Easter, Dog & Soccer!

Man, time gets by me sometimes. Easter has come and gone and Jacob's birthday is next week...he's going to be 5! FIVE?! What?! In any case, here are the Easter pictures. We had a great weekend (not to mention a hugely successful Garage Sale the day before Easter!).

Below the Easter Pics is Hobbs, our new Puppy dog...or not so much a puppy! And then a silly picture from Soccer.

Our days are getting busy with all that April and May bring. We hope you and your friends and family are doing well and enjoying the spring weather.

Happy little guys.

Jacob striking his GQ pose.

Hunting for Eggs at Gigi's house

Gigi and the boys

Laura, Mom and Jenny

Our newest Family Member - Hobbs.
Full Golden Retriever, trained, 3 years old - Wonderful!

Soccer Team Silly Picture! That would be Jacob on the bottom left!

Blue Angel VIP's!

We went to the Tuscaloosa Air Show on Saturday. The weather was PERFECT, the traffic was TERRIBLE, and the Blue Angel VIP Passes Marcus got us were a Once in a Lifetime Opportunity. Here are a few pictures from our big adventure. And yes, I want to be a Blue Angel when I grow up...pretty sure that would be a rockin' job!

After the show we got to take a picture with the pilots on the runway in front of jet #6.

We even snagged some front row seats in the Blue Angel VIP tent. Most of the people we were sitting with were the Parents, Spouses and Kids of the team, or maintenance staff for the jets. We were blessed to get to hang out with them for the day.

This is Fat Albert. It's the C-130 plane carrying everyone and everything related to the Blue Angels other than the 7 jets and their pilots. Jacob LOVES Fat Albert!

Diamond Formation - My awesome Photography. Dustin tells me I should move to Aviation Photography...
Uh no! I'm going to be a Blue Angel, remember?

This is Marcus, Dustin, Jacob, Allen and Jake with Maj. Brendan Burks, who happens to be the pilot for Fat Albert (the plane Jacob loves so much). Marcus is friends with Brendan and he's who got us the VIP passes.

Hanging out on the Runway waiting to meet the Blue Angels team.

Heading home. Walking back from the Runway and off to find our car.

The Beach and Our Retro Toys

The first picture you see below is Dylan on a little bike. That was actually my bike when I was a kid (I even remember riding it). To think that 30 years later my little guy is riding it is pretty cool.

Last week was Spring Break in our home. Fortunately, I was able to go to the beach (Perdido Key) with my mom and the boys for Wed-Sat. We had a great time. Each year the beach trips change so much. They go from pre-baby wonderful vacations to a little more on the hectic side! But, the joy I get out of watching the boys on the beach, or at the pool, or sitting on the balcony are far worth the pains of chaos in-between.

Jacob is a serious beach boy. Loves it all. Plays on his own so great. Makes friends with any kids he can find. Tans easily and doesn't burn. Dylan needed some adapting time. A couple of times he stuck his head down in the sand. Face First. It pretty much made mom and I cringe! But he loved the beach and I look forward to taking him back. That little fair skinned boy will have to be watched a bit more in the sun!

The last picture is of Jacob and his cousins, Ben and Dillon. They are twins and 4 years old also. The three of them together, as you can see, was quite the entertainment! This was their "silly" pose.

Dylan on my toy bike.

Jacob and Dylan on the beach.

Gimpy the Blue Herron. He hangs out at the Shrimp Basket in Perdido Key and has for 3 years. He had an injury a while back and has just taken to the folks that eat on the deck. He was literally about 2 feet behind my back when mom realized he was there. I have a weird facination with big birds, so I thought it was pretty cool. Jacob was pretty convinced he was going to attack us!

Jacob at the pool.

Dylan rolling in the sand. He must have just loved the way it felt? As long as he was happy!

One morning we went to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. Mom had never been there before, but Jacob and I have been several times before with Dustin. It's the home base for the Blue Angels, which Jacob loves to death. He claims that's what he's going to do when he grows up. We're going to see them at the Tuscaloosa Air Show in 2 weeks. So this is our little soldier in front of the huge flag by the 4 Angels IN the museum.

