Friday Photos

We think they might like the chocolate pudding a little TOO much....

A Glimpse Into The Future

Bo got Hampton dressed & took him on some guy errands the other day. He snapped this photo of our big boy while they were out, and it just cracks us up. He looks just like a future Kappa Alpha frat boy from the beach...complete with crunchy Toms and his long sleeve logo tee. Bo said that Hampton loved carrying around his water bottle....so big boy! The best part is the sunglasses perched on his head. He doesn't like wearing them on his face, where they actually do some good, but he sees his Mommy with them in her hair everyday, so we guess that's where he thinks they go!

Football Time!

Well, it's been a couple of weeks now since the big college football kickoff. We've definitely been trying to squeeze games in wherever we can, even though we've been busy most Saturdays. Hampton called out a big "Roll Tide!" out of the blue last week, and Bo's not 100% sure if he was proud or a little sad! Either way, we have a feeling that college football is here to stay in the Howard house for years to come!

Here are a few pics from our annual football night kickoff...

Happy Fall, Y'all!

We're SOOO excited that our favorite season of all has finally arrived! Yesterday was the perfect arrival of cooler weather, with just the slightest nip in the air. Just as we list every year, here are a few of the things we're looking forward to enjoying this fall:

Going to the pumpkin patch

Fall decorating 

Cooler weather 

Hosting the Halloween party this year

Family Fun Day at church

Visiting the beach with no crowds

The Shrimp Festival

Yummy bowls of chili 

Lots of football

Wearing long sleeves 

Seeing the leaves change

Birthdays & parties

Burning Cinnamon Cider candles 

Boo at the Zoo

And our fave holiday of all...Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone has a fun-filled fall, making great memories with family & friends! 

So Silly!

This boy is such a silly biscuit! He keeps us laughing with his crazy antics...including chewing on his feet in the car. 

Water Park Fun

The boys love the water park in Robertsdale that P&J take them to. We met them there over the weekend, and although Harrison slept through all the fun, Hampton had a blast. Here are a couple of pics of him running wild in the water...

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Granddaddy, Bo & Hampton finally got to take the canoe out over the weekend. They'd wanted to go for forever, but things kept getting in the way. Hampton absolutely loved it, and told us all how he'd seen a shark & a dolphin. Which wasn't true, but you've got to live his imagination! They did see a bald eagle, though, so that's pretty awesome! Once the weather cools off a bit more, they plan to venture back into the water once more. With so many waterways to check out around here, they'll have new adventures to take for a long time!

Build A Bear

Over the summer, we took the boys to Build A Bear Workshop to let the boys make stuffed animals. It was something Tanner had always wanted to do, even though we didn't know one thing about it beforehand! We were pleasantly surprised to see how cute and affordable an experience it was. Hampton chose a white bear he's named "Dingo" and Harrison chose a tan bunny he has named "BeeAh". Both boys sleep with their creations every night, but Harrison is obsessed with his bunny. It has become his must-have lovey that he carries everywhere. We try to limit how much it leaves the house, though, because we can't imagine what would happen if BeeAh went MIA!

 

The Gulf

Friday night, we had dinner at The Gulf with Paul & Jan. We'd been there before on date night & loved it, but they hadn't been yet, so we decided to give it a try now that the tourists are mostly gone. The boys had a large time running around, climbing on stuff, checking out the water, and talking to the other guests (who were amused by the conversations that Hampton likes to start). They also enjoyed their food all over their faces, as you can tell by the pictures! We especially love the 2nd photo shown here...it pretty much sums up our boys. Hampton trying to be the "helpful" big brother & independent Harrison wanting no part of it!

 

Cover Model

Look who made it on the cover of our church's monthly newsletter!

Grandparents Day

Yesterday was Grandparents Day, and we spent the afternoon with Grandi & Granddaddy, who had just gotten home from 10 days in TN with his mom. She had knee-replacement surgery & needs help getting around, so Tanner's dad has volunteered to stay with them during the week. He got to come home for the weekend, but he headed back up this morning to spend the week with them.

