When the Babbs Go Out of Town...

...the Exums keep their pool waters rockin!

Brian and Laura, thank you so much for letting us swim in your pool while you were gone. We had a BLAST and it was a much-needed time of fun for our family. Jacks and Hazel were thrilled to see us, but not as thrilled as Allison was to see them. She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED them!! Jackson was in heaven in the pool, in the hot tub, on the diving board, or on the Razor. I jumped back to my childhood trying {numerous times} to do a forward flip off the diving board. It didn't happen. I was too much of a chicken and sadly realized how old and un-fun I've become. Back dives and "almost" back flips were much kinder to me. Jason showed us that age hasn't affected him...he's still full of diving tricks...and he reacquainted himself with the joy of wearing goggles. We got tons of great photos of Allison for her birthday invitations, which I'll save for a later post once I send out her invitations. She loved the sun deck and the water. That little girl was in heaven! You guys are the greatest friends and the greatest family. Thank you so much!!

And now for the evidence...

Patio Party

{I am SO behind on posts! Oh well!}

When we bought our house, we had no idea what a blessing the location would be. We had no idea that God would place us next to the most amazing people. We have incredible neighbors! At the beginning of May (that's how long I've been trying to post this!), the Sherrers had a patio party for several homes on our street. We all have kids ten years old and younger...most of them being four and under. The Sherrers treated us all to grilled kabobs and crab legs and then homemade ice cream for dessert. It was a great time!

At the time we bought our house, we didn't know that we were living next to a family that went to the same church we were attending, much less that the couple was in our Sunday School class! Our family and the Sherrers go to the same church. Jason and I are in the same Sunday School class as Lindsay and Lindsey. Jackson and their twin girls are also in the same Sunday School class. I have developed a special friendship with Lindsey that I am going to miss horribly now that we are moving away for ten months. {I have yet to mention...on my blog...that we are moving to Alabama for ten months while Jason completes Air Command and Staff College for the Air Force as a Reservist.} Jackson is going to miss Mallory and Landry so much. He thanks Jesus for them in all of his prayers, wants to show/tell them about everything new and exciting, and wants to play with them every day. What a huge blessing that family has been to us!

Here are some pictures of our patio party! Enjoy!!

Landry stealing some of Jackson's ketchup {She is a major condiment girl!}:

Jackson upset that she "snaked" some of his ketchup without asking:

Landry, "If you ask me nicely not to take it, then I won't. But you need to ask me nicely." {She really said that! But make sure you read it with a lot of drama:)}

Allison and Claire {less than 2 months apart}:

My man and his crab legs!

Emma Joy...a true joy to be around:

The beloved swing set that Lindsay built:

The Host and Hostess!!

Homemade ice cream! {Jackson-3, Morgan-2, Caleb-6, Emma-6}

Nothing happier than a boy in a backyard with a bowl of ice cream!

Jackson and Mallory:

Lindsay and Jason - adults love ice cream too...especially alongside Lindsay's blackberry cobbler that he cooked in a cast iron over a fire!

It was a great time and we sure are going to miss living next to them.

We All Scream for Ice Cream

We have a serious ice cream lover in our house:

{And he's not the only one!} I find it hard to keep Allison away from some things that I would have delayed with Jackson when he was her age because I feel terrible about leaving her out. Last night, we were all enjoying ice cream...all of us except for Allison. She made it very clear that she wanted to be a partaker. Because he's a super great daddy, Jason decided to indulge her with my cone of homemade vanilla and peaches:

She obviously liked it very much:

And even got on tip toes to get the best lick:

Happy and off to show Mommy the evidence of a wonderful treat:

Now comes independence:

And a lesson in gravity:

It's messed up now!

Do you really expect me to eat the ice cream that fell on the floor?!

Do you Daddy?

She recovered...

but it was short-lived:

She took the cone one more time...

but when it dropped again, she was done. Allison, you were one lucky lady last night! I'm glad you liked it. We love you, sweet girl!

P.S. Life has been so crazy. We are moving for ten months in about four weeks so that Jason can attend a school for the Air Force in Alabama. Preparing for the move, teaching childbirth classes and taking care of my family have kept me very busy...too busy to keep up the blog. Oh, how I've missed documenting our memories!

None Greater...

...for me! Happy Father's Day to my very best!