Nana and Papa's House

We just got back from a fabulous vacation in Arkansas. I absolutely love getting to go with my family to visit my parents. Arkansas is a great vacation spot for us and my parents do nothing but shower us with love, attention and great food while we are there. There is never a shortage of things to do while we are there, boating, fishing, golfing, hiking, exploring, kayaking, playing with our old toys from when we were little, eating delicious food, and enjoying lots of good company. I am very blessed to have such amazing parents who let us come and mess up their house. We invited some wonderful friends of ours to join us. Joe and Jill McGargill and their kids Hannah and Josiah. Hannah is only a couple months younger than Quinn and Josiah just turned one in April. Quinn and Hannah are fabulous friends and play tremendous together. They did so well being around each other nonstop for 4 days. And Josiah is my babies favorite little guy to love on. They are such amazing friends of ours and it was so much fun to get to spend extra time together. The four of us adults enjoyed some fun card playing every night after the kids went to bed. It was a fun time because very rarely do we get to hang out with friends without our kids and enjoy some ice cream, popcorn and a friendly game of cards. It felt like college again!My parents put a little pool down by the lake for the kids. We didn't even have time to put their suits on before they jumped right in. They all love the water!
Myla and Nana!
We enjoyed fabulous, rain free, weather which meant a lot of swimming, boating and outdoor fun

Nana and Myla, two of my favorite girls, watching some ducks.The grin of a happy boy!

Jill and Hannah, what a sweet picture!
Jill is a wonderful mother and an amazing friend. I am so blessed to get to go through learning to be a godly wife and mother with her. She has been a tremendous blessing to my life over these last 3 years. Jill is one of the most optimistic and upbeat people that I have ever been around. She constantly believes the best in people and is always looking for ways to love others more.

My attempt at being a fun mom, although I'm no match for their Daddy and Nana and Papa.Despite no pictures to prove it, I did get into the lake for a little bit.

The McGargills

Quinn enjoyed swimming with Daddy and the noodles.

Quinn was very brave!
You can see below how far out he swam with Dan. I was so proud of him! Quinn driving the boat with PapaRex hanging out with Nana

Myla taking control of the boat!

The Four Fearless Jumpers

Hannah jumping to her daddy

Quinn doing a HUGE jump, Rex getting a high five!

Quinn doing one of his many many jumps to his daddy
FEARLESS CHILDREN!
Quinn, Hannah, Dan, Joe and Papa went fishing and came back with 7 HUGE fish (you can see their massive size in the pictures). We put them in a bucket when they got back and without hesitation all three of my children reached in grabbed one. Quinn and Rex would have held onto them all day, Myla was a little more quick to release her fish. It always amazes me how fearless my children are with fish, worms, lizards, animals. They do not get that trait from me but I do like their boldness!

Rex is without a doubt 100% BOY and I love him!

Seriously this boy could not be happier than when he is holding something slimy.This was the look on Quinton's face any time a fishing pole was in his hands. It was excitement, anticipation, and pure thrill. This looks was regardless if fish were caught or not. I think that some fishermen could learn a lesson from my little boy. It doesn't matter if you catch or not, it's all about the cast! Well for now, I'm sure as he gets older actually catching fish will become more important, but I appreciate his love of just having a pole in his hand!Papa and his boys!
Can you imagine the cuteness that is going to come when their is one more handsome Rude boy in the picture too! I'm not sure I can handle it. I love my daddy and my little boys.The Rude girls. Isn't she the sweetest?

Daddy and Myla getting some snuggles

Nana being the best Nana around. She is ALWAYS on the floor playing with my kids, something I appreciate about my parents so much. They are very hands on grandparents!

Quinn, Joe, Hannah and Jill winding down after a long day in the sun.

A wonderful vacation with wonderful family time and friend time.
A lot to be thankful for!

Aunt Kelly's Visit

25 weeks.... feeling larger than ever.
It's hard to imagine that my belly is going to keep growing and stretching but growing and stretching is GOOD cause it means that he is still inside!! Aunt Kelly came to visit us this past weekend. We enjoyed our time with her A LOT! We did lots of playing, running, jumping, snuggling, coffee drinking, water balloon throwing, good food eating. It was nice of her to take the time to drive down and hang out with us.
Everyone looking fabulous for Easter

Everyone's got curls

Blue eyed girls

My friend Anna Judd makes headbands and hair clips for little girls (she is starting an Etsy business with her sister... I'll give you all the link when I get it). She is SOOOO talented and I am a proud buyer of her work. I'll have to post more pictures of what all the different ones look like. But I LOVE THEM. They are so cute and different than anything that I have seen for little girls. I have learned though that Miss Myla has a large head when picking out headbands. But look how beautiful!

I loved picking out her little outfit for Easter. I'm sure she will wear it a lot with weddings this summer. I love having a little girl.

Kelly trying to get everyone excited for a picture.... hmmmm

Sisters and the wee ones

The whole Rude Gang!

Water balloons did not last long in Quinn's hands. It's difficult to tell a 3 year old to wait to throw it.... I'm pretty sure he could easily go through 100 balloons very quickly.

Myla getting in one the action. Rex rarely threw the balloons... he tends to hang on to things he likes and Myla liked to play catch with her balloon.

All Boy!
A typical Rex face!

My boys having a fun time

Rex has the time of his life with his Daddy

Aunt Kelly got to experience bath time. A favorite time of mine (usually) where everyone is contained, happy, clean.
I thought this was a fabulous picture of Quinn. Due to our silly April colds, Quinn has a really red right cheek because he was constantly wiping his boogers with his right hand and smearing them across his cheek. Still so handsome.

Rex eating a bathtub fish... nothing out of the ordinary for him

Myla was doing some signing for Aunt Kelly. We learn sign language at our music class every Thursday.

I enjoyed Kel's camera... it takes pictures very fast!

What a sweet girl

Despite the chilly weather we still spent some time outside on Saturday.
Rex learning to blow bubbles... I'll have to teach him to use the bubble wand and not put bubbles in his mouth and

Me and my big boy... my goodness how fast time flies

We enjoyed spending the weekend with Aunt Kelly. My kids always love visitors and Aunt Kelly's visit was not disappointing. My children are so blessed to have such loving families around them and people that care so much about them. Thank you Kelly for making the trip to visit us. WE LOVE YOU!