HAMBLIN FAMILY

My Children

2010-01-02T16:48:00.006-07:00

Here's a bunch of random photos I had on my camera of my children. This one was last monday. For Family night we had a lesson about Samuel the Lamanite and then after watched Mary Poppins. Both Children fell asleep on me. It looks like I'm asleep too but really, I'm looking at Taylor.

Taylor or should I say Quazimodo...however you spell that name

Our precious Ashley with gorgeous hair :)

The first time Taylor fed Parker. He was so excited I let him do it and he did great. I love what a big helper he is to me.

Our precious little boy who is growing up so fast.

Parker used to sleep on me all the time like this but not so much anymore. This used to be all he wanted in the beginning of his days, to sleep on me. Thank goodness he likes being in his crib now. I love how babies hold on to your clothes.

Taylor made a spooky house at his Halloween party. I could not get him to smile. He like to be goofy in his pictures

My mother in law found Ashley like this and grabbed the camera. She made a bed in Parkers bouncer, turned on a movie and fell asleep.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-02T16:31:00.003-07:00

This year we spent thanksgiving with the Hamblin family. I wish i had some pictures of the day. I only got a few and didn't even get the Thanksgiving feast. It was really fun seeing all the family again.

Here's Parker sittin' with Grandpa Hamblin

This is Parker with his 2nd cousin, I believe that's what its considered, Reagan. She was born a month before Parker.

Aren't they Cute

Parker got to take a little nap while we were eating. So peaceful

The next night we had another Thanksgiving dinner with my family. My Grandpa McCuistion was up for the infamous BYU vs Utah game. It was great to see him.

He played with the girls and their horses, which they thought was so fun.

He asked Taylor what his favorite thing at school is and he replied, "recess!" of course he did.

Grandpa cutting the Turkey

It was a great Thanksgiving this year. Its so fun to get together with all the family.

Bowling

2009-12-29T16:01:00.006-07:00

Yes, I know I am wayyyyy behind but I'm going to try and catch up, i know, I say that all the time too. Thanksgiving started out for us with a new tradition with my family, bowling.

We went to Jack and Jill bowling in AF. Its a really nice facility, I'd highly recommend it if you have small children. Its clean, they have a stand for the children to bowl with and the bumpers automatically come up when its one of the kids turn to bowl. We had so much fun.

The kids had such a good time. They beat me bowling. I used to be good when I was a kid but I think I try to hard now or something.

Ashley found a new seat.

Here's the rack the kids bowl with. Its makes it really fun for the kids cause they can do it themselves and the ball actually rolls fast, not just a slow crawl down the lane.

Parker was great during the whole outing. He had many friends that wanted to hold him and keep him happy.

Doug was the winner. I don't remember his score but it was over 100...which is amazing to me.

We had so much fun bowling we did it again on Christmas Eve. I think this is one thing we might start doing more of.

Here is cousin Brady. He slept pretty much the whole time. What a good baby

Parkers new toy

2009-12-03T21:21:00.002-07:00

Parker got Christmas early this year. We were going to wait to give him the bumbo but yesterday he kept wanting to sit up so we gave it to him early.

I think he likes it. He does ok with it for a little bit and then he's done but then again, I think he's got an ear infection and that's why he's not as happy right now.

We love out little Parker

Ashley the fashion designer

2009-12-03T21:03:00.004-07:00

So today Ashley decided she wanted to dress herself. Can't say that I'm not a fan of her dressing herself, but I think I should pick out the clothes.

Brown shoes, pink socks, blue Capri's and a red top, very nice.

I tried to get her to change but that didn't make her very happy so I decided, what's the big deal if my daughter looks silly. She's only 2 right?

She did have on bottoms that go under a dress but I asked her if she was going to go potty on the toilet and she said no. I told her she can't wear those bottoms if she's not going to potty on the toilet so I asked her again and she said no. We put a diaper on. Dang it, I was hoping she would want to go on the potty.

