! There will be more to come!

Most shots will be action shots because she is already dodging the camera!

Belated

Happy belated Birthday to my parents. My mom's birthday was July 10th and my dad's on July 13th!

This picture is blurry b/c dad is by a fire watching tree limbs fall during the ice storm! I have 2 amazing parents and I am their biggest fan! I haven't been able to get their gifts all together yet, but I was able to make their favorite dessert.

Coconut cupcakes! They are super delicious and easy even though they are made from scratch!

Also, while I was out of town Owen turned 5 months! He is getting so big and usually really happy! We have started some veggie-baby food, because he has been acting really hungry. He has been doing great with the baby food and LOVES carrots!

This is the big man enjoying his exersaucer! I will have more pictures soon!

Meagan's Wedding Weekend

Last Thursday I headed to Benton with Michele for our friend Meagan's wedding. Meagan and I were sorority sisters and roommates in college. Meagan also babysat Michele's kiddos with me throughout college!

Here's Meagan and I at her Bridal Luncheon.

Michele and Owen at the luncheon! Owen is getting pretty used to all these weddings, showers, luncheons, and bachelorette parties! Yes, when he was just barely 2 months old I took him to Hot Springs with me for a bachelorette weekend! He's going to be scarred for life!

This picture is of Meagan, mother of the bride, and all bridesmaids except one...plus Owen!

This was the night before the wedding. We all tried to calm Meagan down before her big day! She was so stressed and we all laughed b/c she couldn't pin-point anything to actually stress about! Her husband-to-be actually broke out in shingles on his face Thursday before the wedding. I think they both are anxious people! Poor guy, they put him on antibiotics b/c he had a red, bumpy, goose-egg on the middle of his forehead. The swelling went down a bit and a little concealer goes a long way! I'm sure their photographer can work some magic! There was A LOT of laughing that night and some great memories!

Here's Meagan and I on the big day! I was so thankful her dresses were black! The baby weight looked much better in black! Meagan looked so beautiful. I wish I would have taken a full body shot of her, but of course I didn't think of that in the moment! Also I totally didn't get a picture of Todd :(. You can click here if you want to see their engagement pictures. They have an amazing photographer so check them out!

Those handsome Tollett boys! These are Michele's boys and the boys Meagan and I babysat. From left to right: Travis (15), Trent (17), Truitt (7), and Turner (9). I started babysitting for them when Turner was 4 months old so they are like my second family!

We all left the wedding wondering if Meagan and Todd were going to make it to their honeymoon. They were going to fly to Hawaii the next morning. The funny thing is they BOTH started FREAKING OUT the week of the wedding and even tried canceling their flight b/c they were very nervous about being on an airplane for 8 hours! I mean they pulled out "a death in the family" card but the airlines wasn't having it! They are a hoot...surely they knew that when they booked the trip! And no worries they made it to Hawaii!

It was a great weekend and a beautiful wedding!

Birthday Celebration #3 and #4

Sorry I have fallen behind. One of my best friends got married this past weekend, so I wasn't able to continue Lynlee's bday/week celebrations. There will be pictures of my friend's wedding soon too!

So celebration #3 was at my parents house with my immediate family. Warning: a ton of pictures to follow!

I finally got Lynlee the cake she had been asking for! In case you don't know the little doll is Rosetta (one of Tinkerbelle's pixie friends...go figure). Who knows why Lynlee wanted that specific cake, but she got it!
First, we started the evening off with the best investment my parents have ever bought...the blow-up water slide. It has lasted 3 years!

Then a little bike riding!
Lynlee couldn't wait any longer so we had to go straight to presents! Lynlee thinks the WORLD of her two cousins!! Those outfits are some of my parent's dress up clothes! The girls go straight there when we get to their house.

When I got to my parents house Lynlee wouldn't stop talking about party hats and how birthday parties needed them so Matt and Ang brought these cute party princess crowns! Anything the birthday girl wanted...she got! I'm still doing damage control and I imagine I will be helping her with reality for some time!

What a dorky but cute little face! She is testing out her new iPod nano!! Pat and I got it for her b/c I'm tired of buying a new portable DVD player ever 6-12 months. Matt got his girls these so I copied. She loves it. She also got a petshop fitness house, an outfit, gap giftcard, princess cashier register, princess leapster2 (an educational gameboy for girls!), 2 leapster games, and a swimming baby doll! We are still slowly opening all the boxes!

Blowing out the 3 candles! And yes Jeb has a diaper on in the background even though you can't really tell!

Aunt Ang just had to do this. Owen looks a little concerned!!

Birthday Celebrations #4 at Mrs. Kathy's house! Mrs. Kathy is Lynlee's home daycare provider. WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER! She only takes 5 kids and Lynlee loves all of them. Owen will be going there also. All the other kids are around 2 and 3! The summers are pretty slow b/c some of us are teachers and keep our kids at home with us most of the time. So Z was the only kid at Kathy's for Lynlee's bday celebration. It was good though b/c I was able to really splurge on their goodie bags!

And there is Mrs. Kathy!

They also had lots of sugar to work with! We had bought some sugar cookies and then gave them our left over cake since we were heading out of town!!

Birthday Celebration #5 will be happening sometime this week so more pictures to come!

