4th of July Celebration

Gayle, the boys, and I went to the 4th of July celebration at Camp Lejeune. We all had a great time. There were lots of activities set up for the kids, good music, a great fireworks show, and yummy food.

The boys had cotton candy for the first time - and loved it, of course! Who doesn't love cotton candy?

Seth preferred the pink cotton candy over the blue.

Ethan liked stuffing all the cotton candy in his mouth at once.

Gayle and the boys chilling out on our blankets. The weather was perfect. Just the right temperature with a nice, cool breeze.

Seth riding the "train" (as the boys called it) from the parking lot to the field. They didn't have the trains running after the fireworks display, so it was a long haul carrying two little boys, a cooler, a diaper bag, and blankets.

Ethan enjoying the train ride.

I am always the person behind the camera, so it was nice to have Gayle with us to take some pictures of me with the boys.

Gayle and Seth on the train.

The Marine Corps jazz band played, as well as the Marine Corps rock band, and the Marine Corps classical band. Who knew they had so many bands? The boys definitely liked the jazz band the best. Ethan had on a Beatles shirt and Seth a Rolling Stones shirt. One of the band members gave them high fives and said, "Cool shirts!" They thought that was the greatest.

Ethan and Gayle watching the band play.

Gayle got these lights for the boys to play with before the fireworks started. They called them their wands and kept waving them and saying, "abracadabra, presto!" It was pretty funny.

Gayle and the boys showing off their light wands.

The boys liked the fireworks (sort of). Ethan covered his ears the entire time, but liked all the pretty colors. After they were over, Seth told me, "Mama, I no like fireworks. I like big guns!" They had a 21-gun salute before the fireworks display, so I guess that was his favorite part.

The fireworks started at 9:30 and were over by 10:00, but there was a lot of traffic getting off base, so it was a little after midnight before we got home. A super late night for the boys, but they did so good. And the best part - they slept until 8:00 this morning!!! They have never slept in that late in their lives, but then again they've never been up that late either.

The boys had a really busy day. They started out going fishing with Bruce and Broedy. The other day Seth got his fishing pole out and asked Bruce to take him fishing. So, Bruce was brave enough to take them all by himself. He and Broedy took a few pictures for me.

Seth with a fish he caught.

Ethan and a fish he caught. The boys would still not touch the fish or the bait. Maybe one day.

Party Time

Our friend and neighbor, Broedy, turned nine on Sunday. The boys and I got to spend the whole day next door celebrating (and playing with all the cool toys that Peggy and Bruce got for the special day).

Ethan starting the long climb up the wall.

This is the trampoline/bouncy/climbing wall (it was called a lot of different things). It kept all the kids entertained all day long. Peggy said it was the best $65 she ever spent in her life!

Seth pretending to be shot. Nice, huh? I forgot who "shot" him. It was either Ethan or Broedy.

Ethan finally made it all the way to the top (with a little encouragement from Broedy).

Ethan was not thrilled when he had to stop playing and watch Broedy open his birthday presents. He didn't have a problem taking a break to eat the cake and ice cream though.

Sis, Seth, and Ethan on the slip'n'slide.

The boys trying to hit the target to make the water come out, but what they didn't realize was that the water was turned off. Poor guys.

Seth always has a bat, glove, or baseball (and sometimes all three) in his hand when he's at the Belgarde house.

A Trip to the Dentist

Ethan and Seth both had dentist appointments last week. It was Ethan's second cleaning (but his first time sitting alone in the "big chair") and Seth's first. Ethan looks a little nervous in this picture, but they both did awesome!

Ethan opened really wide and didn't cry or squirm once. Yeah! Dr. White gave him a great report and said his teeth are looking much better now.

And this is what Seth was doing while Ethan had his turn first. Seth quickly discovered the dental tools and decided to try them all out to see if they worked. They did! First, he blew air in his face with one and thought that was hilarious. Then, he found the water squirter and gave everyone a little shower. He thought that was pretty funny too. Luckily, so did everybody else.

Ethan was all smiles after his cleaning. He thought he was in the clear, but he still had to get his flouride treatment.

His favorite part was getting the water squirted in his mouth. He kept telling the hygenist that he was so thirsty and needed another drink.

