a HILL of a good time.........: July 2016

July. You will see a theme here-- water + sunshine = lots and lots of fun!

First stop, my happy place! Ahhhh.

Brotherly love! Note: the baby can totally swim (see video below) but loves to wear a life-jacket. Crazy kiddo.

And those aforementioned things make you super sleepy.

And sometimes you take a break, check off a Summer bucket list item and go mini golfing!!

Afterwards we "patiently" wait for our snow cones. It was hot and they were over it. BUT check another of those Summer bucket items off the list 😂😂

But they were MUCH happier once the goodness was there! YUM snow cones with crazy tongues!

They stole my phone. I love to find these random things.

More pool time. This time in the neighborhood!

And scooter-time!

And some mornings this is what I wake up to! He, unlike his brother, is a stealth ninja when it comes to sneaking in our bed. I often wake up to this and really never know when he arrived. The only time I know is when he wants to snuggle and then it is like having an octopus on my body! HA! Thank goodness he is cute!

What? You don't sit in a drawer when you play? What? You don't have a train table in your master bedroom?!?

Oreos and magformers = good times at Gaga and Papa's house!

And a little more pool time!

And a baby in the pool box. He is such a goof!

But he is certainly a cute goof!

When your friends are nice enough to toss your kids around in the pool! I mean, I couldn't do that!

He is an equal opportunity tosser!

I love this face. LOVE!

And this face!

And this one!! Golly we have some cute kiddos in this 'hood!

Ok, now for the monthly dose of weird, funny, heartfelt and sometimes off color. Enjoy!

Amen.

We made a BIG jump in our family this month and we decided I would be a stay at home mom. Honestly, I never wanted to stay home when my babies were tiny. I felt they would thrive more in childcare and me working. Now that they are getting older, especially Chaz, I fell they are needing me more and more.... SO, we jumped... and it was simply the best decision we have ever made! Oh and thanks to my girl for picking up some celebration beer. #lovemyfriends #lovemylife

With that comes my crazy OCD. This is Chaz's room. Every drawer, bucket, closet, etc was emptied. My rule is everything is out, in sight, at first. The kids are required to help me for two hours. I want them to understand how much crap they accumulate. We trash, we donate, we organize, we purge. It feels SO good when it is done but it is pretty daunting. After two hours, the kiddo can either bail or continue to help. Reason being, I purge more once they bail 😀 Before he bailed he did say "Ummm, if I leave, are you going to trash more?" "Of course not, my dear. I would never" (insert evil laugh)

Tada!! It smells and looks amazing!

Was 2016 exhausting to anyone else? I really should have purchased this last beauty!

Bahaha! I may or may not have sent this to my old work peeps!

To all my girls! #lovemyfriends

Happy July, folks! Cheers!!

Vacations are so much fun! Especially when we get to spend them with our boys, Gaga, Papa, Uncle Shane and Aunt Lisa! This year we are off to Sanibel Island, Florida!

As usual with my dad, it was up early in order for us to make it to the airport at an ungodly time in the morning. My zombies were still excited.

But this is always fun! We kept talking about how the pieces were almost as big as Dane!

Dane thought this was the "Coolest thing ever!" "The floor is moving!" Needless to say there were many back and forths on this thing.

And some days you are at the airport at sunrise so you watch the planes and the sun rise.

Everyone just chill. it is early and will be a long day.....BUT it is going to be SO worth it!

And then we hit a layover. Nothing screams layover like a massage chair!

And a nap on a table.

And then we hit the rental car and this happens. Bless his little heart!

I told you the time in travel would all be worth it! Happy vacation!!

And, as usual, the mens travel with us.

The next morning we were up early and at the beach! Oh how I LOVE the beach!!

This face. BAHAHAHA!

He didn't really know what to think about the sand!

Chaz wanted to boogie board and headed out with Papa.

And he played in the sand.

Still at it!

The little one wasn't really wanting to go in the water, until I got in.

And he took his turn to try and boogie board! It was hilarious!

It was beautiful!!

He decided to try and build a sand castle. He quickly realized he was too close to the water.

I love these two so much! They are really what marriage is all about. They are just precious! And yes, we LOVE to take vacations with my parents. They are so much fun and such wonderful grandparents!

Aunt Lisa decided to head out and play with this kiddo!

He looks so big to me here! When did my baby become a boy and my boy become a big boy! Oh my momma heart!

And this guy was there too! I'm kinda sweet on him!

He was having an absolute blast! SO much better than last time when he had surfer hair and the salt water was dripping in his eyes. *eyeroll*

This dude. He goes out so far that I am the mom on the beach yelling to tell him he has gone out too far.... yet he isn't my kid, he is my hubs OR my first born, as I say.

Ready to go again. He will sure sleep good!

My little surfer dude!

When in Sanibel, you dig for shells. You don't really have to dig because they are EVERYWHERE!