Also, I got brave and decided to try braiding her hair. I've never done it before so I thought I would give it a try. Its not the best braid in the world but I did it and I'm very proud of myself. Hopefully it will get better as time goes on.

Dougs new look

2009-12-03T20:57:00.003-07:00

What do you think?

Should he keep it?

Its already gone. He just wanted to be funny

Thank Goodness

I want to be just like Grandpa

2009-11-11T15:42:00.004-07:00

One Saturday we were at my parents home

And Taylor decided he wanted to work out with grandpa

Ashley did a few exercises

Extreme, Extreme..........P90X

Ouch

Hogle Zoo

2009-11-11T15:25:00.003-07:00

Last Friday Kristin, my mom and I packed up the kids and went to Hogle Zoo. Since it was supposed to be a nice day we thought this would be a fun activity for the kids. Taylor and Ashley were so excited. We've been talking about the zoo forever and we finally decided to go. The first thing we did was ride the train. Taylor was sooooo excited. I didn't get any other pictures than these two. I should have taken pictures of the buffalo but with Parker in arms I didn't make too much of an effort. Next time.....

We saw a lot of animals but not all. The kids especially loved the elephants. And, we got to see the new baby elephant

My son loves to pose for pictures. Its hard to see but there are elephants in these pictures.

We didn't get to see all the animals. It was a little difficult without dad's there to help with the kids. We only stayed a few hours unfortunately. The kids did get to ride the carousel and play at the playground.

It was a great day. We looked forward to going back and seeing all the other animals.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-10T19:29:00.003-07:00

Our Halloween festivities began on Thursday with our ward Trunk or Treat. It was sooo cold! But that didn't dampen my kids spirit. They had so much fun walking from car to car. Taylor was a hunter and Ashley a cow girl.

Parker wasn't so happy to be out in the cold but I bundled him up good and eventually he fell asleep. It was a bit of a challenge giving candy out but we managed ok. My hands were frozen!

Our next Halloween party was Friday at Doug's work. Taylor and Ashley were dressed the same but this time we dressed Parker up as a baseball player. Isn't he cute?
The kids got so much candy. Ashley couldn't carry her bag after awhile it was so full of candy. It was fun seeing where Doug worked and meeting some of his co workers.

That night we had Katelyn and Matt over for dinner. Here's the newest addition to the McCuistion family, Brady Risenmay. We had to get a picture of the two newest boys of the fam. Both sleeping of course.

Last but not least is Halloween day. We carved our pumpkins that afternoon. The kids liked cleaning out the seeds. Ashley got a hold of the knife at one point and tried carving a pumpkin. Luckily Doug came downstairs and stopped her before anything bad happened. What was I doing, oh yeah, making dinner :)

Parker was our cute little baseball player again

Doug didn't like that Taylor was a hunter so we went looking for a new costume and came back with Spider man. Taylor loved his costume so much he wore it for a couple of days. Ashley loved being a cow girl because we put freckles on her face.

Happy Halloween!

EKG and Activity Monitor

2009-11-01T19:40:00.002-07:00

Last week Parker had been kind of fussy at night and wasn't wanting to take his bottle. The next day I had the thought to look in his mouth. I saw a little white patch that looked cottage cheesy, so I called the doctor to inquire about it. She told me that it was probably thrush and that's why he was fussy and not wanting his bottle. We went to the doctors office to check it out and make sure that's what it was.

