My how time flies!

6 years ago today, I was blessed with Austin. He is growing into such a fine young man that I am very proud of! Austin, I love you!!!

The day started with breakfast in bed for Austin. He chose waffles...yummy!

Then came the best part. The surprise...he was going on a shopping spree at Bass Pro Shop. He was so excited he was shaking! This day was all about Austin. He got to choose the songs we listened to on the radio and all the other details that came along with a "family day!" We spent 2 hours shopping for various fishing items. It was such a hard choice!

Austin also got to pick our lunch location. He wanted seafood (surprise, surprise!!). So we went to a fun restaurant, Anglers. It was a great start to a 6th Birthday!!!

Madi Sue Zanne

Austin proudly announced yesterday that he knew his sister's whole name. When asked, he response was, "Her name is Madi Sue Zanne." I tried to explain that Suzanne was one name, he just couldn't get it. And it really upset him when we informed him her first name was Madilyn. He wondered why didn't we just name her Madi if that was what we were going to call her. It was adorable!

Splish Splash!

Although, the weather wasn't totally cooperating, we decided to head on to the beach. With not many days of summer left, I just wanted to fit it in a few more times. So off we went. We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours until dark clouds finally pushed me to the car. As we headed over the bridge, it cleared up so we decided to go to the Navarre Splash Park. The had a blast playing in the water as I stood under my umbrella...frustrated, but determined that it was going to be a good day. I was sadly mistaken because shortly after Austin left to play on the equipment, he fell from the top when his feet slipped. It knocked the wind out of him, but thankfully we walked away unharmed. Maybe we'll have better luck next time!

Have I mentioned....

Austin LOVES fishing?!?! He lives and breathes fishing and everything it involves! Kiera and David were kind enough to take him to the Branch's pond while we visited North Carolina. Austin caught alot of fish and was absolutely adorable!

What country are we in?

"What country are we in?" That was the question Austin asked on the way to North Carolina. Every prayer while we were there included, "Thank you for letting us make it in one day." For some reason to Austin, Kiki and David are countries away! This is our 2nd trip to North Carolina this summer. We have had such fun times while we were there. On the first trip, we spent most days sleeping in and hanging out and most nights hanging out at the pool.

The second time around we had Nana with us. We shopped, cleaned Kiera's house, and just enjoyed being together. The first night we were there, Madilyn somehow got a hold of a bottle of powder and before we realized what was going on she had it everywhere (and was very proud of herself).

David took Austin fishing and he had a blast! Later that night, Kiera's friend Sarah brought over some catfish for Austin to let go in a pond near her house. Austin thought that was really cool.

Thanks Kiera and David for letting us hang out with you!!! We had so much fun and can't wait to meet Tyler! Love you both!

Kentucky

The second leg of our trip was Kentucky for Rachel and Gabe's wedding. We arrived there on Wednesday. On Thursday, we had a surprise baby shower for Kiera. She was very shocked...we actually were able to keep it a secret. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Aunt Mary Alice's house and stalled Rachel while everyone prepared for her Redneck Wedding Party.

We had a blast!!! It was a "girls only" event. We all dressed in trashy
clothes and Madilyn was complete in her diaper (she fit the part perfectly!). We played games and laughed and ended the night with matress rides, pulled by the 4-wheeler. The boys came over the join in on the fun and Austin had a blast!

4-wheeler matress rides

Yee-Haw!

We start them early around these parts!! Mow, baby, mow!

On Friday, we hung out with the family and then headed to Bowling Green for the rehearsal dinner. Saturday morning we had a bridesmaid luncheon, came back to get dressed, and then headed to the wedding. The wedding was beautiful and it was nice to see all the family. We went to church on Sunday and rested up before we headed to North Carolina.



Rachel and I

Madi and Abigail (Nick's daughter)

(Grady, Kate, Aunt Kate, Madi, and Jane)

Sit, Sit, Daddy (Cincinnati!!)

It's been a few years since we have visited Cincinnati. We had so much fun. We arrived on July 4th and watched fireworks from the back porch. On Saturday, they had fireworks at a local park and we sat on blankets watching the sky. Both of the kids really enjoyed it!

We spent the days playing cards, shoppings, and hanging out around the house. It was very relaxing and fun to watch the kids interact with the Ohio folks!

On Monday, we headed to Kings Island at 9:00am. We spent the day riding rollercoasters, rides, and watching shows. We had a picnic lunch outside the park. After lunch we rode a few more rides and then headed over to the water park for about an hour. Austin LOVED the rollercoasters, especially the Vortex and The Beast. We rode them over and over again. Austin got Nana on a couple of rides and D on the water rides. It was so much fun!!! After watching fireworks, we were headed back home around 10:30 pm. It was everything I remembered it being as a child and hope to create many more memories there with my kids.

Run, Kermit, Run!!!!

While swimming in the pool, Austin discovered a toad in the skimmer. The poor thing didn't know what hit him. Austin was thrilled to have a "pet," but he refused to let him out of the pool. He said that frogs love water! After playing with him for a good part of an hour, I started to notice the frog flipping over floating belly up.

We decided it might be a good idea to let him out of the water after I explained what "belly up" meant. Luckily, the frog was rescued just in time and after a little time in the sun, he happily hopped away!

One Down

This was Austin's last paper that he brought home from school. His one wish for summer was to have a picnic and go swimming. While in North Caroline with Kiera, we marked both off the list at once (and the picture is proof because Austin always says that I never let him do anything he wants to do!)