Potty Bootcamp

Benjamin is about to turn 3, so we figure it is time to kick the potty training up a notch, and get it over with. Hopefully, this will be the easiest kid yet. :) Only time will tell.

Happy 4th from Texas!

One evening, Andrew stayed home with Grandma, and the rest of us drove into Houston to see an Astros' game. What a stadium! It was brand-new and very nice, with a huge Kid Zone area for the boys to play when they got restless. That was by the 4th inning when all of their food was gone.

Could baseball be in their future?

On the 4th of July, we went to the boardwalk at Kema. There were lots of rides to go on, and games and food and lots of people, too. The boys loved it, especially the fireworks over the water at the end of the night. Thanks Papaw and Grandma for treating us to a such a special day!

Our first stop- the train, of course!

The five of us.

Sean carried Andrew around most of the day in the backpack carrier, and Andrew was very good. I don't know how Sean did it in the heat that day. What a trooper!

TEXAS- Galveston Bay

One day we took the boys to Galveston Bay to enjoy the beach. They loved playing in the sand and splashing in the waves. It was a lovely beach, but there was a significant amount of hurricane damage from a year or so ago.

Papaw and Benny

Aunt Heather and Thomas building volcanoes

Grandma and Andrew

Our trip to TEXAS!

We packed the kids up and flew to Texas for a week over the fourth of July. It was wonderful to spend a week together as a family with the whole Galiher clan at their new home in Texas! We arrived late at night with 3 very tired, but excited little boys. Sean handled the boys, while I managed all of our luggage. It was quite a sight navigating the airport.

Our favorite thing to do in Texas- swim!

The kids LOVED swimming in the pool, and went in several times a day, rain or shine. And boy did it rain a lot! The first 4 days there, it rained almost continuously, but the kids did not mind at all! Eventually, the sun did show up, and the weather was hot and muggy.

Sarah and Benjamin taking it easy.

Andrew swimming with Daddy.

The Galiher's have a beautiful new home, and have already settled into the southern lifestyle. People were so friendly there- they fit right in!

Checking out the fish with Uncle Ryan.

One night we went out for dinner at a nice place in Kema, Texas, right along the water. When we arrived, a Hurricane was expected a bit south of where we were, but eventually was named Tropical Storm Alex. In these photos you can see how windy and choppy the waters were at the start of the storm. The waves were huge!

Watching the storm brewing out on the water.

At the Beach

A weekend trip to one of our favorite beaches on Lake Michigan!

On the Merry-Go-Round

Our sweet baby- 8 months

Collecting rocks.

Summer Days

Thomas and buddy, Brayden making a water slide in our yard

Benjamin and buddy, Nathan

Thomas on the inflatable water slide

We have the best neighbors. What a blessing for Thomas and Benjamin to both have a buddy their age living right next door! This summer, we have enjoyed many lazy, hot summer nights hanging with our friends next door. And lucky for us, they have a new pool, and lots of fun other yard toys for us to enjoy.

Memorial Day

Over Memorial Day we had a full house of family. It was a fun, HOT weekend with the May family, and Ryan and Heather too. Thanks everyone for coming!

Saturday and Sunday were spent in the backyard playing with the hose, water table, and sprinklers. Nothing like freezing cold hose water to cool you off on a hot day.

Benj and Thomas splashing on the slip-n-slide.

Andrew keeping cool in the shade

Adrienne and Benj taking a reading break under the umbrella.

Nathan and Micah trying out the baby pool-slide combo that the boys rigged up with our play gym. It was so hot, that our generous neighbors actually ended up lending us their enormous inflatable water slide. This was a huge hit! Thanks Marvels!

Andrew and Eli- little buddies

Remembering May family and planting flowers