The doctor looked at his mouth and said that it was a cyst and not thrush. That its common for one of their ducts to get clogged and cyst but that it would go away and usually doesn't make them fussy. She checked him over and then asked if she could do some tests. She came back in with a heart monitor and watched his heart for a minute then said she needed to ask Dr. Cornish something. I was getting alittle nervous at this point. She came back in and said that I needed to go to the hospital and have an EKG done. That she was listening to his heart and it was clipping along pretty fast and that could be sign of SVT, an irregular or fast heart beat. She also said that we would need to have an activity monitor over the weekend and then, depending on the results, see a cardiologist. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Immediately I was sick to my stomach. I was trying to be strong and not let my anxiety get the better of me but it was impossible. I took him to Timp hospital where he was hooked up to all kinds of electrodes and the EKG was done. Parker did very well, he sat very still and it took literally 2 secs. The doctor who did the EKG said it was probably nothing and that the test was normal but still needed to be read by a doctor. As comforting as those words should have been they weren't for me. The next day Doug drove to Primary children's to pick up the activity monitor. Here is parker all hooked up.

He wasn't too fond of all the wires. He would often gets his hands caught and would even suck on the wires since they were near his face. He had to wear this for 24 hours. When we took the electrodes off it left little red circles on his chest. It was probably really uncomfortable. I hated seeing him wear this stuff.

This week was just terrible for me. As much as I tried to calm myself I just couldn't stop the worry and anxiety. I couldn't eat or sleep. I felt nauseous and light headed. My mother in law ended up taking me to insta care where the doctor said I was experiencing post partum depression. I had no idea post partum took such a toll on your body. I felt so sick. I couldn't even take care of my children. My inlaws were absolutely amazing. My mother in law took care of me and the kids as well as my sister in law. My mother was out of town visiting her sister who ended up dying of cancer on Monday. I was glad my mom was there to see her sister before she passed away but it was really hard to not have her there. My mother in law did a great job of stepping in and helping me out. I couldn't have done it without her.

We got the results back on Wednesday, was supposed to be Monday...I was so mad, and the tests were all normal. I was so relieved to finally hear those words. I did see my OB earlier that morning for my 6 week check up and told him the situation and he told me that Parker did not have SVT, that I would be able to tell if he did but that Parker looked healthy was growing and that I shouldn't' worry. He made me feel so much better about it but it was so nice to actually here the results were normal. Parker is just a colicky baby. We are now trying Levison drops to see if this helps with the stomach cramping. Poor kids been through a lot.

Parkers Blessing

2009-10-28T20:09:00.004-06:00

We blessed Parker on October 18th. He wore the same blessing outfit as Taylor did. Look how much these two look alike, its crazy. Parker is definitely bigger than Taylor was at this age.

We attempted a family picture but Ashley really didn't want to cooperate and Taylor, he's just a goof. I just laughed when I saw how our picture turned out. Now that I look at Taylor's face in the one below, it reminds me of a family picture we took and my brother Jake was making that same face....it became our Christmas card that year.

Parker loves to do this with his mouth as most babies do.

Proud Parents

I love that he is smiling now. I captured this picture and when I looked back at it I couldn't believe how much he looked like his uncle Dave.

Then with this smile he looks just like his daddy.

It was a beautiful day. Parker was happy and he was given a beautiful blessing.

2009-10-14T20:59:00.006-06:00

I can't believe that Parker is 1 month old. It has really gone fast and he is changing so quickly. At his two week appointment he weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 20 in long. I was quite proud because all that weight came from me nursing him with only a few supplemental bottles. I did give up nursing though the day before his two week appointment. It was just to hard for me. I tried pumping but that just took too long. 4 days later Parker was weighed again and he weighed 8 lbs 7 oz! I could not believe he put on 6 oz in 4 days. He loves to eat and sometimes can't wait for 3 hours.

Parker is a pretty good baby. He sleeps a lot which gets frustrating when we try to feed him. He falls asleep all the time and it takes 30 minutes to feed him. I thought that bottle feeding was going to help with the long feedings but with Parker it doesn't. I'm happy if I'm back in bed 20 minutes after I started feeding him. With Ashley I remember it only being like 10 minutes.

He's been a little colic but not horrible. His tummy does bother him and he is quite gassy. I've tried different formula and gripe water to help but nothing seemed to work. Now I'm taking him to the chiropractor. He was out right at his bowel. He actually seems to be a little better. He doesn't scream out in pain as much as he used to.