This is the look on Seth's face when I told him he was going to be next. Since it was his first dentist appointment, they just had him sit on my lap, which is what they did at Ethan's first appointment. So, I didn't get any pictures of them looking at Seth's teeth since I was holding him. Dr. White said Seth's teeth look perfect, which I was super happy about since we have had so many problems with poor little Ethan's teeth already.

Summer Fun

The boys are little monkeys for sure. They will jump on or off anything. This is one of their new favorite activities.

Riding their "motorcycles" (they get mad when I call them trikes) with the helmets Tim got them. They love helmets.

I made chocolate cupcakes for Peggy's birthday the other day. I saved the best part for the boys. They get so excited anytime I get the mixer out now because they know they will get to lick the beaters. To this day, Emily and I still get excited about licking the beaters after my mom has made something yummy.

Seth playing with Play-Doh. The boys have Play-Doh time at least once everyday.

Ethan can now write several letters of the alphabet. He likes to make letters using his Play-Doh too.

Seth giving the "thumbs up" sign (well, his version doesn't actually include the thumbs, but that's okay).

Ethan cruising on the deck.

Roasting Marshmallows

A few nights ago, the boys and I went next door to the Belgarde's to roast some marshmallows and make S'mores. This was the first time the boys had ever roasted marshmallows, so they had a lot of fun.

Peggy and Bruce assisted the boys, so they didn't set themselves on fire!

Ethan devoured three S'mores in about five minutes. Then, came over to me and said, "Mama, I feel sick. I don't want any more."

Seth was very methodical about roasting his marshmallow. Bruce had told him to turn it, so it would brown evenly all around. So, while Seth was roasting his, he kept saying, "Turn, turn, turn..."

The Best Mimi Ever

My mom came to visit me and the boys last week and we all had a great time together, as always! We went to the beach (it was cloudy, but still lots of fun), played outside (on the swings, baseball, football, golf, and any other sport imaginable), went to speech therapy (which Ethan attends twice a week now), ate at Cici's Pizza (the boys had to take Mimi to their favorite restaurant), made lots of trips to Wal-Mart (mom helped me with some minor landscaping), toured a preschool (thinking of enrolling Ethan this fall), and hung out around the house playing toys and reading books. Mom, thank you so much for everything. I don't know what I would do without you! We miss you so much already and can't wait to see you in August for our Outer Banks vacation.

Mimi and the boys playing in the sand.

Mimi and Seth going to fill up buckets with water.

More fun at the beach.

Mimi and Seth rocking on the front porch.

Ethan got to sleep in bed with Mimi every night. Here they are giving goodnight kisses.

Mimi taught the boys how to play baseball while she was here. By the time she was done with them, they were holding their bats correctly and hitting quite a few balls. I was highly impressed with mom's coaching skills and the boys' athletic ability!!!

More baseball practice with the boys. After they would hit the ball, they would pretend to run to all the bases.

Having fun on the swings.

Reading books at bedtime. I was just reading a book to the boys today at naptime and they were getting upset because I was not doing the sounds and voices like Mimi does them. Nobody does them better than Mimi, I guess.

Putting on make-up together.

Cooking up a gourmet meal in the kitchen

Poor mom had to sit at the boys' table with them at breakfast every morning. They insisted on it.

Mom did alot of work with our front flower bed area. She also got the hanging baskets and flower pot for the table, which I think are really nice touches. I don't exactly have a green thumb, so I'm gald she was here to help me. Thank you, Peggy, for helping us too. It's a long story!

Fishing With Mambo

My dad took the boys fishing for the first time before we left Missouri last week. They all had a great time.

Seth catching his very first fish. He was so excited. Dad helped him right at first, but then he reeled it in on his own. He ended up catching three fish that day.

The look on Seth's face pretty much sums up his feelings about the fish. He kept saying, "Mambo, put it back in the water!"

The boys relaxing by the lake.

Ethan showing off his first fish. He wanted to touch it, but as soon as he did he said, "Ew, gross!" He caught one more fish after this first one.

Emily and baby Nate came fishing with us too.

OK, this picture was obviously not taken at the lovely Lake of the Ozarks like the other ones were, but I thought I would throw this one in too. This was taken in Wilmington, NC after dad drove me and the boys back home. Dad hung out with us on the beach for the day before heading back to Missouri. Thanks for everything, dad! We love you.