F is for Florida and FUN

I've got a WONDERFUL hubby;that is for SURE! Jon surprised us with a trip to FL last week to see my sister Kaye and her family. He orchestrated off time and everything for us to enjoy some restful fun together. SUCH a blessing! We had NO idea when we set out just how much fun we'd have!

Even though we didn't visit Disney World, I have to say our time with the Birds was pretty magical. It was so refreshing to just REST in each other's company and experience the JOY of loving and being loved. Faults and all, lemme tell ya.

And of course I loved on those girls with every ounce of sweetness I had in me. Thankfully, they gave me LOTS of sweetness back! I treasure those tiny girls!Grace & Aunt Sally
She's so beautiful!!

Aunt Sally & GloriaCuteness packaged!
Aunt Sally & Baby Halle
She gave me baby fever!!

Our kids did SO well together. It was a whole new world of fun!

It didn't take long for them to discover the water hose... And proceed to spray each other!
Of course, this doubled the fun!
(and somehow caused pants to mysteriously sag!)

But the Slip'n'Slide made the Daddies the "favorites" of the week. So much fun & energy spent!!All smiles!!

Warming up my lil' one!

Post Slip'n'Slide cuddle time with Gracie

Aunt KK squeezed in plenty of cuddles too! And boy did my boys love them!Aunt K, Brennan, & Halle

The beach was quite an undertaking with 5 kids under the age of 3. But well worth the trip!! :) It was a beautiful day. I have to say Gloria & Brennan enjoyed the water the most!Isn't that sky beautiful!?

Gloria in all her cutenessCould Kaye be ANY prettier in this picture?? She's totally rockin' those Aviators. Love her!

Sandy Sisters

It seemed Halle just got bigger and bigger EVERY day! She's such a tiny happy thing. I sure did love my time squeezing her cuddles out!

Princess Grace & Cheetah Jude

I just have to say that this is SUCH a typical guy/girl shot: Grace is smiling pretty for the picture, and Jude looks like he's mocking the whole idea of it! ...Not to feed gender stereotypes or anything... ;)Oh but just one more. Do you see this boy's face?? Do all men make this face when interrupted from the computer?? Or...maybe it's just Estes men. ;)

Me & my B

Uncle Scott, in attempt to gain favor with his nephews, made sure he had donuts on hand.I think he won Brennan over. :)

And if the donuts didn't work on Jude, a new Mack truck & some uncle time did!

Did I mention that Grace is a girl and Jude is a boy??And that's all I have to say about that.

These Big Birds (eh-hem...I mean Kaye & Scott) totally blessed our socks off. Each time we're together it almost surprises Jon & I that we connect, laugh, and enjoy them so much.
Jude is always the Charmer when it comes to babies. He LOVES them. But especially baby Halle. Several times we caught him having conversations with her...just chatting away about the toy he was playing with or how a puma runs. I'm really looking forward to this love for babies as several of my friends are due any day now (and Jane Rogers was born just today!!)!Jude "entertaining" Halle

This sweet girl Gloria is such a precious treasure. Her little personality is so fun. You may think she's not the attention-seeker, but I learned last week that you just have to wait until all the competition is gone!
One night after all the kiddos were in bed, Gloria came to her bedroom door to tell her daddy she was "all done" with bedtime. So, I guess he caved...and the fruit of that decision is these pictures.
She was eating up the attention!
Cuddles with Uncle Jon. Love it!

To engage the kids in some activity, I took on painting with them in the backyard. But it didn't take long before the wood shapes got boring, and everyone thought skin would be a much more interesting canvas. So...

We figured we'd let them express themselves!

Thankfully, it was washable! :)

One thing Grace is ALWAYS-- colorful!! Sweet girl!

If you've ever read this blog, I'm sure you've heard that Grace is ALL girl! She loves dresses & princesses... and spends her day living like one, in a fairytale land!

Apparently she likes makeup too! This was Grace's version of beauty...aka she somehow got into my makeup and had a PARTY.

And my time with Kaye?
Well I'm still treasuring in my heart.

She just has a way about her.
She listens without condemning.
She seeks my good.
Just by sitting there babbling my little self sleepy, I'm learning.
I'm watching her and how she really HEARS me.
I see her humble way with me, with her kids.
And then she let's me see her screw up
and learn something about my own self.
I think it's easy to learn from someone who listens. It's like you know they have wisdom by the mere fact that they don't always feel the need to share it. It shows you that they're truly there for YOU and not themselves.
Well, I could go on and on.
But you know now...
I love her!

Thank you Birds for letting us invade your space for a week! We can't wait to do it again!!

And thank you honey for this special gift!! Your surprises are never small, and ALWAYS memorable! I love you!

"But It's my FAVorite!"

So... Mr. Cute thought these looked delectable.

I insisted that he would NOT like them, to which he replied,
"But it's my FAVorite!"

Since this wasn't the first time for him to ask, I figured we'd settle the debate once and for all.

This was the result:
I REALLY wish I'd captured that look when he first tasted it. I was doubled over laughing!

This is the first of many lessons that prove... Momma's always right. ;0)


P.s. While I was trying to take the picture of the spat-out bouillon cube, a thieving hand tried to snag it to feed to babyB! Needless to say, I didn't let that happen... :0)

Grammie Wuz Here

I'm giggling at the title. My mom is SO un-ghetto. I remember growing up (sorry mom!) when she would dance, I'd just ROLL my eyes and say, "Mom, seriously! Stop!"

The craziest part is that it's coming for me! Soon my boys will be telling me that I've lost my groove...as if I ever had it.

Oh well...

So, we thoroughly enjoyed having my mom here. There was LOTS of laughter, LOTS of talking (mostly by Jude :0), and LOTS of shadowing (again, mostly by Jude). That boy just LOVES him some Grammie. She's so sweet with him and tells a GREAT story!And this is the reason she came.
That baby just looks so content in her arms. :0)

We enjoyed some breakfast at the famous Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Apparently Lynn beat out Bobby on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay"!You can tell by the decor that Lynn must be quite a character.

Jude & Grammie bein' goofnuts.

There were lots of fun animals in the parking lot. And, as you can see, Jude was hyper-excited. Where do faces like this come from???
Mom & I enjoying the photo-op. Her new glasses are so cute!

We also enjoyed having daddy around a lot while my mom was here...

He even rested!!
He's gone a lot these days, so we appreciate ANY morsel of time with him!

Grammie & Pops gave Jude a Lightning McQueen bike for his birthday. It would have been a TOTAL injustice if we hadn't let at least one of them see him "open" it...and ENJOY it!For awhile, Jude's been admiring "big boys" on their bikes and has told me several times that he wants one. You can see the sense of accomplishment on his face in this picture!

Yea! Thanks Pops & Grammie for the fun gift!!

We haven't learned to ride it yet, but we're working on it all the time!Hence, why daddy is showing Jude how to ride it. Haha! :0)

Aunt KK sent fireman hats for the boys. They've been broken and taped several times since then. But Kaye, you must know they were wonderful gifts and are being well loved!
Jude INSISTS on wearing his backwards.

Brennan was having a honkin' good time! :0)

And finally, my mom & I ten years ago.
Ok, not really. But we both look so young! I just love it! :0)

We just loved our time with you Mom. You're such a treat to have around. Thanks for bringing lots of joy to our home. We can't wait to enjoy BOTH of you guys soon!