He smiled at me last week. I was totally shocked when I looked down at him and smiled and cooed and he smiled back. I ran downstairs to show Doug but he wouldn't do it again. He's not smiling all the time but every now and then he lets out this big grin. I love this stage where they start to respond to you.

We still aren't getting much sleep at night. Sometimes he only sleeps 2 hours and other times he will sleep 4- but only if he's asleep on my chest or right next to me. I hope this changes soon. I can't seem to get over my sickness and its probably due to the lack of sleep. He's starting to be awake more during the day so I hope at night he'll start sleeping more.

Isn't he a cutie!

We wanted to take this picture because of his little hands. He looks so content

Taylor and Ashley love to have Parker laying on the floor so they can lay next to him and talk to him. Parker loves to watch his brother and sister. It helps me because it keeps him entertained while I try to get something accomplished.

This is his favorite sleeping position. For the first few weeks he and I ended up on the couch and I would have him sleep on my chest. I actually love that he cuddles up like this. I love to look down and his cute, peaceful face and watch him sleep. He's a very active sleeper. He makes lots of noises and grunts a lot! He reminds us a lot of how Taylor was as a baby.

Parker's 1st week home

2009-10-04T12:49:00.003-06:00

The first week home from the hospital didn't start out so well for me. I was still trying to get over my cough. Whenever I would try to "catch up" on sleep i would end up coughing the whole time. Then, I woke up Monday feeling horrible. I had no appetite, in fact I felt like throwing up when I thought of food. I laid in bed that morning, Doug off to work (only because I told him to, having just started his new job the week before) and thought, how am I going to take care of my children. I called my mom to come take my kids and my mother in law to help with Parker. The whole day was yucky. I had hot flashes all day, couldn't eat, shaky and tingly because of no food. Later that night I called the doctor thinking something was wrong but he told me my hormones went from really high with pregnancy to really low and this is how my body was reacting. I needed to drink instead of eat. I was going to send Doug to Walmart but changed my mind and sent my mom. All day I told myself I was never doing this again. I felt horrible. I had Doug and his dad give me a blessing that night.

Things did get better as the week went on. After a few days I was able to eat some food, the hot flashes went away and my cough...well, it was still keeping me up. I finally got a prescription that helped. Despite how my body was feeling I was surprised at how easy a transition to three kids was for me. My kids absolutely love Parker and want to help all the time. Taylor will hold Parker while I make dinner or clean up. Its still an adjustment trying to figure out how to get ready and accomplish what needs to be done but it hasn't been as difficult as i thought. I really haven't experienced the baby blues as I thought I would. I've had a few days but nothing lingering.

Taylor's Soccer

2009-10-04T12:09:00.004-06:00

Taylor was so excited that he could play on a soccer team this year. He's been looking forward to this day since he was two. He put his jersey on way before his game even started. All day he would ask, "is it my soccer game now?" Now he ask, "is my soccer game in the next morning time?" He can't wait for his games or practice. This Tuesday is his last game until spring. He's going to be so sad. Luckily he has a goal in the backyard so he and his daddy can play

Here are some pictures of him playing

I don't have one of him scoring any goals but he scores at least one goal each game, usually he gets 2-3. Its so fun to watch him play and when he does score a goal he turns and looks at us with this little grin on his face, kind of shy like, and then he'll run over and give us 5.

Sometimes when his teams scores goals they do somersaults. Its really fun to watch these little kids play. Some get really in to it, others cry because they don't get the ball and others don't even know they are playing soccer.

Oh yeah, they named their team Bees.

