Summer Vacation

So, the one bad thing about being involved in youth ministry is that you have to wait until the end of the summer to take a family vacation. With that being said, we would never trade our lives in ministry, but it is sooo nice to get away by the time August rolls around.
We started our break by taking a day trip to Splash Country with my sister and dad......my mom had to work.....boo!!! Isaiah had a ball, and I really enjoyed watching him and Keith play together. Note: They do not let huge pregnant women go down those really fun slides.....Isaiah was way too brave for his pants, but I have to give him props..he went down a slide that some four and six year olds wouldn't even go down!
After a days rest, and recovery, we headed to St. Simons Ga. to spend time with our friends. It was our fifth/sixth year to take a trip with Doug and Jessica Smith.....Jessie, you'll have to let me know which year is correct. We don't get to see each other throughout the year, with both husbands being in ministry, so our vacation time is always nice. We split the trip by staying in Atlanta with Keith's brother and his wife, Bethany Bagwell......its weird.....we have the same last name???? That's for you Bethany! Our days were as follows:
-get up and eat breakfast
-sunscreen and gather toys
-go to the beach and pool until lunch
-lunch and nap
-eat dinner at our favorite spots....and tried some new ones
-put kids to bed
-play chicken foot/this is a dominoes game Jessie taught us
-do it all over again the next day

The hurricane did pass by, but the only effect we saw was an extreme surge in the water. We had beautiful sunny days, and a ton of memories to enjoy! We are glad to be back in Knoxville and look forward to all of our fall activities, and our soon arrival of Miss Leah.
Hope you enjoy our photo album!

This is the huge slide he went down by himself! The other half of the slide is in a picture below.

This was right after he came off. He had just stopped clapping when dad snapped this one.

                  Aunt Casie went down with him. The slide above them is the top of the big slide!

                                                                     The cousins.

                                                                 Playing with daddy!

Nap time.....loved that we rented the retreat!

                                                         Eating chips with Uncle Justin.

                                                      Absolutely no fear of the water!

Watching the waves with daddy.

                                                      Our favorite tree in St. Simons.

                                                                  First climbing wall.

                                      Playing at the lighthouse with Porter and Millie.

                                                                        Sweet Millie!

                                                             All he wanted to do.

Splash Pad and a picnic

So, I have to admit that before last month I had no idea what a "splashpad" was. I mean, I've seen kids play at Olympic park in Atlanta, and at Market Square here in Knoxville, but splashpads are totally different. With all that being said.....my sister introduced me to this public park adventure last month and I became instantly hooked! Isaiah loves it and it is much easier than taking him to a swimming pool.

Keith and I decided that we really needed to leave our couch potato days behind us, and get out more, so we planned a day at the park. We got up Saturday morning, ate breakfast, got ready and headed to the park...picnic and all. Isaiah had a blast....so did Keith....and I got to enjoy watching my boys play!

4th of July Fun!

We really enjoyed our 4th this year! We spent the morning trying to get things done around the house before heading to my parents. We had some thunderstorms that came through mid afternoon, so when we got there the power was out. We played our regular game of Farkle, and by the last few rolls of the dice the power came back on. We finished getting everything ready for the grill, and the cooking began. We feasted on hot dogs and hamburgers....and all the sides that come with a cookout....and when we were done we took Isaiah out to play in the yard. We packed up in my parents new minivan...yes, they bought a minivan just to carry the grand kids around...and off to the fireworks we went. Isaiah LOVED the fireworks! The show was just shy of thirty minutes, and he watched the whole time. We celebrated spending time with family, and of course our freedom!

     This was hilarious! We watched him for several minutes...he was looking through the balloon.

                                                Watching fireworks with Grammy!

                                              He thought he could touch the fireworks.