Ok, so this picture is nothing but my own little happy place! One afternoon during the kids naps I got to go to the beach by myself. Just me, my book and my Mountain Dew. So this will be the picture I go back to when I need a break!
Our little goofballs! Ben, Jacob and Dillon on Sunday night at Heath and Dedra's house. They were striking their silly pose for us. Oh the energy they burned!

Fingers, Snow & Bingo

Last Sunday morning we had snow....around 3 inches I guess! It was great snowball snow and it was the first time Dylan has been able to get out in snow and play with it. He LOVED looking out the window and seeing it snow. He talked and talked and talked and pointed and shrilled with joy about it. Outside was fun for about 1 minute until he got wet and his hands and nose got cold! But then he didn't want to go inside. So it was mixed emotions for that little guy. Jacob Loved it and wanted to be outside the entire time the snow was here. He and I had fun throwing snowballs out into the street (sorry neighbors for the slick spot by our house!) and watching them bust. Stomping through the slush in rain boots...oh the joys of being a little boy.

One day before that, Saturday, Jacob had an accident and smashed the heck out of his finger. I bought an umbrella for the backyard (think 9ft wooden heavy umbrella in a box). It was propped up and he was messing with it. It started to fall over and he tried to catch it and it smashed his nail on the metal strip that separated the carpet from the kitchen floor. Monday the Dr. drilled a little hole in the nail to relieve some of the swelling and pressure. And I've had to do it each night since to help relieve the pain. NOT fun, but it feels good to know I can do something to help it. It looks terrible and we're anxiously awaiting for that little nail to fall off. The Doctor was amazing with him (I even wrote him a thank you note). I think I would have cried harder than Jacob did!

Dylan is getting so big. He's 21 months old and talking so much now.
It's fun seeing him and Jacob playing together....of course with that comes fighting too!

It's hard to tell, but Jacob's eating a snowball here. He thought that was pretty cool.
(The cold snow was good for his finger swelling too! A bonus!)

Dylan stomping through the snow. He hated the mittens and kept pulling them off. I can't say that I blame him! they just dont make a lot of water proof gloves for hands that small!

The Snowman built by Jacob and Dustin. Jacob was calling the buttons "Belly Buttons"! He said, we need to find 3 Belly Buttons for him. Too Funny!

The trees in our yard. Me trying to pretend to be a photographer :)

Family Game Night last Friday night.
Jacob loves playing Alphabet Bingo and "Being In Charge" - aka - calling out the letters.

Camera & Flowers

I just had 2 little things to add today...

1. Dustin got me some very cheerful flowers for Valentines Day. That would be almost 2 weeks ago. Never in the history of cut flowers did I know they could last this long and still look so perfect. I am beginning to question if they are fake? Nah, they're real, but I'm still amazed they look this good after 2 weeks!

2. I got this idea out of a magazine, so I can't claim credit, but I tried it and love it. I like to keep my camera in my purse, but my camera big is a little too big to put in my purse. So I took one of Dylan's baby socks and put the camera in it. It fits perfectly, it's cute and soft and it protects the camera (and is easily washable when it gets dirty!). Certainly a tip I wanted to share!

Remembering Jacob's 1st Birthday

So I was looking through some old videos with the kids and I found this one. It's Jacob's first birthday. Both of my kids went full throttle with the 1st birthday smash cakes. Yes, it's fun and makes for excellent pictures, but just remember that a serious bath has to take place afterwards!

Jacob's First Birthday Video:

Happy Birthday Dustin!

Today is Dustin's Birthday. Given he had his gallbladder removed on Wednesday, we didn't get to do too much partying (I know, hush, as if we really "party" anyway, right?). But Jacob and I made "faux petit fours" and we had a picnic lunch down by the waterfall in Old Towne Helena. Then we played on the playground nearby. It was such a beautiful day!

Our Faux Petit Fours!

Picnic Lunch!

Throwing rocks in the water was the highlight for the boys.

This would be Dylan pitching a fit because the rock throwing had to come to an end.

Jacob looking for good rocks to throw.

Dylan on the playground

Jacob and Gigi playing on the playground.