Ashley loves to watch her brother play and even likes to give him a good luck kiss

Here's a little video of him playing

Parker Douglas Hamblin

2009-09-20T13:06:00.006-06:00

Parker Douglas Hamblin
Born: Sept 11,2009 (shares a b-day with Uncle Jake)
Time: 8:35am
Weight: 7 lbs 7 oz
Length: 19.5 in

I went in to labor on Friday morning about 12:30am. I woke to semi hard contractions about 10 minutes apart. I finally told Doug I was feeling contractions and he got right up and wanted to start packing the bag. I wasn't so sure yet if we should go since they were so far apart but after chatting and remember what happened with Ashley we decided to get going. I was so nervous. We called my parents and my dad came down to watch the kids. Thanks Dad. Why do I go in to labor always in the middle of the night?
At the hospital they put me in a room and measured me at only a 3, barely. They gave me 1 hour to see if I changed at all. This is at 2am. I kept praying the whole time that there would be enough change to keep me. I did not want to go home and have things change so fast that I would have another natural child birth. My contractions were so sporadic I wasn't sure they were going to keep me. I had a few right close together and then after that it was like every 10-15 minutes. When the nurse came in and checked me she said I was barely a 4 but she was going to call the doc because his heart rate kept dropping with each contraction. I was admitted, thank goodness. We immediately had an epidural, heaven! For the next few hours things went really slow. I was dilated only to a 5 a 85% effaced. I couldn't believe how slow things were going. So different than with Ashley. at 7am they decided to give me pitocin, I don't know why they waited so long. At 7:45am my mother in law came to visit before heading off to school. Not 5 minutes after she left I felt my water break and a ton of pressure. I told the nurses and sure enough, Parker was ready to be born. They called the doctor and told me not to push. That's kind of an uncomfortable feeling. About 15 minutes later Dr Young showed up and then we were ready to go. After a few pushes Parker was out. The biggest surprise to us all was that not only did he have the cord around his neck, which we already knew and which was why they decided to keep me, he also had a knot in his cord. Dr. Young said he must have been meant to be here because that could have killed him. Through out the whole labor his heart beat was really slow and it worried me a ton but the nurses kept assuring me it was normal. When my water broke I couldn't hear his heart anymore and i started freaking out. I am so glad he is here and safe and that we had no real complications.

We are all happy to have Parker finally in our home. Look how big our family is getting.

Taylor loves his baby brother and wants to hold him all the time

Ashley loves him just as much.

Here are some pictures of the first day at the hospital.

Doug loves this pictures. Says it reminds him of Rocky Balboa

Our precious Parker. One thing we've learned early on is he's already a momma's boy. He just wants me to hold him. One time he was screaming and would not stop until I was holding him.

The two cousins. Aubrie Robins was born on July 21st. I can't believe what a difference 2 months makes.

Taylor and Ashley got to go to a birthday party for Callie Fairbanks. There was a clown there and they got their faces painted.

First day of Preschool

2009-09-09T21:39:00.002-06:00

Taylor has started preschool again at Little Learners Place. He was so excited to start school again. He didn't even put up a fuss when his ride came to take him to school. I wanted a picture of him on his first day and this is how he posed. I love it.

Ashley insisted I take another picture of them together and then a picture with just her. She loves to do just what Taylor does.

Taylor had such a fun day at school. He didn't cry at all and hasn't cried at all about going. This year he can't wait until its school day. I wanted to get a picture of him after school but I keep forgetting to take my camera.

Time Out

2009-09-09T21:32:00.003-06:00

When we put Ashley to bed we often find her coming out of her room. She'll say, " I need to tell you something" or "I'm scared" or she'll just look at you and smile. After putting her back in her room a dozen times we then put her on time out. This particular night we told her if she came out of her room again she was going to sleep on time out. She must have thought that was a cool idea because she went downstairs, laid on the mat, asked for her blanket and stayed there for probably 10 minutes. We were laughing so hard. It was actually dark downstairs but with the flash it makes it look light. Doug and I were in our room so we were surprised she actually stayed there as long as she did. She did end up going to her bed and staying there.

