what we've been doing lately...

...a whole lot of:

jumping

splashing

doggie paddling

funny face making

breath holding

resting

powerade and pepsi breaking

and repeating

HOT day

Another thing we marked off of our family fun list was going to Apollo Park.  We picked pretty much one of the hottest days of the year to go, but we still had a good time.  Apollo park is really big, with a walking trail, man-made lake, bridges, and several playgrounds.  It's a fun change of scenery from the desert we live in (although you can still see the desert when you look outside the park. ha!)

When you go over the bridge & look into the water you could see hundreds of little fish.  The boys thought that was pretty cool, of course!

Because it was so hot that day (and you are not allowed, nor would you want to, swim in the lake), we let the boys run & splash in puddles to their hearts' content.  It reminded me a lot of when we went here last fall (which I guess I didn't blog about, but it was unseasonably warm & we ended up letting the boys splash in puddles then too!).

We played on the playground for a little bit, but there was NO shade and it was over 100 degrees.  This little contraption was hilarious.  It would spin around, so Dathan thought he'd try his hand at walking on it... which resulted in him falling off every time.

After playing on the play ground we helped the boys cool off a little...... (if you look in the background you can see what I meant about still seeing the desert when you look out of the park)

There are LOTS of ducks and LOTS of geese at this park.  We forgot to bring bread but this really sweet young couple (with a baby) came up to us & said they had extra bread & asked if we wanted any.  So nice!  The boys were thrilled to feed the birds.  Nolan loved feeding them, but he loved chasing them more...

Although we had the best time, we (honestly) probably won't go back until this fall after the baby is born.  It was just too hot, and there's not a lot of shade or places to cool off.  So for our future park days, we'll stick to smaller ones in town that have shade. Ha!

one of my favorite holidays!

I LOVE the 4th of July.  Always have.  It's such a fun holiday where you spend time with family & friends and celebrate a wonderful gift we have been given- freedom in America!

I made a patriotic dessert for one of the parties we went to.  I really just kinda made it up as I went, but it turned out yummy and looked cute so I guess that's all that matters ;)  I had made a Funfetti cake (that was a special patriotic one so it had red & blue candies in it) and then broke it up into little pieces.  I put a layer of the cake, then a layer of cool whip, then a layer of strawberries & blueberries, then repeated until the trifle dish was full. SO easy!

We drove to a nearby town, Acton, to go to the annual parade & epic water fight.  We went to it last year (and Dathan & I went to it the year I was pregnant with Sean).  It starts early in the morning (we left our house at 7:00!) because the roads get closed for the parade.  So our friends have a big breakfast brunch before the parade starts.  While the food was getting finished up my brother Timmy (aka "Uncle B") played with Nolan outside.  The lighting is pretty that early in the morning ;)

Sean had a better idea of what to do!

Our annual family picture on the 4th

Then more bubbles while everyone ate.

Our friend's backyard backs up to the road that the parade is on.  This parade has turned into a big water war between the people on the floats and the people watching the parade.  I'm pretty sure our group has the most fun AND the most ammunition out of anyone else who watches the parade ;)  It's hard to get good shots of all the action because I would get soaked anytime I got close.  As long as my camera didn't get wet, I didn't mind, because it was HOT!

Yep. That was Dathan right in the middle of all the action :)

After the parade we headed to a town about an hour & a half away to my best friend Erin's parents' house.  Her dad's birthday is on the 4th so they always have a big "rib fest & pool party."  We were having SO much fun swimming (ALL DAY LONG) that this is pretty much the only photo I got of the party (not nearly as many as I took last year).  This is Sean and Bailey (Erin's brother's daughter... they just love each other & have so much fun when they are together) resting after swimming all day.  We have so many pictures of them cuddled on this chair watching tv.

I already can't wait until next year!  And we will have another Stephens in the mix... hooray!

sometimes it's just too beautiful to stay inside

especially when you have friends to join you!

back to our favorite spot

When we lived here in Alabama, Deibert Park was one of our favorite places to go.  It's a beautiful park with man-made ponds (lakes? I'm not sure what you would call them) full of geese, fish, & turtles, walking trails, and a really fun playground.  It is a blast!  So of course, much of our visit here had to be spent there.  It was really fun for Nolan because he doesn't remember the park (Sean does & was SO excited to go back).  We got lunch one day & headed into the gazebo on the water to eat & feed the geese & turtles.  Of course I didn't think to bring food so half of my lunch ended up in the water, but that was OK.  All I had to do was look at this little face & hear him squeal with joy every time he threw a french fry, and it made not eating half my lunch totally worth it!

