operation vacation

we are leaving for destin soon...but, it's not a vacation. let me explain...last summer, i told a friend we were leaving to go on a vacation for a week with the kids...she quickly corrected me and said, "brandy...there is no such thing as a vacation with your kids. what you are taking is called a family trip! vacations only occur when the kids are left at home" i love it. and it is SO true :) but we are going to have SO much fun...i can't wait. there are about 50 of us going...all from my mom's side of the family. lots of cousins for the kids...lots of alcohol for the adults. here are a few of the fun things i have packed to go...

a cooler for each kid for down @ the beach. ellis will love getting to pack hers every morning :) from target!

you can't tell from this picture but these are BIG oversize shovels...his and hers. from petite maison :)

i had to throw in their matching plates!

little miss spoiled gets to open a present every 50 miles...oh yeah, did i mention we were driving? good times. anyways, i had an aunt who did this for a road trip we took to colorado when i was young...such a fun idea :) when she saw these presents she said "is it my birthday already?"

so beckett is OBSESSED with popsicles. really, truly obsessed. all day long he stands at the freezer saying "pop pop"..."pop pop"...if i didn't know him i would think he must have a disorder of some sort. my friend cassie gave ellis one of these holders for her birthday last year...my kids LOVE them...dripstick is the brand. they are being packed :)

"MELMO" is beckett's other latest obsession. he smiles bigger than ever when he sees elmo. and i am pretty sure he thinks all of the puppets are him...all of the red ones for sure. "MELMO, MELMO..." all day long. when he takes a break from the freezer that is :) so this is one of beckett's new toys for the car...i am not wrapping his because he doesn't know the difference!

along with these items, i have his and hers flashlights for crab spotting at night, his and hers fans for the beach, h & h sand buckets, h & h towels, etc. and of course, "matching" swimsuits. you knew that was coming right? also...bebe has bought every single DVD that target & wal-mart sell. i think we are well equipped...now i just want to GO!

all we had was a wagon

what is the fourth of july w/ out a parade right?? ellis looks forward to the fall creek parade for days..i don't really understand why. maybe it's just the idea of it...i am thinking she was picturing something much more glorious in her mind. anyways....i only took a few pics...people in the neighborhood who went all out :) i will throw in a couple of my munchkins too, but all we had was a wagon and 2 flags. for real.

me and my homeys...thank god we are headed for florida...they need sun!

ellis' heart skipped a beat when she saw this outfit :)

statue of liberty

the chik-fil-a cow walked w/ us...beckett is not a fan

i am thinking this took some time to make...

the baby's hair was spray painted blue!

these boys were really cute...

they were pulling mickey behind them!

i have a bunch more cute ones...but not enough time :( so...one more of the cutest ones!!!

they make my job of getting great pics of them so easy...happiness most of the time!

Red, White & Blue...

3 colors ellis rarely wears. but an exception was made for saturday...she proudly wore the colors of the good ole' USA all day long. i had mentioned in an earlier post that bebe (and bo)bought ellis an adorable dress (thanks again!)...she got to wear it to the parade and then to church on sunday- we (the congregation) were supposed to dress festive :)




the dress is by MISS-TEE-V-US...cute name huh?








work it...own it...




clearly, she loves herself



so she was parade ready. he was not. he was running around the front yard like this:

he is so not normal. while most kids his age would pull this sort of thing right off their head, beckett LOVED it. i have 30 or more pictures of him running around with this on...smiling or laughing in every one of them. he would only reach up to touch them to make sure they were still on. he is an attention whore to say the least.

ok...now he is parade ready. shorts and shirt by TARGET :) loves it. he is starting to look like a skater boy. little girls would kill for that hair...throw those bangs back in a bow...hmmm...i might do an experiment tomorrow :)

this was her poolside attire. her friend abby (ok...abby's mom) made ellis that bow...it was too cute not to wear, but it clashed w/ her dress. we improvised.

i loooooove this girl...

pool time...staying true to the colors...

next post...parade pics. but don't get excited...each kid held a flag. that was as far as i got on decorating the wagon :)

pre-holiday fun

since brandon had july 3rd off, we decided to venture out to the fall creek pool with the kids for the first time this season. i obviously could have been taking them all summer, but wasn't sure how hard it would be to keep an eye on them both. you see, the fall creek pool is like a mini-splashtown...and now that my kids have seen it, there is no turning back. they loved it. ok...they REALLY loved it. and it is so close that we just walk to it. now i am afraid they are going to turn their noses up @ the pool in their backyard after the fun they had on friday :) beckett was crazy for the slide. he climbs the stairs, hoists himself into the tunnel, slides down, and trenches through the water to do it again. all by himself. he did this no less than 30 times on friday. maybe that explains his 4 hour nap? oh yeah...we will for sure be going back.

as you can see in the above pic, it has big slides too. my kids are too young for those right now...but brandon is not. he had to show off for ellis :) also in the above pic is the splash pad or whatever people call those...where you just run through the water. and below is what i like to call the water fort...this is what beckett climbs and slides down...so fun!

off they go!

the water is only around 1 1/2 ft deep...but i still make em wear floaties...better safe than sorry right?

where's beckett?

there he is!

and again! we never knew how he would make his entrance...front, back, feet first, head first, etc... we were cracking up!

and little miss :)

yes...she always swims w/ a bow in her hair :)

if you haven't already noticed, i am one of those moms that makes her kids take really cheesey photos...

a little chilly?

couldn't help myself :)

come swim w/ us @ the fall creek pool!!!

a little something i overheard from the kitchen...

beckett picked up a book and took it over to ellis for her to "read" to him.  it is one of those 100 first word books or whatever...just a picture and the name of the object underneath.  she is pointing the objects out to him.  he is loving it.  then this happened:

ellis:  "okay, beckett...now you tell me...what is this one?"

beckett:  blank stare

ellis:  "beckett...what is the one?"  

beckett: blank stare

ellis: "beckett...please stop wasting my time.  this is an elephant."  

and the she closed the book!!!  teaching is clearly not her strong suit :)

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

he is trouble. nothing but trouble. he is still super sweet and as happy as ever, but he is B-A-D!!! i am just not used to it. i swear ellis never acted the way he does...or maybe i just have a bad memory? she is just so easy and he is the total opposite. i know...people just say it's the difference between boys and girls. but i do have friends w/ good little boys. i guess i just got "lucky"! he does everything i don't want him to do and then ignores me when i ask him to stop. ellis gets SO mad at him when he is being bad...telling him, "you are going to get in trouble from mama". she loooves to be the boss of him. she will be great on safety patrol @ school someday.

we had his 15 month check up last week. those are always fun. attempting to keep him busy for the 30 or 45 minutes i have the pleasure of spending with him in an 8 X 8 room w/ nothing to do. to keep myself from beating him, i started taking pictures w/ my phone. here is how he spent his time:

pulling the paper down, ripping it, and then eating it.

of course opening every cabinet. but they are on top of their game @ the pedicatrician's office...all cabinets are empty :)

and the drawers...

let's get outta here before the doctor shows up....

booooooo...

i wonder what this does...

this looks bad...now, if i could just get in here...

next time i think i will bribe ellis and get her to join in the fun...maybe she can entertain him better than i can?? she wouldn't come in this time...she was afraid the doc would get confused and give her a shot too. she and bebe made some new friends out in the waiting room :)