A sleepover with Allie

2009-09-09T21:20:00.003-06:00

After Kristin had Aubrie we decided to help them out by having Allie sleep over. Taylor and Ashley were so excited to have their cousin sleep over. Allie was excited too. She didn't even notice that mom and dad were gone. They had so much fun together. It was hard getting them all to calm down for bed that night, it was just too exciting to all get to sleep together in the same room.
The next morning Allie and Ashley sat on the couch together and watched cartoons. They were both still tired, I think it was before 7 they woke up, but neither one would go back to sleep.

After breakfast I put both of them in the bath. They loved playing in the bath together. I have a picture of me with my cousin in the bath so I had to take a picture of these too.

Ashley decided she wanted to help dad mow the lawn.

Father and Son Outing

2009-09-09T21:08:00.003-06:00

Doug and Taylor went to a Real SL soccer game. They are both huge fans of soccer. Taylor was so excited to go out with his daddy.
side note, I have no idea why this is doing underline. I can't get it off and its driving me crazy

Here are a few pictures from the night. He loved the game but Doug said he kept covering his ears because they kept cheering so loud. He's not a huge fan of loud noises. Something he inherited from his mom.

MOVIE time......

2009-09-01T16:26:00.003-06:00

Nothing like going somewhere in the car and the first thing the kids say when we get in is, "MOVIE!!" When we eventually turn it on for them they scream and clap their hands. The best is when the headphones are working and they can watch their movie and Doug and I can listen to our music or talk.

Fathers and Sons

2009-09-01T16:15:00.005-06:00

Taylor was so excited to go camping with daddy for the fathers and sons outing. They packed up their dinner of hot dogs and chips, lots of candy (not to my liking) and set off to Springville Rotary Park, up Hobble Creek canyon, for the over nighter.

See the excited look on his face. He loves to camp and unfortunately we haven't gone enough this year, or even last. Something we would like to incorporate in our family outings.

Doug said Taylor played and played with all the boys. He never tires when he's having fun. When they got up the next morning Taylor said he didn't want to go home but wanted to camp for another day. He wasn't happy when they got in the car to come home.

A visit to the Dentist

2009-08-31T21:02:00.004-06:00

I normally wouldn't bring a camera to the dentist but since Kasey did all their cleanings I thought it would be fun for them to remember when their Aunt would take care of their teeth.

We had Taylor go first to be the example to the younger kids. The first time we came to the dentist he wanted nothing to do with it even though Kasey and Katelyn were there to take care of him. This time though he was a champ. He got to watch a movie while Kasey took care of him.

Next came Allie. She wasn't so sure she liked the dentist.

Afterwards it was Ashley's turn.

She started out ok, even liked the taste of the fluoride.

But once Kasey started the actual cleaning she was done. We had to hold her down to finish but we did get to finish and I think she was ok with it. Maybe next time she will be better.

While Taylor was waiting for Dr. Jensen to come check his teeth Ashley wanted to climb up and lay with him.

We left the dentist with a good report of no cavities. Thank goodness. I don't know how I'd get them to sit through their teeth being drilled. They might have to knock them out.

Taylor's birthday party

2009-08-31T20:36:00.006-06:00

This year my mom talked me in to giving Taylor a birthday party with his friends. I am so glad I did. We decided to make it a water party, the perks of a summer birthday. We got out his slip n slide, the sprinkler and his pool. The kids had such a fun time playing and it was really fun to watch them getting a long and having fun. We invited; Seth, Liam, Celine, Rob, Conner F and Conner W, Christiaan and then his cousins Allie and Jaxen. It was quite the party.

The slip n slide was a hit once they got the hang of sliding. They would start back on the concrete and then make a run for the slide.

Conner was probably having the most fun. Even though he had a cast on his arm it didn't stop him from playing.

Celine making a run for it.

Kenzie helped Jaxen slide down.

