Family Camp Out Night

At the beginning of the summer Cody and I talked about having a family camp out night every Friday if the weather was nice, and we were actually home. Well now that summer is half over, we finally had our first family camp out night, and it was SO MUCH FUN!! We started out the evening eating pizza and watching a movie. (I actually attempted a Chicago style pizza this time around. A great friend recommended her recipe) After the movie we headed outside, and the boys built a campfire. The boys love gathering sticks to help Daddy. The boys played for a bit, and we made s'mores. Eli doesn't enjoy eating s'mores because his hands get messy, but gobbles them up if someone else will hold it:) After s'mores the lightning bugs were out. This was the first time the boys have caught lightning bugs since they were actually awake (and outside) when it was dark. They had a BLAST!! We finally had to cut them off from catching anymore because it was getting almost impossible to open the jar without one flying away. Then we read stories in the tent and went to bed. I will definitely lock this away in my memory box!

 

Boys and their love for sticks:)

Yes, this daddy did just have a spinal tap earlier that morning, and still camped out with us:)

Eli is becoming quite the photographer

trying out fun effects on my camera

Eli's first lightning bug

one of Cal's first lightning bugs

Things I will forget...

I'm hoping to randomly post things that I know I will forget once these boys are men. So here we go...

 Cal's obsession with fruit! Cal loves any type of fruit, but his usual favorite is blueberries (pronounced bee-u-berries):) He loves them mixed with vanilla greek yogurt. Definitely not a texture kid like his mama. He would choose fruit over an after dinner treat most days. It's nice to have a child who enjoys eating healthy. 'Specially after I interviewed Eli last year on his first day of preschool, and he stated his favorite food was "junk food."

Their love of "shows" when they first wake up in the morning. We enjoy 30 minutes of screen time and snuggles every morning. I'll definitely miss this the 2 days a week we go to preschool next fall! Savoring every moment of it now:)

Summer Lovin'

We've spent the first half of this summer either hanging out with friends at their houses or at parks. I'm so thankful that God has blessed the boys and I with these special friendships!

Our garage sale brigade

Baby Olivia Jameson

They love her to pieces

Babysitting Baby Olivia Marshall:) 

Baby Ty Ty

Eli bouncing around and Zack's house

Seriously!?! How cute is he?

Eli driving and Cal hanging around

Camping at Lake Loramie

Our family, my sister, dad, and my brother's family went camping for Father's Day weekend. Poor Cody had herpangina (a mouth virus with blisters) and slept in the tent most of the weekend, while the rest of us enjoyed the camping experience. This was our first time camping with my brother and his family, and the boys were thrilled to have their cousin Zachary with us! I think he may have felt a little suffocated as the boys wouldn't leave his side all weekend. We enjoyed eating(Auntie Mel mad the most delicious homemade mint ice cream), playing on the playground, throwing rocks in the lake, a chilly swim, playing games, a Sunday morning puppet show, and chatting around the camp fire. 

Cousin Love

one of the many trips to the playground

Cal taking the swing ride of his life! The highest he has ever gone on a big boy swing

A boy's life...

I finally was able to use the solar light I received last year for Christmas:)

Auntie Mel's Guide Dog in training- JEWEL

Mel and John

Boys helping take out the trash

They love helping build fires

The campground offered a puppet show on Sunday morning that presented the Gospel!

kind of creepy

and who can go to the park without doing American Ninja Warrior?