 

Even though it was their day, they put on a spread for lunch...including Tanner's favorite fried okra. The boys had a great time playing outside in the sandbox & playing racecars with Granddaddy. We've already promised them that they get to come back to see him next Sunday, which was pretty much the only way we could pull Hampton out of their house!

 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see all of our other Grandparents, but we sure hope they had a great day yesterday, too!

 

Farewell to Facebook

Normally, we keep the blog light & filled with our daily activities. But today, I (you all know it's Tanner who writes the blog, right?) wanted to share why I've decided to leave Facebook.

It started with the Andy Stanley series our Sunday School class is doing called "Breathing Room". The last lesson mentioned things that we should cut out of our lives because they take up too much time. Facebook immediately came to mind. 

Now, I don't think FB is bad or anything. I just don't enjoy it. Never have. I can look at Pinterest for 5 minutes and feel inspired & renewed afterward. After spending the same amount of time on Facebook, all I have is 5 wasted minutes. I'm happy for the status updates of everyone who is headed to Disney / just saw a famous person / ate a burrito for lunch, but it doesn't enrich my life. All the tragic stories of strangers don't add value to my day, they just freak me out. Like I need one more thing to worry about when sending my children out into the world!

What does add value to my life is reading to my sons, talking to family, and laughing with friends. To use the minutes wasted on FB to read my devotional. To look up from my phone & see the wonders God created that are all around me. To give thanks for what I do have, instead of worry about what random tragedy could befall us at some point. My limited time resources are better spent catching up with my husband than reading the latest FB drama. I don't even like drama!

So what now? I do enjoy seeing photos of my friends' families, so I may learn to use the Instagram account I've had forever. Or I may not. I'll still have my business FB page, since you can't really have an online business without being online! (Such a shame.) I'll also keep blogging. But for this season of my life, I'm going to spend this precious time soaking up every moment I can with my real-life loves. I want to make more pudding & memories. Because when it comes down to it, I doubt I'll want my tombstone to say "I wish I spent more time on Facebook!"

Labor Day

Our Labor Day started out soggy, as we got caught in a major downpour while at breakfast with Grandi. Luckily, it cleared up over the next few hours to be nice in time for our pool party. The kiddos had a great time swimming & running around after dinner, and we adults had a great time sitting around & talking. The best part is the boys were worn completely out & slept like champs that night! What a great way to end the summer!

Harrison Stats

Yesterday was our belated 18-month well baby checkup for Harrison. He had to have 6 shots, bless his heart, but he was quite the trooper. We were really wanting to see his height & weight stats, since he's such a skinny-Minnie. We were right....he's 45th percentile in weight & 69th in height. Compare that to H1, who is always in the 80-90 percent range, and no wonder we think he's little! He's strong as an ox, though, so our H2 can pretty much keep up with his big brother anyway!

Roller Coaster Week

This past week was quite the roller coaster ride...filled with highs & lows and going way too fast!

Hampton had a blast on his first day of school. He met new friends & loved his teacher. He even got to pick new toys from the treasure chest because he made such good choices. Mrs. Lisa told us that she was impressed with how empathetic he is, cheering on his classmates & being inclusive to everyone. Let us tell you, that made us some proud parents! The photo below was from his first day. 

We finished up the consignment sale after 3 trips back & forth to

Fairhope, but we were able to get baby girl some cute stuff. We had so many things to sell that we had to get 2 consignor numbers, so Bo got roped into going to the sale, too. Pretty sure that made his "low" list! We were pleasantly surprised with how much of our stuff sold, so that was good news, too.

The major low of the week was sickness. Both boys got sick on Tuesday with fevers & congestion. That meant Hamp didn't get to go to school on Wednesday or Friday. They've both really struggled, and they still have stuffy noses, but at least the fevers were gone in time for us to teach 6th grade Sunday School on Sunday. Bo has been sick off and on over the week, and he has also come into contact with something that is breaking him out. Add the "mystery illness" that Bo's car seems to have, and we are full up with feeling bad around here!

A few other highs included Tanner being able to enjoy a girls night out & a lunch date with friends, while Bo got to watch Saturday college football. He's been waiting on this since last year, so he was thrilled!

We have an extremely packed week this week, too, but we're hoping for a smoother ride & for everyone to feel better!

Happy Labor Day!!