This turtle & goose were going for the same piece of french fry!

Please note what Nolan's shirt says (hand me down from Sean) and how he is covered in marker. Ha!

It was VERY hot this day.  Poor Nolan, you can't help but say the southern phrase "bless his heart" when you look at this photo!

Sean was so sweaty his long hair was sticking on his forehead.

I LOVE watching the boys play together & interact with each other.  It brings so much joy to my heart.  I pray they will be the best of friends growing up, and equally as close with their new brother coming!

Of course when we left we had to stop by Sonic's happy hour for some slushies for the boys and a half sweet tea half unsweet tea for me (sweet tea is just TOO sweet for this California girl!).  The first of many trips to Deibert Park!

Mother's day part II

I woke up Mother's Day to the boys running in the room with a jar full of wildflowers (that their Mimi picked. ha!) for me.  We got ready and went to church.  Dathan's mom, Kathy, sister Stephani, & her two girls Kaelyn & Maddie came with us.  After church we wanted to go to lunch but not an expensive, crowded restaurant.  So, we picked Zaxby's (which is one of our family's favorite Alabama places so we were excited).  We went to leave for Zaxby's and Steph's car wouldn't start, so we had to wait around until it got fixed.  It was hot but the kids ran around & played with bubbles & had a great time.  We ate lunch then headed home for nap time.  After nap time Kathy brought out a little kiddie pool she had bought for the grandkids & hooked it up (it was VERY hot here).  The kids had a blast!

We also ate popsicles (this was after my Mother's Day mini-shoot with the boys).  The little sweetie on the right is our niece Maddie.

And then Kathy got out the slip & slide.  We set it up on the hill & then Dathan stood at the top & kind of tossed each kid down.  They loved it!  I love Kaelyn's face in this picture, she is just having the time of her life!

We stayed out playing until the sun set & mosquitoes came out.  Then we went inside for a little something to eat and all sat down to watch Despicable Me.  It was a great, fun, relaxing day!

sometimes you just have to JUMP

Sometimes, when life gets rough & you question what is going on, you just have to JUMP...

We have become very close to the youth pastors at our church, Ryan & Sarah, since we have moved here & began working under them.  Their 2 boys are best friends of Sean's.  There are 2 other married couples who help out with Pulse, and all 4 of our families are great friends, as are our kids.

The first week of January we received some devastating news that the church was doing very bad financially.  Because it was so bad, they had to take drastic measures, and so they laid off Ryan & Sarah (who lead a youth family of over 200 students & an internship program with about 15 college kids in it).

When we were called into the meeting & the situation was explained to us, tears just streamed down our faces (well, the girls... the guys didn't cry ;)).  It wasn't just our hearts breaking for the youth who are losing their youth pastor, but it was for ourselves, who were losing our good friends, and our kids, who are losing their best friends.

We were so upset the next day we got together and had a mommy & kids playdate.  We jokingly called it the "mommies are depressed" party.  The kids all wore their pj's and we played ALL DAY.  I would say 90% of the time (not exaggerating) the kids were on the trampoline.

To hear their carefree laughter and silly giggles while they had the time of their lives helped to ease some of the hurt that we were feeling.  It is a shame that finances have to come in the way of a movement of God.  But we trust & respect our spiritual authorities & know that they made the decision that they believed was what God wanted.

The last Sunday in January was PR's last night.  We honored him & Sarah (I sat with a box of tissues in my lap & cried almost the whole time... I blame the pregnancy hormones)

They are so anointed & have such big hearts that we know God will lead them to an amazing place.  If you think about it, please pray for them and their new journey they are now on, with 3 small children.

And please pray for Pulse Student Ministries, as we transition into our new normal.  If you have not grown up in church, you may not understand how devastating it is when a youth pastor you love has to leave.  If you have gone through that, you know how rough it is. 

We know God is still God & He is always good, no matter what our circumstances look like.  He sees the bigger picture & knows so much more than we do.  I am SO thankful for our time under Ryan & Sarah, and know that they are friends that will stick with us regardless of time or distance.