Family Vacation!

Well, we just returned from our annual trip to Lake Gaston in North Carolina. This was our 7th year meeting Patti's side of the family for a week of fun on the lake. This location was about the half way point for us in Florida and the others in Jersey and New York. It is a 3 story log cabin on a beautiful lake with a dock and a beach area. Each family takes a turn cooking one night and we always end of the week with a fish fry from all of the fish that Phil has caught over the week. Raleigh had 5 cousins there to play with, so needless to say, we hardly saw him at all. He bossed them around the whole week, and they let him. They were so good to him. Thanks Shaye, Jake, Justin, Katie and Connor! Raleigh enjoyed doing some crafts with P.J and the kids. We had our annual Marina Burger the first night. (We really look forward to that) Bryan and I soaked in some sun and quiet time on a boat ride and Raleigh loved making castles in the sand by the lake. And of course, Hudson had to take his first fishing with Pappy picture. Hudson also got in one tooth and the start of another while we were gone.
Here are a few pics...

Happy Ending

Well, if you have read my sister's blog, you know that we had a long but good week. My dad's heart cath came back clean and he no longer has any blockages in his arteries! Truly a miracle from God. We left the kids with family Wednesday and just the four of us spent the day together. Considering the circumstances, we had a really good day. It hasn't been just the 4 of us in quite some time. Dad had a strict rule to NOT lift his head or move his legs for 4 hours after the procedure, so needless to say, Jen was on him constantly. We even had to spoon feed him his lunch! Too much fun... He kept telling Jen that he wasn't Drew, to stop feeding him so much so fast. I have the pictures from the day...





There was also a torrential down pour that day and I had to wade in my mom's rain boots to my van to get my stuff out. The water was up to my chins. And, on the Huddie home front, he has started sitting up on his own. He started out like this, propped up on the couch, and now he can sit all by himself. Good boy, Huddie! Raleigh is doing great with the potty! What a little man...

No longer waiting on tomorrow!

Well, my three year old is not longer holding out on me with the potty issue. Every time I would ask him if he wanted to go potty, he would say, "not today, tomorrow." Well, thank you Jesus, tomorrow is here! I started Thursday morning making him go every 30 minutes and giving him a pop-ice Popsicle everytime he went. I think he had 10 that day and another 10 on Friday, but by Friday afternoon he was wearing big boy undies. He looks too cute in them! He still has yet to poop, but we are working on that. Potty training Raleigh has got to be one of the best things I have done. I couldn't be more proud of him. What a big boy.

(The picture of Papa and Raleigh was taken in Papa's building. They were eating pretzel sticks and watching Cinderella. I know Dad likes to act like he puts the movies on for Raleigh, but I'm not too sure. You can decide. Raleigh could stay out there with him all day. One thing I don't have a picture of, Papa was mowing the yard when we returned from swimming and Raleigh jumped out of the van, yelled, "My Mower!", ran to the back yard, then came riding out on his little power wheels vehicle. He drove behind my Dad as he mowed the front lawn. How cute is that!)

A little Family time...

I celebrated my 29th birthday this week. Mom, Jen and Drew came up Monday and we took the boys swimming. Too much fun.
Wednesday, Bryan and I went to dinner and he got me a new camera at Best Buy. So, better quality pictures should be on the way. I had to order it because I wanted the blue camera :)
Then Saturday, Bryan, me and the boys went down and Mom prepared my annual birthday dinner. It usually consists of Fried Chicken, homemade noodles(to die for), conch peas, and a salad with homemade ranch. Well, in my effort to have a healthier lifestyle, we opted for Bar-B-Que chicken instead. It was delicious. Jen made a yummy homemade peach cobbler for dessert!
The boys had a great time playing with each other and Hudson loves watching them. He is quite the lover. If he gets within 6 inches of your face and you mention the word kiss, he will let you have it. Below are some pictures from this week and weekend. I hope you enjoy!

Hudson and Carmen

This is Hudson's Carmen! She has been watching him since I returned to school in March. She is a big part of the reason he his so happy all of the time. Her and her family have been so good to us. Her son, George, was in my class and she brought Hudson to graduation with her family and then took him to lunch afterwards.

Wrapping up another year!

Well, Raleigh has officially had his last day of school, which he totally doesn't understand. He woke up everyday this past weekend and asked if he had to go to school today, even though I told him he wouldn't be going back for a long time. My last day is not until Friday, so my Mom is watching him this week at her house. I sure do miss him. I miss him pouting because he can't have anymore goldfish, and I miss him asking me to lay with him for just a few minutes at bed time. Mom will bring him up Wednesday evening so that they can go to our 5th grade graduation. He always comes to school with me on the last day. Hudson's sitter's son is in my class, so he is coming with her. It will be nice to have both of my boys there! I am looking forward to the summer ahead...

Give me more Mom!

Hudson is such a big boy now! He has begun eating cereal and veggies. He has only had carrots so far, but he whines between every bite until he can see the spoon again. I can't believe how fast they grow.

I have to brag on me and Bryan just a bit. We are lucky enough to both have a personal trainer for about 26 sessions! We have both decieded that we will start making better choices and working to be the healthiest we can so that we are around to be with our boys for a long time. We usually go one after the other, tag teaming with the kids. I usually go first, so I tell Rob, the trainer, to go really hard on Bryan. It is fun to be sitting on the couch after the boys have gone to bed and talk about how sore our bums are or how it is hard to bend down to use the restroom! We are actually really enjoying it and I feel healthier already...