Crazy Week

This has been one wild & crazy week! Monday night was dinner w/ Paul & Jan, Wednesday night was a trip to the playground & an ice cream dinner, and on Thursday Hamp got a playdate with his Grandaddy. Harrison went and played with some friends from church, we had fun at ChickFilA, and we made a visit to the church. Whew! The boys are spending the night at the Grandparents house tonight while we tackle a big project. Once that's done, hopefully we can rest for a bit....yeah, right!

2 Cute Boys

Just A Swingin'

Glamping

We've finally had a chance to go through our photos from Glamping a couple of weekends ago. We headed over to a state park about 10 minutes outside of Destin, FL. We had the best time! Somehow, we lucked into the very best camp site there was. We were directly across from the water, and also across from the bathrooms, which were the cleanest we'd ever seen anywhere! We spent our time hanging out, roasting marshmallows, playing trains, going for walks, and sleeping in late. There were a few hiccups (like having to call a locksmith because the lock broke on the door and we couldn't get back in) but it was just really, really fun. We're going again to a different state park in a couple of weeks, and are already planning our s'mores attack!

Friday Photo

It's not easy being green!

Baby, we're (almost) home!

We're on our way home from market in Atlanta. It was a great trip, and we found some awesome new stuff. What we're most excited about, though, is seeing this cutie pie & his equally cute brother!

Painting Party

During a little craft time the other day, Hampton wanted to paint. Well, we couldn't leave Harrison out of the fun, so he got to paint, too! Of course, his was without actual paint...and Hampton did get aggravated when Harrison tried to pull the tablecloth off of the table...but he seemed to have fun! Hampton is quite the little artist, and loves mixing all the colors together in the actual paint caddy. Which means Mommy spends lots of time cleaning out the paints so they don't all come out brown! 

Comings & Goings On

We've been so busy lately that we haven't even had time to pause & enjoy it all! Here are a few things that have been going on for posterity's sake!

• We went to dinner with Sally Hobbs, who was our wonderful neighbor from TN. It was so great seeing her and catching up!
• We had a fun get-together with 3 other couples and their little ones. Hampton loved playing with all of the big kid toys!
• We ate WAY too many donuts while helping our friend raise money to do mission work in Haiti.
• Tanner helped with a baby shower for our sweet friend Jasmine, who ended up having to have an emergency c-section the following Monday! Luckily, both mommy & baby are doing great.
• Harrison tried watermelon for the first time and HATED it! Watching him react was one of the funniest things we've seen recently. They say that taste come from the father's side, which looks like it's true in this instance!
• The boys have spent lots of time the past few weeks with their Grandparents while Tanner tries to get The Monogrammed Monkey under control. She's blessed to be so busy, but is also a bit overwhelmed at the moment!
• The diaper fairy, in the form of our good friend & neighbor, dropped diapers at our front door. It's so wonderful to get unexpected useful gifts!
• Speaking of TMM, we're headed to market on Sunday to find new, fun things to sell! It should be a fun time, especially since Tanner is going to get to visit with some of her sales rep friends!
• Fun is the theme of the weekend, since today we're leaving to go "glamping" with Paul & Jan. In case you aren't familiar with the term, it means we're going camping in style in P&J's huge 5th wheel! We're really looking forward to a few days away to just goof off!

Fireworks times 2

We absolutely love July 4th, and one main reason is that we get to watch multiple fireworks productions on the beach. This year, Gulf Shores put on their show on the 4th, then the Perdido Beach Resort's big show was on Friday. We went to both, but the PBR's show is always our favorite, because we love the beach we watch from and the backdrop of all the condos makes the show fabulous. This year, it was even better because not only did Bob & Randi join us, but so did our good friends the Bodifords. And as an extra-special treat, Tanner's extended family the Lowrys were here and surprised us for the fireworks just in time to see them start. The boys loved both shows, and we made great memories with family & friends! 

Petting Zoo

Hampton was asking to go to the zoo, and being the suckers good parents that we are, we decided to take him. We went down first thing Monday morning, to try and avoid the heat. We didn't really succeed, but it really wasn't that bad. The zoo has a new feature that we hadn't tried out before...a petting zoo. It was filled with baby ducks, chickens, bunnies, and some very nosy goats. Hampton liked them, but they liked Hampton even more! Harrison had so much fun just watching in his stroller that he ended up falling asleep. We just love having our little zoo so close to us...and when the new zoo is finished, we'll live even closer to it!

Lagoon Beach

Well, even though we've blogged since July 4th, we really haven't told you too much about it! It's one of the best weeks of the year around here, and we started it off on Sunday night by heading down to the beach at Lagoon Pass. This is where the lagoon meets the gulf, and there's a shallow beach that is perfect for little ones to splash in! We'd never gotten around to taking the boys there, even though we'd mentioned it several times, so we decided to try it. It was definitely a hit! Hampton got to get up close and personal with hermit crabs, pelicans, and live sand dollars (shown below). He also chased a flock of seagulls calling "Come Back! Come Back!" when they'd start to fly away. It was a great start to the holiday week, and we have lots and lots more to share with you soon!

Friday Photo

We take our eating seriously around here!

Happy July 4th!

Happy Independence Day from the Howard Family!

Park Fun