Ju-lying To Me

Is it true that it's already mid-July and the kids return to school in five weeks?! Seriously, this has been the fastest summer on record.

We started this month off partying in honor of America's birthday with the Leevers.

Not kidding, it took half an hour, lots of bribes, lots of running, a bit of yelling, and super silly faces to get four boys to semi-smile at once.  And, we'll be adding another to the mix next month. Maybe Jack Dawson will be super-compliant. LOL.;)

We spent time on the lake and in the boat

Cole-Man LOVES his little cousins! I'm fairly certain the feeling is mutual. 

The feeling from Ty-Bear was NOT mutual toward me when I plopped him in the tube for his first ride.  Not really a fan of being pulled fast behind the boat. At least he tried -- Tate HATES it.

ALL of these boys are little fish and loved swimming in the pool (and the lake).

We celebrated Dad's birthday, too!  How fun is it to turn 65 with 4 (almost 5) grandsons, two fireworks shows over the lake, and... 

an adults-only brunch at a hip new place in Tyler?! [YAY for the babysitter willing to take on 4 boys!]

Kayla and Tyler left us on the 3rd, and we spent the day back out at the lake with the Westbrook clan.  It was CA-RAZY with 7 kids, and I snapped only a single photo of Cole and Jett jumping off the dock.

The kids had fun on the boat and in the water, and Mike even threw Destiny and I off the tube a couple of times!

Sawyer stayed most of last week, and the Two Middles (Tate and Saw - the middle cousins) had a blast.  They kept us on our toes, but they lovelovelove playing together.

 We dialed things back a notch this past weekend, and had a staycation at the lake.  Cole had a baseball scrimmage on Friday in preparation for the District Tournament that starts tonight (both boys are playing --- in two different cities, of course).

Our little family of four (five, if you count Sammie), enjoyed evening boat cruises, finishing up projects at the lake house, hunting for frogs, playing card games, patio dining at sunset, and drinking coffee on the deck in the mornings. We never even came back into town, so it truly felt like vacation.

Tate does not like the tube, but he LOVES the open water. We got in lots of swimming.

Thankful for my little family. They make me SO HAPPY.

I'm going to do a post on the entire remodel, but here's a sneak peak at the outside BEFORE and {ALMOST} AFTER

Now, it's soccer camp and art camp for Tate, playoff tournaments for both boys in baseball/t-ball, packing for two weeks away at camp, piano lessons, spaying surgery for Sammie, and... 

can we rewind to this weekend?!

-Linds