Instagram

Lately, we've found the ease of posting our pictures on Instagram. If you don't know what Instagram is, it's a social media site that is only for pictures. It only takes 2 seconds to share & document our photos, plus we get to see other family & friends' photos. 

We say all that because we share lots of photos on there that aren't shared on the blog. So if you like seeing our kids (you know you do!), you may want to follow us there. You can find us @the_howard_family on www.instagram.com. Here are a few of the photos we've shared lately...

Memorial Day Recap

The long weekend was a packed one! Here are a few of the things that happened during our holiday...

We went to the beach with P&J 

We went to a different beach with B&R

We went to the waterfront park

We beat the heat with shaved ice

We played on the playground

We shopped the outlet sales

We ate Mexican twice (cause we love it!)

We splashed at the fountains 

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did!

Happy Memorial Day!

We hope everyone has a great day! We are so thankful for all the servicemen & women who have sacrificed to make this country great!

The Week That Was

This week was the one we'd been dreading for awhile...Bo's work trip to Boston. He had to leave our house at 3:15am on Monday morning and didn't get home until 1:59am this morning. He pretty much ran full-throttle the entire time he was gone, shuttling from meetings to meals & even a group bowling outing. Meanwhile, Tanner wrangled littles at home. And even though she stays at home everyday, being up from 5am to 9:30pm with children is exhausting when there's no break for even a shower....especially when Hampton decided he needed to sleep in our bed each night! Anyone that thinks that caring for 3 kids age 4 and under isn't work obviously hasn't done it! Ha! 

We all survived, thank goodness, and we even managed a little fun. We played  at the playground with friends & ran around outside at Bob & Randi's house. We colored & played trains, cars, kitchen, and lots of "clubhouse pals" (aka the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters). Here are a few pics from the week...

Hangout Fest

This past weekend was Bo's favorite of the year....the Hangout music festival. For 3 days, 40,000 music fans descended on our beach to listen to all types of music. Bo's a huge music lover, so he thinks it's awesome to discover new bands & hang out with the hippies. Tanner doesn't share this love, but there were a few bands she likes, so she tagged along a tiny bit. The main draw for both of us was Jack Johnson. We love him & even traveled to Atlanta last year just to see him. There was no way that we were going to miss him on our own beach! He did not disappoint! Listening to his laid-back beachy tunes while the sun set over the ocean was A-MAZING!!! And it was JJ's birthday, which made it even more special! It was a great concert & Bo is already counting down to next year's event!

Disney World--Phoning It In

Here are the last of the WDW photos from our phones. Hampton asked today when we were going back, so we may have more pics sooner rather than later! Ha!

Magic Kingdom

Thanks to the major downpour on our first day, we only got to go to the Magic Kingdom one day this trip. We made the most of it, though, by enjoying all the boys' favorites. The boys rode their favorite racecars four times! Besides the race cars, their favorite part was the splash pad area. They had a blast running around & getting soaked. Luckily, Mommy is a good planner & brought backup outfits! Hayden Kate seemed to like "It's A Small World" and she enjoyed the night parade we watched. We pretty much shut the park down that night, but isn't that what vacation is all about?

 

Hollywood Studios

 

We visited Hollywood Studios for the first time on our recent Disney trip. We were thrilled to finally have nice weather after 2 days of rain, so we got out to see all the fun stuff. The boys loved taking pictures with Lightning McQueen & Mater, and watching the Disney Junior show. Harrison loved the stunt car show, but Hampton didn't last two minutes before the panic set in. We quickly ushered him out of there before the real action began! We watched a Beauty & the Beast show, played in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground, and the boys rode a muppets ride with their cousins while we went and rode the Star Wars ride. Which we hated. Tanner knew it was going to be bad news when she figured out it was a simulator ride...and she fared better than Bo did! Here are a few photos from our day there.....

 

 

School's Out For The Summer

Today is Hampton's last day of MDO for the year. We are still waiting to see if he got in the summer program, so for now we are done for a little while. We were comparing photos from his first day until today, and we can't believe how much he's grown up! He's now really our big boy! 

Silly Selfies

We are so thankful that phones nowdays take pretty good photos. Even though we have a nice camera, it's great to be able to snap photos on the fly. One of the boys' favorite things to do is take pics of themselves. Mommy is the one who takes most of them, so she likes to sneak in a photo with them every now & then! 

Happy 5-month birthday!

Last week while we were gone, Miss Hayden Kate turned 5 months old. She is the perfect finish to our little family....happy, laid-back, and has the boys wrapped around her tiny fingers. 

She's found that her toes are a fun toy, she is trying to sit up, and is in love with her exersaucer. She is such a joy & we are thrilled she is ours! Harrison is so concerned that she might go somewhere, that he tells everyone, "Baby Hayden Kate is OUR baby! Not your baby!" 

Mother's Day Recap

We spent our Mother's Day having lots of fun! We started the day at brunch with Grandi & Granddaddy, then headed to Art in the Park in Foley. Afterwards, we headed for an early dinner at LuLu's, where the boys played with some church friends and got completely soaked & sandy. Since they were already filthy, we left dinner to go to the beach, where the boys played pretend with some driftwood and really, really didn't want to leave! It was a great day filled with memories and lots of picture-taking. Here are some of our favorites.

 

Bo's Belated Birthday

Monday was Bo's 35th birthday, so we celebrated it Disney-style. Since he shares his day with Cinco de Mayo, we got him a big sombrero in Epcot's Mexico. He got serenaded with a birthday song from the guide on the Jungle Cruise, and had lots of well-wishes from cast members, thanks to the birthday button they gave him.