July Already?!?!

I'm a serious SUMMER BUM! Once my last day of school hit, I was for sure in summer vacation mode the next day! I can't believe it's July 20th already. This summer is flying by :(. I really have the BEST schedule and am grateful I get to spend the entire summer with my kiddos. They are growing, growing, growing. As I look back at pictures from just a few months ago, I realize the difference in their sizes and faces. Tristan finished up his t-ball season June 30th. We spent the 4th of July at home with my mom and Ryan and Amanda. Since it fell on a Sunday, we had church most of the day anyhow...and YES I dressed everyone in red, white and blue lol. That leads us to July 7th...my mom and I took the kids to Sea Breeze for the day. It was the most fun relaxing trip. Then we celebrated Tyler's 5th birthday July 9th. I guess that leads us to July 14th...we went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant with a TON of our family from NY and UT. It was really nice to have 3 and 1/2 rows all full with family. Friday July 15th, the kids and I went up to meet my mom and Ry and Amanda at Keuka Lake State Park. We camped there for the night, then went to our "Drake/Fowler" reunion haha...Aunt Tammy's Lake House for the entire day. It was awesome seeing everyone and their families.
Today was 94 degrees and WAY hot and humid! Tomorrow is supposed to be over 100 and there is a heat advisory to stay inside in the AC! I'm thinking that's where we will be all day!
Jimmy finally passed his BEC exam part of the CPA exams. He is taking his LAST...I repeat LAST (phew) one August 4th for AUD....I am praying that he passes the first time. This will be the end of an era let's just say. It's been a struggle for our family as well as him to study and do this. I am proud of him for sticking with it...and taking that dang BEC exam THREE times haha! Poor guy!

T-Ball

I got suckered into coaching this year...so of course I suckered in Jimmy too! Tristan has done a great job so far this year...other than being benched a whole inning because he threw a fit at school and wouldn't stay when Nana dropped him off!

The pictures of Brinley...are pretty much...Brinley...a little spoiled brat and if she doesn't get her way...she throws a HUGE fit! Oh am I in for it when she starts talking more!

Jimmy's 30th Birthday

I invited a bunch of people to go to Koto Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. My kids were so upset because usually the birthday person gets to pick their dinner. They weren't too thrilled to have a babysitter on their daddy's birthday! So we improvised and did a birthday breakfast, then made him a quick cake so we could sing him happy birthday! Let's just say all I had in the cupboard was Halloween funfetti cake with orange frosting hahaha....it was a beauty!
Koto was neat. We sat at Hibachi tables and the sous chef cooked our meals in front of us. After, a few of us hit friendlies for some ice cream lol.
The gift was the best part! I searched for weeks to find an ipad for him. I FINALLY got one and was super excited. What does Jim do? The minute he opens it...he says..."Do you know how many tree stands you could have got me?" Great!!! :)

March-April

We celebrated Dr. Suess's Birthday by eating green eggs and ham at home! The kids thought it was the best thing ever...and we ended up making blue eggs a few days later lol.

We went down to visit Jimmy's mom in Shippensburg, PA for Easter. What a drive! The kids colored eggs, frosted cookies and did an easter egg hunt. Tristan especially was devistated to leave. He loves to play with Hunter and misses him a lot.

My BABY is TWO!!!

I would upload some more pictures, but for some reason my computer takes forever!!! My little princess turned 2 on Sunday. We had a small family party at our house for her. She had a huge yummy cake done by Jimmy's co-worker. Brinley turned her head for just about EVERY picture taken. I gave her a little pink rocking horse first, big mistake! She decided she had to sit on the horse to open all her presents LOL. She's something else. We love her so much and are so very grateful to have a little girl. Everything was of course PINK...it's so much fun seeing girl toys around now after having all boy toys for the past 5 years. Tristan & Easton are great big brothers...if they are not taking care of her...they are rough-housing with her hehe.
We love you our little Brinley Grace <3<3<3. Happy 2nd Birthday Doll!!!

Santa Baby...

As usual...Santa always spoils our family. He was VERY good to us all this year hehe...I think it gets more exciting as the kids get older. There's nothing better than the anticipation of going to sleep Christmas Eve and waiting for Santa to come!!!

This year Ryan & Amanda & Grandpa all spent the night so they would be here bright and early for breakfast and presents. Christmas Eve brought us all some special pajamas and a movie to watch together. After we read "The Night Before Christmas" together, we watched "Dispicable Me".

Christmas morning we had our traditional yummy cinnimon rolls..mmm

I got the honor of opening the first Christmas present....Jimmy got me a DSLR camera that I've been wanting and he wanted me to be able to take pictures with it :)

This year we celebrated alone. Ryan & Amanda had dinner plans with her family. My mom made the YUMMIEST turkey dinner yet and we pretty much lounged. We opened toys and put them together...then opened more toys and put them together lol. Brinley was not thrilled to open gifts. She actually left 3 of them unwanted by the tree all day. I left one of them to see how long it would last without someone tearing it open....well....we opened it yesterday finally!!! I was tempted to save it for her birthday...oh well!

Christmas day just isn't what it used to be. Celebrating with aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins... These days everyone has their own growing families. So many of our loved ones have passed away. My Grandma Drake, my dad, my nana, my uncle mark....families have changed structures....I guess it's time for new traditions to begin with my own little family.

I love my family so much and am one lucky girl to have them.