The bro was there too!

And the bromace was there too! BAHAHA!

He loves his Uncle Shane and my brother is so good with him!

This face!

He was so excited that he made it back to shore!

Yep, my big brother is cooler than yours!

The next day we were at it again! I love that he literally did this for hours! He was determined!

And I love his little grin!

BAHAHAHA!

Flying boogie board!

BEAUTIFUL!!!

Teaching him the ways!

And my baby brought me a shell! I loves him!

I guess they got hot!

He did NOT want to go in the ocean!

Clearly THAT didn't last long! Back to the beach!

I love their bond! So precious!

I only post this as I have no idea why the sifter is in the air! So weird!

Papa and Chaz decided to dig for the BIG shells!

As long as he was on the shoulders, he was good! HA!

Stud.

Those lashes! I am so jealous of them!

This place is just SO beautiful!

Always on the shoulders. Such the cutie.

Messy hair but he sure is precious!

The peacock hair in the back! HA! Oops and momfail!

After dinner we headed down to the Fort Meyers pier and shopping area.

It is so fun to try and get a picture of your kids in a touristy big yellow chair. SO fun! Thanks for cooperation, kiddos!

Again with the shoulders but now with a goofy face and an uncle.

I guess he doesn't care that his son is about the size of his wife. He needs a shoulder ride as well!

And then we found these fun things. The kiddos were all about it!

This face just kills me! Stop! HA!

and this one!

Oh yes, ALL the kiddos got in on the fun!

The two headed pirate.

And the ever so famous three headed pirate!

We had so much fun just being goofy!

I mean!

I love these people!!

A beauty from dinner. Notice anything cool? #gohogsgo

Souvenir shops are so fun!

And he was d.o.n.e. And yes, I am pretty sure he slept in his clothes this night!

Back to the beach!

And shells! Good one, buddy!

Ahhhhhhhh......

We got one of these paddle things and he loved it! He really just loved playing by himself which was so funny to watch! Eye-hand coordination at its finest.

You.are.welcome.

He is SUCH a fun kiddo!

He finally decided to let his brother play.

Sweet brothers!

We did take come breaks from the ocean to head to the pool!

Yes, I do get out from behind the lens sometimes. I love playing on the beach with my boys!

And the hubs gets to take the boy into the ocean.

The one eye.

The big kid.

My world.

I am sure he was telling her the ways of the world.

I haven't a clue but I love it!!

And sometimes you just crash! The sand, the waves and the sun will just take you down!

I love this one!

We were up and to the water early again!

The "oldest" got in on the paddle game.

I can't even with this picture. They don't always get along but when they do, it is the best feeling in the world!

He is about to take someone down!

I mean, look at the air on this kid!

So fun!

Who doesn't wear their goggles with their swim hat?!?!

The ocean here had these bean thing. I really don't even know what to call them. They look like HUGE green bean pods. Chaz decided to collect them and Dane thought they were weird.

I love this one. The ball looks like it is hovering over his head! So funny!!

Ready to dig.

Oh yeah, you knew it was coming. UP!

And, of course, he was back on his board!

My favorite trio!

I think his buddies left him. Poor dude.

My momma is the best!

Oh wait, they are back. Let's bury the oldest!

He wanted to be buried too!

They have an amazing bond as well! Love these faces!

Back to the buried dude.

The big dudes contemplating life.

And he is still stuck in a hole. Such a goof ball!

This kid is so fun!

Ok buddy, you have to get down. He was on him like an octopus!

This is his momma-is-making-me-go-parasailing-and-I'm-not-so-sure-about-it face.

He was just hoping we weren't going to make him go. That duck tail in the front. Hilarious!

BUT before we went, we had to send a special bday message to my Aunt Sandra back home. Yes, we have our own song and we butcher the end every.time. Happy bday!!!

And yes, I took the opportunity for a group shot!

He is one of a kind! 100%

And then we were on a boat. He was excited but scared. I love parasailing so I knew it was going to be so much fun for him!

Chaz decided he didn't want to go first, so this guy was our sacrificial lamb.

And she was the other one..

and then our boat broke down. Yes, seriously. In the ocean. Boat ain't movin'

Oh well, we will just kick it and smile. Life could be worse!

The saving boat!

Still happy. Note: this all took about 45 minutes. 45 minutes in the hot sun but we all still had good attitudes. Second note: this is not the first time we have had a boat break down on a parasailing adventure. Let's just say, this was better than being stranded in Jamaica :)

Peace out, broken boat!

Back in the game!

LOVE!!

Peace out, little lambs!

They are so fun and have an awesome friendship!

I am not sure if it made him more of less scared to watch them!

And then the boat guy asks for your camera. Have fun, boat guy!

Hilarious. Simply hilarious. Note: the hubs didn't give up the camera when we were in the air :(

My buddy!

