Surprise Gram!!

This past weekend we surprised my mom to celebrate her 50th birthday!  We took her to a house on Lake Oconee for a fun family weekend!  We spent lots of time outdoors playing on the lake, and enjoying David's boat.  Kylie even learned to kneeboard and loved it.  Once she learned how, we couldn't get her off!  Aiden loved the boat (the "driving boat" as he called it) and anytime we announced a boat ride, he was ready to jump on.  He loved driving the boat and reading each gage to us, telling us how deep it was, how fast we were going, etc.  Each morning we enjoyed the view and did a little fishing.  Gram caught a good size bass one morning and Ty wanted to "pet" it.  The kids played in the shallow water right off the bank, and they loved jumping off the dock.  Aiden would get a running start and leap into the water.  Jeff and Marcus took the kids for a ride in the paddle boat (the 2 of them and all 5 kids in a tiny boat was quite humorous) and the kids were eventually able to paddle themselves around.  We ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed spending time with Nana and Papa too.  We played cornhole, some board games and the guys played pool at night in the basement.  It was a great trip to celebrate a wonderful mom and grandma! 

Charlie Turns 1!

We visited the Coheley Home to celebrate Charlie's first birthday!  They had a pinata in their back yard, where each of the kids pulled strings instead of hitting it.  When the last string was pulled, all the candy fell out and the kids were so excited.  Ty was showing everybody his candy.  Notice Charlie walking behind Ty in the first picture.  He is on his feet and on the move- growing so fast!  He starred at everyone as we sang to him and he didn't like his first bite of cake, but later he ate it up.  We enjoyed celebrating his big day and visiting with friends!

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Swimming at Kristie's

Another swim day at Kristie's pool!

the boys and Kristie enjoying their Popsicles

Kristie takes the boys on a rocky float ride

Ty loves to swim with Kristie!

and jump to her!

We enjoy these summer days at Kristie's pool so much!

Independence Day

We celebrated Independence day by spending some time at Gram and Chief's house!  Payton, Kylie, and Marley came for a visit.  Chief made the kids blueberry & strawberry pancakes for breakfast.

After we ate, we headed to the pool to swim.  We brought all our squirt guns and Chief sprayed everyone with his blue soaker!  Payton, Kylie and I had swimming races across the pool, and Kylie won!

Payton was a good shooter, but I sprayed him good a few times.  Aiden and Marley liked playing in the shower.

Kylie and Aiden jumped in together 10+ times.  They even jumped over Chief's head one time.  Aiden loves jumping in the pool this year.

Mom and Ty took a nap and we played Wii and Kinect for a while.  Then we headed over to Community Bible Church for the fireworks show.  It was very crowded, but they put on a great show!  The boys loved the fireworks and were very impressed.

 

It was a fun filled day and a great way to celebrate our nation's Independence!

saying "Gram"

My mom chose "Gram" as her grandmother name and all 5 grand kids have had some trouble saying it.  The "gr" sound is difficult for most young kids.  She has always encouraged them to say it properly, and even offered a monetary incentive.  Aiden got his money when he said it when he was about 2 1/2.  Marley said it when she was 2 and was rewarded as well.  Ty has really been trying his best to say it, but instead of "Gram", what he actually says is "Dam".  He will call her from another room and yell it in almost 2 syllables; It comes out "Da-am"  When he sees a car like hers on the road, he'll say "Look, Dam car".  One time, he saw two cars that look like hers and he said, "Two Dam cars".  It is just impossible not to laugh when he talks about her and we constantly correct him, but it's just hilarious!

St. Simons Trip

This past weekend, we traveled to St. Simons Island for a beach vacation to celebrate Nannie's birthday!

When we first arrived, we decided to let the kids burn off some energy so we headed to the pool.  We swam for a while and came back to the condo for a nap.  Unfortunately that night, Ty woke up from his nap with a fever.  He had caught the virus that Aiden had earlier that week.  Jeff and I took turns staying at the condo with him to let him rest.  Nannie, Aiden and I spent some time at the beach where Aiden loved the calm shallow water.  We played in the sand and had a picnic lunch.  All of us were able to enjoy a birthday celebration dinner at a local restaurant.  Before we headed out, we stopped by a park to let the kids play and visit the beach one more time.  It was great to have a little get away and Ty is feeling much better now.