1st Lake Trip of the Season

We FINALLY got our boat out of storage yesterday and cleaned it (read that as Chad cleaned it, not me).  We took it out today for the first time this season to make sure it was running okay.  It ran perfect!  And we had a wonderful time testing it!  Eli is really starting to love the boat/lake.  What's not to love?  I always loved it growing up although we hardly ever went.  I could live on a lake, or any body of water for that matter!  I just love being by the water!  We are so fortunate to live only 10 minutes from a huge lake.

Eli on the boat just before we left for the lake.  He calls it his boat.  Maybe he should take over payments??

Too cool for school

Last year we tried to tube with Eli but it just didn't work so well.  Eli wasn't so sure about it and we figured he was just too young.  This year he loved it!  Of course he didn't go alone, but with my nephew, Matthew.  Matthew is 10 years old and Eli thinks he's super cool!

He tried to tube with Chad too but it didn't work so well either. 

All smiles!  Matthew said he giggled the entire time :)

Noodling.  Not the kind where you stick your hand in some hole to catch a fish...

Worn out from too much fun in the sun!

I can already tell where our free time will be spent this summer!

iPhone Pictures

I was just looking through and organizing my iPhone pictures.  I've been terrible at uploading them to my computer but I'm trying to get better.  These are a few of my favs...

Well this isn't really a favorite.  I just wish we were here again!  Like right now!  Come on September!

This was taken on vacation in April.  This picture shows Eli's true personality.  Fun and silly!  Love that boy.

Also taken on vacation...  He was starting to get a little rowdy in the car.  I had gotten some sweet tea at McD's and I shared with him.  This boy LOVES sweet tea (what's not to like??), as you can tell by his smile :)

Okay I guess all of these were taken on vacation.  Maybe I should have titled this blog "Old vacation pics".  This wasn't taken by me but Chad's sister-in-law, Sue.  She has an amazing camera and can take great pictures!  I just posted this one to instagram and saved to my phone so I could have it on there.  Such a sweet face!

Going to the Big D

Chad and I had an overnight trip to Dallas last weekend.  Mom came up to stay with the dogs and Eli while we headed to a Dave Matthews Band concert in Dallas.

We rarely get overnight trips alone so this was a big deal!

We got a hotel in downtown Dallas.  The hotel (The Adolphus) was beautiful and perfect for a short trip to the big D.

We walked a block to a mexican restaurant, Iron Cactus, for drinks and appetizers before the concert.

The last (and only) time we saw Dave Matthews I was 5 months pregnant with Eli.  It was outside in August in Memphis, TN.  Have you ever been to Memphis in August?  The heat and humidity... ugh!  It was 110 degree heat index.  That type of heat and pregnancy do not mix well.  Needless to say we didn't see the entire show before we left.  I was very disappointed we had to leave but it was the smart thing to do.  I've always wanted to see him again since then!

I have to say, Dave didn't disappoint!  He is truly awesome live!  I don't know all of his songs but seeing him live makes me want to learn them all!

Chad and I both agreed that DMB concerts are very different from Pearl Jam concerts.  Dave brings a much different crowd (one I like better... sorry PJ fans).  The crowd doesn't get quite as rowdy as PJ's crowd.  It was a nice mellow concert!  A nice change from what we are used to at PJ!

I thought this picture was kind of cool with all the laser lights!

Our trip was lots of fun but we were ready to get back to our sweet Eli.  We were barely gone 24 hours and missed him like crazy!

Now back to our crazy, hectic life!

And I wouldn't want it any other way :)

Pool Season

We've already been enjoying the pool with our friends, Kristin and Tyler!

I'm hoping this is the summer Eli learns to swim.

Tyler is able to swim without floaties so Eli wants to learn how to swim too!  We are already working on holding his breath under water!

This is one of my favorite recent pictures of Eli.  I love his facial expression here!  He loves the water so much!

I have a feeling we will both have a nice tan soon!

Summer Is Here!

I haven't posted recently so I thought I would catch you up on what's been happening in our life.  We've been pretty busy the past month or so.  I feel like we haven't had a free weekend in a VERY LONG time!  This weekend we finally have no where to go and nothing to do!  I'm so excited!  We are staying around the house and doing NOTHING!

A few weekends ago we went to FC.  Connie and I took the kiddos to the Memphis Zoo.  I haven't been there in many years!  The Memphis Zoo is an awesome zoo!  I have such fond memories of going there as a child.  I think our boys enjoyed the trip.

Eli and Grayson watching the flamingos!

I have a feeeling these boys are going to be very good friends like their mommas :)

Eli was my date to a friend's wedding.  I was afraid to take him but he did just fine, thanks to Mimi and Papaw going along to help entertain!

Who doesn't like wedding cake????

In case you didn't know.....  SUMMER IS HERE!!!

Family Pictures

For my Mom's birthday last year we gave her a gift certificate to a local photographer, Jessica Ritchie.  Our plan was to have family pictures taken by a professional photographer for the first time ever!  You would be surprised how hard it is to coordinate everyone's schedule!  We finally had the pictures taken last weekend, only 6 months after Mom's birthday!

This is a picture taken with my camera in our backyard before the "real" pictures.

Check out a sneak peek of our pictures here!  Jessica was wonderful and so patient with all nine of us!  I love all the pictures so far and can't wait to see the rest of them!