Opening presents, the part everyone likes. He got a lot of cool gifts. They all pitched in helping Taylor open his gifts and play with the toys.

Grandma McCuistion made really cute cupcakes. She used blue frosting and then put a gummy life savor on top with a teddy graham in the middle, like the teddy bear was swimming. What a cute idea. That's what mom's are for, to help me be creative...not my expertise. Thanks mom for doing it! The kids loved them.

After a little more playing we ended Tay's party with a Pinata. He did this at his school and asked if we could do it for his birthday party. I couldn't resist a pinata. They loved it. I thought I got a picture of everyone taking a shot but I guess I didn't.

It took a long time to get this "kung fu panda" to break down. They probably each got 3 turns. Taylor ended up killing it at the end but I filming and didn't get any pictures of it.

Look at Conner's baseball swing. He has the stance down. This kid is going to be a good athlete with all those brothers of his.

Celine and Liam taking at swing at it. Inside was a bag of candy for each person and then they also got a bag of bubbles to take home.

It was such a fun memorable day for Taylor. He has a lot of good friends in the neighborhood.

Taylor turned 4

2009-08-24T15:20:00.005-06:00

Taylor turned 4 this year, I can't believe it. His birthday happened to land on Sunday and after having dinner at my parents house we came back to our house for his birthday party with the family. On the way home he fell asleep. We had a little bit of time before people started showing up so we let him sleep. Apparently he was exhausted.

Once people started arriving we tried to get him to wake up. No matter what we did he was not waking up. Ashley kept kissing him. I would lift up his arm and drop it and it still would not wake him up. With everyone there laughing and yelling his name he would not wake up. It took us a good little bit before he finally opened his eyes. Once he woke up he was surprised to see everyone there but was then ready to get opening his presents.

He got lots of fun gifts this year. He got a transformer from Uncle Dave

New boxer briefs from Grandpa and Grandma McCuistion and a few outfits.

He got a Green Bay Packer football, baseball bat and baseball from Grandpa and Grandma Hamblin

And a razor scooter from Grandpa and Grandma McCuistion. He was really excited to get outside and try it out. He always borrowed Celine's so he was happy for his own. He also got some water toys from the Risenmays, a head flashlight from the Robins...and I can't remember what else...oh, a slip and slide and video game from us. He had a great birthday and loved all his gifts.

He even got a golf birthday cake. It was sure yummy too!

My handsome little boy is growing up too fast.

4th of July

2009-08-18T19:14:00.005-06:00

I know I am way behind but I'm trying to catch up here. I've got to before out little boy comes or else I'll never get caught up.

For the 4th we had a BBQ at my parents house and swam. We followed all that up with our "Parking lot of fire!" as we call it. It used to be just us and the Bishop family, maybe a few others, that would gather in the parking lot to light off our fireworks but it has grown to be a neighborhood thing and its kind of fun. Tons of people come, set up their chairs and light off their fireworks.

I'm not sure what Ashley was doing but I thought it was cute. She lined up the kiddie chairs and then placed a diaper on each chair except for the one she sat on.

After the kids swim in the pool they get a little cold and want to warm up in the jacuzzi. I love the picture of Allie kicking her feet up. It cracked me up when I saw her do that.

Ashley and Allie watching the fireworks together. Allie kept calling to her to sit by her. Ashley was a little nervous of the fireworks and would only sit with her for a little bit.

Taylor sat by her too. Allie absolutely loves Taylor. Its fun to watch them together.

Doug's trying to help her not be so scared of the fireworks

She was ok with the sparkler though

Taylor wanted in on all the action with the fireworks. There's our amazing fireworks show. Huge huh? The guys tried to make it more fun by doing all the bigger ones together. They were big enough for the kids but not so much for the adults. It was still fun though.

One exhausted little girl. She played hard all day. She would not take a nap, no matter what I tried, so she finally crashed at the firework show.

Kenzie and Taylor