the best we could

i make the entire family promise me photos at the beach - no matter what.  every afternoon while in clearwater it RAINED.  so, we tried to capture photos in the morning. well we all know it is crazy bright in the morning.  we did the best we could.

everyday

these photos are pretty self explanatory.  the kids played for hours.  i didn't.  we came back to our place, rest until daddy came home.  wrestled with daddy, then went to dinner!  i can do this e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

chicks on the beach

the kids always pack a back pack of things they would want to play with when we take a trip.  the girls are typically very thoughtful when packing their bags, while ty's bag always cracks me up.  he always comes straight into the hotel and dumps his bag, like claiming his territory.  he seems to always bring his deodorant too, hahaha!  you know a 4 year old has to smell good for the chicks on the beach.

on the way there

in july eric was given a 'mission' if you will, to attend a special forces conference to learn about new equipment, or something like that.  well, it just so happened to be in tampa, fl.  there was no question that we were going to drive down with him and stay in his hotel, and when he was at work we would find our way to clearwater beaches!  it certainly was a loooonnnnggg trip.  we stopped halfway down on the way there, but made the entire drive on the way back.  on the way there, every time we would stop, we made the kiddos get out and do jumping jacks.  they actually thought it was cool.  the kids were fabulous on the way there.

my heart melt

in june our first baby girl turned 8.  it is so strange to say we have an 8 year old!  she is such an awesome young lady.  the first picture is blurry, but we had the kids all 'pick up' downstairs while we got her cake ready.  then we called her up as if we had something to talk about.  it is rare to catch her 'surprised', as typically she knows everything, what is going on all the time and what is to happen next.  so to capture her like this makes my heart melt.

corn hole fun

we are so lucky to have a handy man for a husband and dad!  eric spent an afternoon putting the corn hole boards together for us.  we decided on colors for paint and for the bags.  we spent another afternoon painting and sealing it and then the evening putting together the bags.  easy weekend project for weeks full of corn hole fun!

so delicious

later in the summer of 2012, we were invited to the home of a lady i have meet here in clarksville.  she is a really neat lady and generous! her husband tends to a massive garden on their property.  at certain points during the summer they can't eat all that is grown so they invite others to help themselves.  anything you can imagine they pretty much have it in their garden.  it was fun to let the kiddos come and explore and see exactly where food comes from - and the difference of fresh versus 'fake' food.  the berries were to kill for, so delicious!