And he was ready! Getting suited up!

Rolling them back in!

And they are going to get wet! BAHAHA!

Still having a blast!

Our turn!

He said he was "a little" nervous. He looks "a lot" nervous.

I told him I would hold his arm until he was comfortable. I wasn't really sure what this would do but it made him happy!

It didn't take long before he was ok. "This is SO cool!"

We saw sting rays, turtles, fish and lots of other sea creatures. So fun!

And then it was our turn to get wet!

We tried, tried so hard to stay dry!

And then the "we" turned into just me! HA! Soaking wet! He thought he was hilarious!

He stayed back on shore with Papa and zonked when we got in the car!

Buuuuuuuut, when you vaca with Papa, you eat ice cream! So you quickly pop out of your nap!

Even the big kid loves to vaca with Papa!

So beautiful!

Me and my momma! Cheers! #beachface #nomakeup

Up again. Beach again. Ahhhhhhh.

Love my life!

I realized I didn't have any pictures with my brother. So here you go! Love this dude.

And the shirtless wonder wanted in the shot.

I mean.

What? More ice cream? Yeah, remember, we are vacationing with Papa. The man loves his ice cream.

We didn't spend every waking moment at the beach and the ice cream shop. We did explore around town.

Aunt Lisa and Chaz checking out the fish.

Love them!

Do you know how fun it is to take a picture with a cranky four year-old? Yeah, it is awesome. #flowercredfromchaz

So to solve moods we decided to go putt putt in the heat at a place with gators. Good plan!

You could feed them with a fishing pole. So fun!

Chaz stuck his through the fence. Yes, he is super smart.

Now this is classic... my hubs doing something that makes me SUPER nervous (please don't drop my baby!!) and my daddy standing behind making sure all is safe. HA!

And then it was time to putt

Chaz was pretty darn good! He is a natural! BUT he wanted a hole-in-one every time! Not happening, dude.

It was SOOOOOO hot. Like melting hot. Like center of the Earth hot.

BUT I got a hole-in-one so all is right in the world!!

Chaz doing SO well!

And here we are again. This kid will sleep in the car any chance he gets! I really don't blame him, I am the same way!

Snuggles on the couch! Major blurry = major fun!

And now it is time to play the game "Guess how old Meme is!!!" So close, bud.

He wanted to send his own bday wish, complete with a joke!

More snuggles. More giggles.

Sometimes you just need to be goofy and enjoy the time inside... in the A/C

"Are you licking your brother?"

"Hmmmm, tastes like chicken!"

Mean faces!

Ice cream? No, pizza at the outlet!

That night the dinner wait included an awesome bird.

and baggo with some new friends.I'm so thankful they make friends so easily!

And the friend's little brother who liked Dane's mens.

Why not? He doesn't seem happy but it was really his idea.

The buddy also like the iPad. Yes, we caved at dinner. It was a long wait!

Back to the ocean the next afternoon!

Tanlines are cool.

As if stepping on the mountain wasn't enough. JUMP!

Wave- 1 Chaz-0

But that won't stop this kid!

Whatever he is doing, he is sure having fun!

My little surfer dude. I love him so much!!

Oh THAT is what he was trying to show me! Nice work, hubs.

Dollface!

More with the paddles. I love that Dane is just waiting for the ball to land on his paddle. I just don't think that is going to work, buddy!

Sweetness.

I really need to print this and frame it! LOVE!!

Sandy booty!

No clue.

Just like big brother!

Chaz found these awesome shells!

Don't spill it!

He was sure telling him something!

Sweetness.

PURE sweetness.

Don't spill it!

His idea 100%.

I LOVE this.

Please take note of the hubs in the background! Full vaca mode. 😂

Yep, he is all mine.

He is my hero!

Ok, I will play along. Please be prepared to laugh! I wish you could hear our giggles, including Lisa behind the camera. We were dying!!

And the high five. BAHAHAHA!

We should do that again. I am sure we look amazing! HAHAHA! I can't even!

He wanted in!

A+ to the hubs on this photobomb! Epic.

Group high five? Sure, it will probably look amazing too!

And then just me and the little.

He was like a lead balloon.

*hubs in the background again. I can't stop laughing!

I believe I was yanking him up at this point!

And down he goes. Ocean - 1 Hubs- 0

SAFE!

Thanks to my baby for saving our biggest kid. He thought it was so funny!

Sand dollars.

Baby monkey.

I love my crew something fierce!

Yes, you get time-out on vaca when you are a craphead. Just sayin'

Thank goodness that moment was over quickly!

Ahhh, so happy!

~~Baby~~ Big kid toss

And real baby toss!

And now we are going to be shy! Oh this kid!

We left Sanibel as we stayed in a different place the last night. We had to hit up Costco before we left the great state of Florida. This was just a cool car in the parking lot. He had to get a picture!!