Beach Trip

The morning after Justin finished his step 2 boards, we headed down to the beach for a much needed vacation! Justin had been studying like crazy for his test so it was so nice to have some time with him at the beach! We had a wonderful time after we got into our routine and got the kids settled in! 

 Owen LOVED the beach and buildind sandcastles!

 Love this boy!

The kids loved playing with seaweed!

Feeding the seagulls with daddy.

The kids found a dead (hard as a rock) seahorse! They enjoyed watching and holding that thing for the longest time!

Little miss!

Grace Ann enjoying some snacks! :)

Owen learned how to boogie board!! He was so proud of himself!

Daddy was a very good teacher! :)

 

With three little ones, we knew we needed some type of shelter from the sun so we bought two of these beach tents! THEY ARE AWESOME!! They don't have a bottom in them so the kids can get out of the sun but can still play in the sand.

We also bought a blow up pool to take down to the beach for the little ones! We also brought it up to the house too and the kids enjoyed playing in it!

Justin found this really awesome splash pad in front of one of the souvinear stores! It was free and for a long time we were the only ones there! It was a great afternoon activity for the kids! Walker LOVES water and really enjoyed the splash pad! :)

 

 Justins mom and her husband came to the beach with us so we got to go on a date!! It was so much fun!!

 This was our first time going to the beach as a family of five! We are going back in September to celebrate a friends 10th wedding anniversary! Lots of our friends and their children are going so we are super excited!! That trip will be at the end of Justin's audition rotation in Huntsville and a very difficult two months for me and the kids. Come on September!! :)

4th year!

Justin offically started his 4th year of medical school this morning!!! I  really can't believe that we are so close to graduation! In just a little over 10 months the Mr. will be a Dr.! I am so proud of him! :)

I started taking a picture of the kids in their jammies on the morning of his first day of school! That first year, we had just moved 5 hours away from any family and friends with a two year old and an eight week old baby! Now we are closer to friends and family but we are so eager to see where this journey takes us next! Justin will find out where he matched on March 20th and will graduate on May 9th!!

Walker is One

This adorable little boy is one!! How on earth??!! His birthday is the day after Owen's so we just decided to have a very small family party for his birthday this year. It was very low stress and super fun! 

Trying to recreate a Pintrest idea...Ha! Still turned out pretty cute! How could it not??!!

 I made Walker a birthday banner that I hope he can use for many more birthdays!

 Family picture...about as good as it gets these days!

 Soooo excited about his new toy! :)

 Time for cake! Once again, Justin made the birthday cake! If the medical school thing doesn't work out, I think he may have a back up plan!

 This kid loves some cake!! He pooped blue for the next three days!! :)

Here are some things about Walker at one year that I don't want to forget!!

• He is finally sleeping through the night!! FINALLY!! :)
• He LOVES his brother and sister and they equally LOVE him back!
• He is still nursing in the mornings when he is really tired!
• Just started walking
• Loves music and dances when he hears music
• Can say momma, dada, bubba, ball, uh-oh, papa
• Is such a happy and content baby (unlike his sister! ;))
• Makes the sound of a car when he is playing with toy cars
• Loves bread, fruit, pancakes, and most foods that we offer him!
• Does great in the car!

Owen is Five

 How in the world is this little guy five?! He had been talking for months about having a police birthday party so we took that idea and went with it! It was so much fun decorating for his police party!! We celebrated his 5th birthday the weekend before since Walker's birthday is the day after Owen's.  It's pretty tricky having two birthdays a day apart! I'm not sure how we will celebrate the boys birthdays every year, but I do know that having two seperate parties a week apart have just about worn me (and our families that traveled to Anniston two weeks in a row) completly out! However, I think that the boys enjoyed their special days and each party was a complete success! :)

 Officer Owen started out his party day with a trip to the Lamar's donuts! No police birthday party is complete without a dozen donuts!!

 

 Annual birthday pancake picture!

 

Front door decoration!

 

Did I mention how fun it was to decorate for this party?! Owen and I had some fun decorating in the driveway before the party! Notice the police tape? Ya, we were the partents putting "police line do not cross tape" all over our front, and back yard! After we put it up in the front yard, cars would slow down and drive very slowly past our house. We had to have Nonna bring some balloons to put on the mailbox so the neighbors would'nt think there was a crime scene at our house. :)

 

Party favor bags! Each bad had a police badge, a little notebook for "tickets", and handcuffs.

 

We had so much fun with a photo booth outside!!

 

Walker and Grace even had some fun in the photo booth!

 

LOVE this picture of Owen and his friend Izzy!

Their expressions are hilarious!

 

We made a jail out of a refrigerator box we got from Lowe's!

 

 Needless to say, the jail was a hit with all the kids!!

Justin made Owen's birthday cake again and did an awesome job!!

 

All of the kids having target practice with water guns!

 

Playing red light green light...police style! If you don't stop, Officer Owen had to send you to jail!

This little man stole the show while Owen was opening presents! :)

 

And this little convict was so precious in her black and white stripped outfit!

 

A super fun birthday with super friends!

Easter 2014

We had a wonderful Easter at our church and then met family in Guntersville for a picnic! I saw our sweet neighbor out before church, so we asked her to snap a quick picture of us before we headed out to church. I was shocked that all three kids are looking at the camera! Ha! 

Before Walker was born, Owen and Grace Ann used mine and Justin's childhood Easter baskets. Now that we have three little ones, I wanted them to have their own "forever" Easter baskets! I looked EVERYWHERE for the perfect basket and finally ended up finding these at Target! I wanted their baskets to have their name on them, so I sewed and monogrammed their names on some fabric to make a new liner! I'm really happy with how they turned out and I hope they will use these baskets for years to come! :)

Grace Ann is Three!

Our sweet girl turned three this past weekend! We celebrated her birthday Hello Kitty style with some family and sweet friends! She was so excited about her birthday and really understood that her party was for her! 

 Justin made her Hello Kitty cake!

 She had been telling us for weeks that she wanted cupcakes and cake...so cupcakes and cake she got! :)

 We let her pick the menu: Meatballs, cheese, fruit, and chips! Ha!

 Sweet friends decorating Hello Kitty masks. Grace Ann seriously colored one line and was done.

 Her friends enjoyed coloring their masks...

 The finished products!

 

 

We ended the party with a Hello Kitty pinata! So fun!  

 Some things about Grace Ann at three years old that I don't want to forget:
-She is still a Momma's girl!!
-She has been potty trained for about 10 months now! Like her brother, she was so EASY to potty train and has yet to have an accident at night! :)
- She is still not interested in watching T.V. or a movie! When we travel in the car and Owen is watching a movie, she wants me to cover her T.V. up with a blanket! She doesen't even want to see it!
- Loves to eat!! She loves candy and sweets, but will try most anything!
- She got her first bicycle for Christmas and loves to ride bikes with her big brother!
-Got her first pedicure a few months ago with me and Mimi
- She is my little shadow and loves to help with chores and run errands with me!
-She loves anything and everything girly! :)
-Loves baby dolls! Her favorite baby doll right now is Lulu! Lulu sleeps with her every night and goes on all road trips with her!

These are some pictures of Grace Ann at three years old.

She keeps us on our toes for sure, but we can't imagine our family without her! :)