We had a wonderful day celebrating our nation’s independence. The only thing that would have made it better is if Todd had been with us. It was just a great day of time with family, relaxing, and eating great food!

My mom and I fixed a big breakfast and then we just kind of chilled out. Hudson is still potty training (and things are going really, really well!), so we’ve been staying close to the house. I’m so happy I decided to potty train while we’re visiting my parents. Having an extra set of hands to occupy Hayes has been so great.

Hudson ran around my parents’ yard and played in the sprinkler and ate some watermelon. Does anything say summer time better than running through the sprinklers in your underwear while eating some watermelon?

Then Hudson wanted to play in the big baby pool in the backyard, so we got that all set up for him. It was a little cold, but he had a good time. My dad and I sat out there with him.

Hudson is so funny right now. He is very, very spirited and is constantly talking. He is always either asking questions or just providing commentary on stuff. Our biggest issue in the 3 year old stage is the back-talking. I know that this is payback for the way I behaved growing up.

 

But he is also so, so sweet. He explains things very well and is so tender-hearted. His little feelings get hurt so easily, so I always do my best to explain to him why he is in trouble or why I can’t pick him up and hold him right that second. I just love him so much!

On Monday, we were flipping channels on the TV and came across White Fang the movie. I remember seeing it in the theater as a kid and just crying my eyes out. But Hudson wanted to watch the wolves, so we watched it. He didn’t move for the whole movie. He absolutely loved it. So, of course, we have watched in 5 times in three days. When he came in from swimming today, he wanted to lie down on the floor and watch White Fang again.

After an amazing home cooked lunch by my mom (seriously amazing!), the boys went down for long afternoon naps and my parents and I all got a nap, too. It was glorious. When we woke up, we got everyone fed again and got dressed to go watch the fireworks in Muncie.

The boys wore adorable outfits from my friend She She Made and I wore a red and white striped tank from Blithe Boutique

We had to go a couple of hours before the fireworks started, so I was worried that the boys would be so tired and so bored before the fireworks began. But they really did great. It helped that they had late naps and they had lots to entertain them. Hudson loves to play games on the iPhone.

And Hayes just kind of toddled around our little area and smiled at everyone. I couldn’t believe that he stuck it out for so long.

And both boys loved the fireworks. Hudson went bananas went they started going off. He could not stop laughing! He was dancing around and just laughing. I couldn’t believe how excited he got.

And I fully expected Hayes to get upset over the loud noise, but he just sat and looked up at the sky the whole time.  I was so excited that they both loved it so much.

I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful holiday! I have a delicious summer dessert recipe to share with y’all later!

 

We’ve been having so much fun at KK and Poppie’s house.

Just a little background for those of you that don’t know… My family moved from Louisiana (where I’d lived my whole life) to Indiana when I was in the 8th grade. When I finished high school, I went back to college in Louisiana and then two years later, my parents moved from Indiana to South Carolina. So when I went “home” to visit my parents, I went to South Carolina. And then when I finished college, I moved to Columbia, South Carolina to attend grad school at USC. And then two years later I met Todd and the rest is history.

A year after I moved to South Carolina, my parents moved to Dallas, where they lived until last spring. Last April, they moved back to Indiana. So, now when I go “home,” I’m actually going back to where I finished high school.

Having said ALL of that, it’s such an odd feeling going back to the place where I spent my high school years after ten years of being away from there. But I love visiting here. We spend most of our time just hanging out because that’s just the kind of family we are. But I love that it’s quiet and relaxing.

On Saturday morning, we took the boys to the farmer’s market and then decided to go to the duck pond before it got to be too hot outside.

Right when we pulled up to the duck pond on the Ball State campus, the ducks started running up to us. Kind of funny… kind of scary.

 

Hudson was so excited to see the ducks (and geese), but then really didn’t want to get too close to them.

 

We didn’t want Hayes to get down and walk because there was duck poop everywhere and he had taken off his shoes in the car, but we wanted to see if he cared at all about the ducks. He was kind of excited and kind of oblivious.

After the duck pond adventure, we went on a grocery store adventure. Hudson really wanted Hayes to ride in the “truck” with him, and I think Hayes was happy to do it.

It’s very rare that Hudson wants to hug Hayes or sit with him for a picture. He’s really just not all that sweet to his brother very often. I think it’s because he doesn’t like all the attention he gets from us when he’s sweet to Hayes. But when they were riding in the buggy, he really wanted Hayes to smile for the camera with him. He kept putting his arm around Hayes. And I did give him a lot of attention and told him how sweet he was being to Hayes.

