Summertime Smalltalk.

Not sure how I week got past me on the blog (AGAIN), but it did. We've been completely crazy busy this week. We've eaten in the car more than I'd like to admit, had a playdate every day (and some days even twice in one day!) and we've been enjoying the Polar Vortex that has graced the South with unseasonably cooler temperatures. Of course, the drawback to said Polar Vortex is that the pool/lake water is also unseasonably cool, so I haven't found myself in the water too much :)

A few summertime happenings that I wanted to note and am behind on documenting:

I was able to meet up with a lifelong friend last weekend for a short lunch date. I'm so grateful for all of my friends, but especially the ones who have been with me through all of my rough, dark patches too.

We've spent many days at the pool and lake. All three of my boys love the water!

this is a ski tube: it has skis sitting inside of it, with a ski rope that's actually attached to the tube. It's perfect for letting the kiddos get the feel of getting pulled behind the boat. My boys are a bit brave with it too :)

this pic is so fuzzy, but I LOVE it.

We had our semi-annual dentist appointment. No cavities, and everyone did so well (even Tyler, who is a moving maniac and hard to contain/entertain these days!).

when we pulled into the parking lot, Brayden said "We HAVE to get a picture with the monkey! We do it every time!" Perfect evidence they're mom is a blogger, no?

Because we're on the go a lot this summer, I leave some of the baby snack feeding to Connor, who sits next to Tyler. Earlier this week I asked Connor to feed Tyler a few baby puffs. A few moments later I hear Connor say "Ty, you're not supposed to pour them all out!!!" My plan of having a 3 year old feed the baby backfired. Thankful for handheld dustbusters to clean up the puff mess ;)

We've had lots of birthday parties to attend. Whenever I go to a summertime birthday party, I'm always slightly jealous. Summertime birthdays are so easy because you can incorporate a pool and have instant entertainment.

Brayden is really looking forward to flag football this fall. There are actually a few smaller leagues in the area that start tackle football this young, but Drew and I wanted him to be a little older before he starts the actual tackling. That doesn't mean he can't try on the pads at the store though ;)

And lastly... during a recent trip to Academy, Brayden discovered the Under Armor/Nike section of clothing. To say he fell in love would be an understatement. That boy wanted ALL THE THINGS. Problem is, paying $40-50 for a shirt seems absolutely insane to me, especially considering it's play clothes that have a high probability of either being stained, ripped or torn. So I told him he would need to wait. A few days later we ran into TJ Maxx for a few things on my shopping list. We went right when they opened, and Brayden was beyond ecstatic when he realized they had just stocked a new shipment of Under Armor shirts for less than $10 a piece. He ended up picking out his shirt and paying for it with his own money. He learned a valuable lesson in patience and being a good steward. Unfortunately, now he has to learn a lesson in not getting to wear the same outfit every day for a week straight ;)

That's basically our life lately. I thought about saying how hard life is when it's full, and while it does have it's challenges, I've really been so full to the brim with the feeling of being blessed. Not many people have enough friends to fill a calendar for an entire week, much less have friends that they consider family. I'm so grateful the boys have such rich, full friendships at such a young age.

In other news, Tyler turned 14 months old today. I really can't believe he's been with us that long. He is such a joy and has quite the boisterous, life of the party personality (he gets that from his daddy!).

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer... have a great week!