Journey Jubilee

Journey Jubilee was a 3 day event at our church, designed to celebrate families and bring you closer together through a variety of different activities. We were excited to be able to attend with our boys and we made the most out of our special time together! There were several families that camped out on site, with no electricity, and really bonded together in our crazy summer heat! During the main sessions, our lead pastors shared awesome messages about parenting, and the importance of togetherness. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the music, and Carson even participated on stage singing the "B-I-B-L-E"!
We had a great time during the "open activities" time where the boys made crafts...
Jumped their energy out in the fun bounce houses... And played in the water tables... There were a few different "Dynamic Activities" happening all day on Friday. Our first dynamic activity was a scavenger hunt in the sandbox. The families with older kids had a geo-scavenger hunt in the woods using GPS units, but we preferred the younger kids version! Carson did a great job finding everything on the list! Tanner had his own version of a scavenger hunt. Our second dynamic activity was the challenge course. They specifically designed a challenge course for the little ones, and made a maze out of cardboard boxes. In order to find your way out of the maze, you had to "follow Jesus", and there were pictures of Jesus inside the maze to show them the way out. This was one of Carson's FAVORITE activities, and we loved to hear him yell "I want to follow Jesus!" when we would get near the maze room. So fun! Another activity in the challenge course area was a balance beam the kids had to walk across. They started out on the line that was "themselves", then they walked across the beam that read "Jesus" to get to the other line which was "God". This taught them the way to get to God was through Jesus. Our third dynamic activity was a faith activity. For the younger kids, we did the cradle roll lesson that is taught on Sunday mornings. Carson loves his Sunday school class, and loves to participate in the musical lesson. This was Tanner's first time hearing the lesson in the big class, and he loved it! Our final dynamic activity was the Legacy Project. This was a keep-sake you made as a family to remind you to focus on God. This was my favorite activity because I love anything my kids make and love the message of the craft.

Our final project... On the last day of Journey Jubilee, we attended the youth pancake breakfast before the last session. Carson and Tanner (and Daddy too!) are big fans of pancakes, so they were super excited! The boys were exhausted by this point, you can tell in little TT's eyes in this picture, but he was loving his pancakes! After a great final session, we headed out to the back field for some water fun! There was a dunk tank to dunk the pastors, a water slide, and a super soaker tag game. Miss Katie even got in the baby pool with Tanner! What an awesome 3 days of learning, fun, and growing together as a family. We can't wait for next year's Journey Jubilee!

Splishin' & Splashin'

The boys and I have been taking advantage of all the fun splash parks around town lately. It's too hot to be outside and not be in water! We've been to the splash park in Winter Garden a few times now with different friends, and have a blast everytime! Our new favorite spot has been the splash park in Lake Mary. This is high up on my "Mommy approved" list! This splash park is fully gated, which gives me a break from our little explorer TT, who likes to walk (more like run!) around everywhere. This keeps the boys in one spot! :)


We are enjoying beating the summer heat splashing!

My 28th Birthday

We celebrated my birthday over the weekend and had such a fun time with our family. We started off the afternooon with a little swimming. Somehow we managed to get all 3 kids to sit and smile for a picture. Don't they look so grown up?! My parents neighbors have such a nice pool, and we are so thankful that they let us swim whenever we like. We have loved swimming with the kids lately and practicing their swimming techniques that they have learned this summer. They are such little fish in the water now! After some fun in the sun, my mom made a delicious meal and we opened presents. Carson was a big help!
My aunt, uncle, and cousins were able to join in on my birthday celebration too. Yum...brownie sundaes!
After dessert, my parents graciously offered to watch the boys overnight so Matt and I could have a date night. We headed to our bible study small group at our friends house, then went and saw a late movie at the dollar theater. It was alot of fun! Then on my actual birthday on Tuesday, Jamie and I took the kids to Amaya Papaya for a Kindermusik playdate. We had a blast dancing to the music!




The remainder of my special day was spent having lunch (& a little shopping!) at the mall, a nice nap, and Tijuana takeout for dinner! What a great birthday!

Mmmm...sand!

Tanner got a sandbox for his birthday and the boys love to spend time outside playing in the sand. Just recently Tanner realized that not only does he like playing in the sand, but he likes tasting it too! You have to watch him closely or he will eat it by the handfuls! Sometimes he's too quick to catch, like the video at the end. Such a silly boy!!

Park Fun

We always have so much fun when we get to visit with the sweet kids I used to nanny for! Even though the summer heat is almost too much to handle in the middle of the afternoon, we braved it and still had a blast, sweat and all! Rachel and Becca are so sweet. They followed Carson, Tanner, and their little brother Alex all around the playground and were such great helpers! Becca led the boys in some fun slide games! Peek-a-boo!
Such a fun afternoon!

Family Nature Walk

We spent some good quality time outdoors Saturday evening! Matt and I love taking the boys on little adventures. With Matt as Carson and Tanner's Daddy, we are sure to have some fun adventures in the future. I say "we" because I plan on embarking on these fun outdoor adventures with my boys as much as possible. Matt will tell you this is a bit of a stretch for me, I have some fears I am definitely working on when it comes to the great outdoors, but it's so much fun to overcome your fears and let your guard down for a change! Our family adventure was at Lake Lotus Park. To get into Lake Lotus Park, you have to park offsite, and then take a tram into the park itself. Carson and Tanner loved the tram! First stop was the playground! The boys had a great time swinging, running across the swinging bridge, and sliding with Mommy!
Then it was off to the nature trail! We walked alongside a beautiful creek...
First piece of nature Carson found....a stick! The boys found more sticks and leaves. Carson was so sweet and gave some to his brother... While walking over the water, we spotted 3 turtles... A duck... And a GATOR! The highlight of our nature walk was spotting a baby alligator laying on a log just a few feet from our path... What a fun evening exploring the outdoors!