Look-A-Likes

Levi Casey

Ava Kate

Elle Alana

I can not even count the number of times that people have told me that Levi looks A LOT like Ava. I totally agree with them, but many of those people never knew Elle as a baby. I personally think that all three look very very similar at this stage. They all have round heads, big cheeks, blue eyes, and a good amount of brown hair. Either way, they are all the cutest babies I've ever ever ever seen!!!

Goin with the Flow

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Salado is about 25 minutes north of us and it holds a special place in our hearts. We love to go there during the summer and play in the creek that runs through the town. It is the perfect place to take the kids and the water is crystal clear and cool. I'm guessing it's spring-fed. Last night we took the family for the first time this summer. It was nice to get back to normalcy with our family. Levi is getting easier to take places and just goes with the flow. We stayed and played for over an hour and only had other people there for the first 15 minute or so, and then had the whole area to ourselves! There aren't many places left in our world where we can be out in natural, all alone, and for free!

Water Balloon Showdown

The other night it was hot. No big deal. This is Texas and it is summer. I had about four different packages of water balloons and it was time to break them out and take out some pent up frustration on my children. ha ha! Before dinner we marched outside and Shawn and I spent way too long just filling balloons with water. Then it was a free for all. The first one I threw bounced off of Shawn and landed at Levi's feet and splashed him. We all stopped and watched and he just got big eyes for a second and took and deep breath and then went back to just chillin! The girls got me a few good times and Shawn got me a lot of times. I think he really enjoyed throwing those things at me! I hit Shawn about 5 bazillion times and I think maybe one broke on him. I think there was a conspiracy in there somewhere but no way to prove it. It was a great way to cool off and try to make something fun come from that extreme Texas heat. If you haven't had a water balloon fight yet this summer, get to it!

A Great Day

On Wednesday, it was one of those days...and I mean that in a wonderful way. It began with an unplanned trip to the grocery store. Usually that is not a big deal at all, but I was taking my first solo trip anywhere with all three kids. We needed to go to HEB to get a few things in preparation for my parents coming this weekend. Making a long story short, I planned it just right and Levi and the girls were WONDERFUL! The girls mostly obeyed and stayed with me the whole time. Levi didn't make a single peep the whole time. The most he did was when his eyes got big when I had to push the buggy over some bumpy areas. It could not have gone better.

Oh no! Baby left at the buggy drop off! I laughed at myself taking this picture as cars drove by. I wonder what they were thinking.

Later that day, the doorbell rang. Usually if the doorbell rings, it's a salesperson. Boo. But this time, the person was holding flowers!!! My first thought was oh yeah, a neighbor got flowers but isn't home so now I get to hold onto them until they get home. (This has happened before with a huge bouquet of roses...so sad!) Anyway, the flowers were for ME! And even better than that, they were from one of my best friends in Tennessee!!!! She was sending me a birthday bouquet and it was of course totally unexpected! They are so pretty and it just made my day! As you can tell, Levi thinks they are pretty too. I may not have a lot of really close friends, but the ones I do have are golden :)

Last, we headed to Zio's Italian Kitchen for dinner before church, because I had a free entre coupon from my birthday. We went with some friends from church and had a great meal. The best part, okay a good part, was that the meal was so cheap for us!

Then we headed to Wednesday night worship and now that Levi is getting a little older, it's getting a little easier at church. Shawn and I get to sit together on Wednesday night and he helps with Levi and that's wonderful. So that's my great day. I can only hope for many more like this!

Chubby Cheeked Cherub

Levi is steaming right ahead towards 4 months. He is about 12 pounds and 24 1/2 inches long. He is smiling all the time and trying to laugh at me. He is adorable!!! He talks all the time too. He gets going and makes these hi-pitched squeals and everyone in the family melts.

The Year of the Bandaid

Let me start by saying that this is the second time that I'm having to type all of this out. My head is about to pop off my shoulders because I had it all done and then when I added the slide show, all my text disappeared. Please enjoy this!! UGGHHHH!! Okay, the year of the bandaid....that is how I liken myself to this year at camp. You know how when it's time to take a bandaid off (and those that are hairy will understand this better than those that aren't) you know that you just have to clench your jaw, close your eyes real tight and just get it over with? And then it only hurts bad for a few seconds and then whew! you're done. I will say that 4/5ths of my family had an amazing time! I'm the 1/5th that squinted my eyes, clinched my jaw, and waited for the pain to be over. In all fairness, I knew this year would be like this so at least it wasn't a surprise. It wasn't that any of the kids were "bad", but nursing a 3 month old and being on his nap schedule pretty much consumes the whole day. And it was hot, and if you know me at all, I am allergic to hot. Anyway, the positive to this was that I did get to spend time with friends most nights after all the kids were in bed and I also got to spend two weeks with my sisters and brothers in law and their kids. It was a great mini-family reunion! Anyway, enjoy the slide show and enjoy the rest of the summer...it's passing very quickly and before I know it we'll be walking Elle to 1st grade!