Birthday Celebration #2

Today was officially Lynlee's 3rd birthday! Man does time fly. So for celebration #2 Mommy and Lynlee had a girls only day! We took Owen to Mrs. Kathy's and headed off.

First, we had a Starbucks. Yes, my 3 year old has loved the taste of coffee since she could sip off a spoon. She will drink it black, but she really likes it the way mommy gets it...with lots of sweet yummy goodnes (cream, sugar, etc.). We both ordered tall iced vanilla lattes! Before I get a lecture, Lynlee's was decaf! (Don't worry there are plenty of bad decisions on my part come up...many of them to do with nutrition and sugar. I probably shouldn't mention she had Ritz crackers and Pez for breakfast! I know you all would like to nominate me for mother of the year!)

Starbucks, I know you want to steal that picture!

So where next? Why of course...to get a mani and a pedi!! Ha, this was Lynlee's first ever professional nail experience. While I got a pedicure, a lady painted Lynlee's toes and

fingernails. Lynlee picked purple, her favorite color of the month.

Sorry this picture is so blurry. It was the best I could do. I was so proud of her. She sat so patiently and was talking to the lady. I could not understand a word the sweet lady said, but Lynlee was sure shaking her head yes and no. Once I looked over and Lynlee was in about a 3 minute monologue. I had no clue what she was talking about, but I'm pretty sure the lady didn't either. Who knew a language barrier wouldn't stop Lynlee Kate!

Finished product. The lady drew some kind of white design on her big toes and put glitter on them too! So cute!

So here's a picture of me...I keep getting asked why I don't post any pictures of me. The answer is "I'm at least 20 lbs over-weight." I know Lynlee looks awful in this picture but this is the only one my cheeks didn't look filled with marshmallows and my four other chins weren't showing!! Seriously.

Next on to the mall where we met one of my bestest friends, Michele (Lynlee says "Chele").

As expected, Michele spoiled her rotten. She took her on a shopping spree in Melody's Choices. Lynlee was fixated on the Thomas the Train set up, so Michele got her a couple of trains. She also got her an art easel, which I am super excited about. It has a chalkboard, white board, and rolling paper! Super cool. Of course Michele got her the art accessories that go with the easel. Lynlee was so hung up on the trains that I still don't think she knows she got the art stuff. Toy stores can be so over-stimulating!

After a nutritious lunch of taco bell nacho cheese and chips, we headed to candy craze!

I just let her fill her bag with whatever in the world she wanted. I mean you only turn 3 once, right? You know it is bad when your 3 year old looks up at you in the middle of a candy store and tells you "I think that's all I want!" And within the next hour she demolished most of the bag.

We ended our girls trip with a ride on the mall spinny thingy!

I would say we had a successful day! We headed to Target after the mall and spoiled Lynlee some more! We also had her 3rd celebration tonight, but I will have to post about that later.

Birthday Celebration #1

This week is Lynlee Kate's 3rd birthday/week!! I was going to throw one big party because she is really getting into the birthdays this year...but I wasn't on top of my game. It is hard to dodge all the July 4th parties and summer weddings. So instead of 1 big party she is having approximately 5 little celebrations. So get ready for a picture overloaded week of birthday posts!

Celebration #1 was at Pat's parent's house last night. We had a blast and Lynlee was on cloud 9!

Lynlee started off her night with a wagon ride from Papi Fries. He really wanted to be called grandpa but Lynlee had different plans! They bought this wagon so we could all take walks on our weekly Fries Family dinner nights.

And of course Owen got lots of love. Here he is with Pat's mom, Noni.

Lynlee and Uncle Joe eating some salsa! And Uncle Joe is a handsome, available man with a great job!! Just thought I would shout that out for any single ladies out there!! I won't mention that he and Pat talk not stop about fantasy sports...oops I just mentioned it!!

Time to open presents!! We could barely finish dinner to get to this part!

Lynlee got some petshop goodies from mommy, daddy, and Owen.

She also got some cute books and clothes from Luke and Kirsten!

And we can't forget the gianorm0us collection of princess pez dispensers from Papi and Noni! They know a way into a girls heart!!

Lynlee also experienced pop-rocks for the first time. Surprisingly, my sensitive child didn't mind the pops in her mouth (probably had something to do with the sugar).

Then cake. Needless to say Lynlee had a sugar high for the remainder of the night. This cake was an ice cream cake from Cold Stone. It was pretty good and I guess the sprinkles made up for the lack of icing decor. In case anyone wants to know most cake shops were closed yesterday! Hopefully I can redeem myself for some of the other celebrations.

Poor Trinity has to sing happy birthday at every celebration. To be honest it sounds like someone is being murdered! Seriously, Kirsten has proof!

Here's Owen with Luke's girlfriend, Kirsten. We just love her and can't wait until she becomes a part of our family (no pressure guys!!). She claims she is not good with babies, but by the look on Owen's face I would say she's wrong.

Group shot! BTW the one on the right is single!! Haha Joe is going to kill me ;)

What a lucky gal getting to sit with such handsome brothers!

Ended the night with sparklers! We bought a few too many this past weekend, so they might show up at more than one party!

Another item that you might see at multiple parties is this balloon! Creative moms please don't be disappointed in me...it really is a huge balloon and it plays music! Lynlee loves it so I guess that's what really matters, right?