I have failed as a blogger....

I know I'm failing miserably as a blogger...why do I wait SO long to blog? I always have too many pictures and I never want to put them all on, but I still have L.O.N.G. posts every time. Again...this is just a random assortment of a few things we have been doing over the last few weeks.

We are outside....ALL THE TIME...no really. We head out about 8:45 after breakfast and usually don't come back in until it's time for lunch and then we head back out until nap time, again after nap time until dinner, and after dinner until bath and bedtime. Really....we are NEVER inside. The kids love being outside and I do too. Unfortunately, my housework takes a major back seat during the warm weather months. Oh well...I'm enjoying time with the kiddos. Here is one of their new toys thanks to their Great Aunt Karlo. Matching cow bouncers. The kids enjoy them and Lauren especially likes when James falls off his. She laughs hysterically almost falling off herself.

I LOVE this picture of the two of them looking at each other....they truly are great buds!

Lauren enjoys being outside and following James around doing many of the things he does. One thing she especially enjoys is playing in the wagon. She climbs in and out, buckling the buckles, and putting the seats up and down.

This guy is just happy he's outside...nothing else matters to him!

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And...I turned the big 2-9 on the 21st. My girl friends took me out for a night of fun and pampering. We got pedicures, Italian food, and they took me to the most AMAZING scrapbooking store! It was a perfect night! They're the BEST!

Then a couple nights later, my sisters and mom took me out for a great birthday dinner and gifts without kids...this is a first....and we really enjoyed a dinner where we got to be completely selfish and do nothing for anyone except ourselves. I think I eat more when I don't have kids with me ;) We had a fantastic time. I have had a blessed 29 years on this earth!

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Memorial Day Weekend
at Grandma and Grandpa Carpenters We began the hunt for critters. Luke and his brother used to look in ponds by their

house for critters...crawdads, turtles, frogs, etc....Luke thought James would enjoy it too,

so Andrew, Luke, James and I begun our hunt....it was LOTS of fun. I enjoyed watching

James' enthusiasm as they spotted and captured many critters. We walked away

with 9 crawdads, 2 turtles, and a clam. What an adventure it was! We brought them home

with us and they are in an aquarium. And one of our crawdads had babies...lots of them! James has asked if they could take a bath

with him...funny boy...He loves them and checks on them frequently. He has already talked

about going back. I'm sure we will make a trip to the ponds and creek each time we visit

Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter.

Here he is bravely on a rock looking for crawdads. (yes, that is a pool skimmer) ;)

I love how patient Luke is with James...
My heart always swells with love and excitement when I see James and Luke doing these fun

father-son adventures. I just LOVE it! (I'm sure you couldn't tell by this post)

Here is one of the little turtles...it's so cute...James is learning to be very gentle with it.

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Our Lu-Lu

Our precious girl is officially one and a half years old! WOW!!! I will say what I always

say too...she continues to fill our hearts and home with joy and lots of laughter. The girl just wants to laugh....all the time....life is a big party to her!

We are enjoying her fun personality and how she interacts with us and James. She is a little social bug. If she's sees kids out in the neighborhood, she brings us her shoes, sits down, and begins squealing with delight. She is just precious! We can't get enough of her....

Checking In...

Hello family and friends...it's me again...we are continuing to keep very busy and are enjoying the nice weather daily. Here are a few family updates. Enjoy!

James has started swim lessonsand hated them...he cried the entire 45 minute session during the first week and hated when they forced his underwater. They had me go upstairs to watch so he wouldn't make a mad dash for me. For all of you moms, you know how difficult it is to watch your child MISERABLE while doing anything. This is the look of one very exhausted little boy...mostly from crying (hard) for an entire 45 minute swim class. He just wanted to get home!
This is the face of my brave little guy at week 2...somehow...miraculously...he was "happy" the entire class even when he had to go underwater. He was so proud of himself and asked to get McDonald's afterwards to which I promptly replied, "You bet. Anything you want." ;) I hope that tonight and the rest of his lessons go this smoothly. It was nice getting to watch him poolside. Things like this can be really scary and difficult for James and I am so proud of him for persevering! This is the first of many for the rest of his life...
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Our 17 month old Sweetie Pie

Yep, here she is....getting bigger and better! She loves to do everything James does including ride his go cart, so Luke fixed this little motorized 4 wheeler and yep...she rides it...and loves it! She seems so big to me when she does these kinds of things! She has continued to be such a joy...feisty, but with LOTS of personality and we LOVE it!

She loves to laugh, loves to be outside, is a picky eater, HATES when I leave her, loves

her daddy, loves her brother a lot, loves animals and books, and loves playing in the

sandbox. She is continuing to say and repeat a lot of words and we're enjoying that

a lot.

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And... here is my 21 week belly....

It's betting big...quickly...I have an ultrasound on Friday and we are very excited. I just want to know everything is ok...you mamas can relate...we ARE going to be SURPRISED this time with the sex of the baby and that is exciting for me! I feel great...big already...but great! James hugs my belly all the time and tells me he is going to take care of me. So sweet. The baby is moving a lot and James got to feel it last night which he thought was pretty cool. It's such an incredible reminder of the life that is growing inside of me...so incredible!
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Luke's job is going well...I know I don't update on him too much. He has beeen
supervising and enjoying it a lot. I'm so happy for him.

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I have kept very busy tutoring this school year and those of you who know me well know that I have been looking forward to the break of the summer... Well....that's not going to happen. Although I'm grateful for the opportunities... I had 2 phone calls over the weekend in a matter of 20 minutes and added 4-6 hours a week of tutoring this summer. That puts me right around 8-10 hours a week this summer...That's a lot! A lot of lesson planning and prepping. Thankfully some of that is going to be done during the kids' nap time so I won't be missing out on time with them...that's VERY important to me. I have had several people that have said they passed on my information to others, so I guess I just have to decide what my limit is of kids. When I started tutoring, I never dreamed it would become this "big." Again, I feel very grateful especially in this difficult economic time.