Last night, after Hayes was in bed, we put on The Music Man for Hudson to watch. I had a feeling he’d love some of the songs. The Music Man is one of my all time favorite movies. The music is so clever and so well-written. And I just knew Hudson would love the band. He absolutely loved the opening song “he’s a music man, he’s a what, he’s a what…”

This morning after church, we went to lunch with some friends and both boys came home and took great naps. Hayes has so much fun here because there are new toys to play with and lots of space to walk around. He was so happy when he woke up from his nap, but kept waiting for Hudson to get up.

After supper tonight, they went outside to play in the sprinkler. Hayes wasn’t a fan at all.

But Hudson was having the time of his life. He absolutely loved it!

Even though it’s really hot outside, we’ve been going on a pretty long walk every morning just to get everyone outside for a little bit and try to prevent summer cabin fever. I am such a hot-natured person, but I don’t mind when I’ve got this sweet baby keeping me company.

And this is what we have on tap for tomorrow. Pray for us! Potty training boot camp starts at 8:00 a.m.

 

*And I just had to share this picture! Our friends Lindsey and Joey came into town last week before I left for Indiana. All of our friends from our original newlyweds Sunday school class got together with all the babies for dinner. I was working an event at the church that night, so I didn’t have Hudson and Hayes with me. And my good friend Emily had already gone home by the time I got there, so everyone isn’t in this picture. But I do love this picture of all of the girls with their sweet babies. (Two other babies besides mine aren’t pictured.) So fun that all of the babies have been born in the last few years. I hope they all grow up to be great friends!

 

Caroline and Evelyn Claire, Jessica and Julia, Tina (baby Lilla stayed home), Allyson (Josh was sleeping), Lindsey and Campbell, and me

We had a great weekend. On Friday morning, we met my friend Anna and her girls at the zoo. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… our zoo membership has paid for itself about three times already. I’m so thankful we have such a wonderful zoo in Columbia.

We got to the zoo at 10:00 a.m. and it wasn’t too hot yet, but it got hot quickly. The boys were excited to be there and we made the rounds looking at all of our favorite animals before stopping to have some pizza there.

We saw this little sign next to one of the cages and Anna and I just laughed. She told me to make sure and get a picture of it. Can y’all even imagine? Older siblings helping the father care for the newborn. While the mother does what? Sleeps, probably!

We had a great time at the zoo. Hayes is always just kind of along for the ride- smiling at everyone and having a good time. Hudson, on the other hand, was not happy about leaving the zoo and if we hadn’t had the stroller he probably would have just stayed there watching the bears play.

On Friday night we watched the Gamecocks play Arkansas in the College World Series. It was a nail biter, for sure, and we were up really late. College World Series week always comes with really late bed times. But the Gamecocks won and we’re so excited to be playing in the finals!

On Saturday morning we went to Hudson’s classmate’s birthday party at the park. Todd and I saw a lot of our friends and their kids, which is always fun in the summer time when we’re not seeing folks as often.

He is such a cute little boy and always has on a red cowboy hat. So, he naturally had a cowboy party.

Hudson was very excited about seeing his friends and more excited about the cookie and cupcakes.

We had a fun, low key day around the house. The boys took naps and I did a lot of reading and a lot of laundry. My allergies have been getting the best of me again, so I liked having some time to unwind at home. And no baseball!

Before Todd and I went out that night, I tried to get some pictures of Hayes and me, but he never would look at the screen and smile. He’s always checking out the ceiling fans!

That night Todd and I had a little date night. We just went to Moe’s and then to a movie. We joked that on the night when we don’t have any kids with us we still choose to go to a kid-friendly restaurant. But it was fun!

After Moe’s, we went to see Rock of Ages. I had seen the stage performance a while back, so I knew a good bit about the show, but I was still excited. I really liked it! It wasn’t my favorite movie of all time, but it was so much fun! I wanted to get up and start singing along.

We thought Tom Cruise did a great job. We just kept laughing at him. And Catherine Zeta Jones was fantastic! Loved her in “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” So great!

And I loved all the cameos from the former rockers during “We Built This City/ We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Have y’all seen it? Did you see Debbie Gibson? And the cameo from Constantine was neat, too. I’d definitely rent this one and see it again so I can sing along at home!

Have y’all seen Rock of Ages? Did you enjoy it?

Are you watching the College World Series? Go Gamecocks!