Summer Summary: Part 2

Okay, I still may not get it all done in this post, but I just want to share some pics of Colt that are quite overdue. One special day of our summer was Father's Day, when the three of us went on a hike on Sawnee Mountain. Colt really enjoyed it, especially when he was on Daddy's shoulders...

Or sitting in his lap so content.

It was a beautiful day...

And tiring one, but thanks to Daddy, Colt was able to take a nap.

Another favorite part of Colt's summer was swimming. Whether it was sitting on the side of the pool...

Or playing in the kitchen without water...

Or in the yard with water...

Or with Aunt Kristin, Uncle Kyle, and Daddy...


And while we are speaking of favorites, I will share a few more.
Finding anything random in Mommy's junk drawers, such as ribbon...

Riding on Pop's boat...

Playing at "Catch Air" with his friends (and yes we planned for Colt, Conn, and Townes to dress alike...that is Blair and I for you)...


And of course Ellie is always his constant playmate at home (notice how Ellie never moves, but Colt does)...

And the favorite food of the summer...corn on the cob (thanks to his friend, Collin, who taught him how to eat it)

So, we are getting there...maybe just a few more events to share. It was quite an eventful summer because Colt is at a great age...it has been so much fun for all of us to watch him learn and grow.

A Summary of Our Summer

I am going to try and not make this too long, but I just wanted to share a few pics of some fun things that we did this summer. We were able to take three trips to the beach this summer while visiting with friends and family. Colt had such a blast! He loves to play in the sand.

We visited Ben, Courtney, and Caroline in Enterprise and made a day trip to Destin. The kids had a ball.

We then went to Orlando to visit Wes' aunts, uncles, and cousins. While there, we went to the beach, and Colt had his first trip to the zoo.


Colt and cousin Cliff making a sand castle...


Up close and personal with the giraffes...

Our own little kangaroo...

Aunt Sandy and Colt at the zoo...

For our last trip to the beach, we met my sister and her family in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Mimi and Boppoo went too! It was such a great time! We missed cousin Jude, Uncle Anthony, Aunt Karhma, and Uncle Doug.


Our handsome boy...


Boppoo, Maddie, and Macey...

Colt swimming with Mimi, Aunt Ashley, and his cousins...


Colt also got to spend an afternoon with Carter and Collin, who were also at the beach with their family...


My boys in pink...


Okay, I did exactly what I said I wasn't going to do...this is long. I guess I will have to do a part 2 to the "summary of our summer". Or, I guess I should have started this blog 3 months ago. We will catch up eventually.

All about Todd

Okay, apparently in my first post, I made it sound like my sister was a single mom of three children because I did not mention or put a picture of her husband, Todd. Todd made sure to remind me that he was a part of the family too (ha, ha). Of course he is! So, this post is devoted to TODD.

As you can see, Todd has been a part of our family for 17 years. We have all changed a bit since this picture, you think?

He is a wonderful husband to my sister (I've got a pretty great husband myself - wait, this is supposed to be all about Todd).

A great example as a father.

And a very cool uncle!

He is a true blessing to our family...we love you Todd!

Colt's Bathtub Masterpiece

Colt loves to take a bath, but tonight was a special treat because we brought out the tub crayons for the first time. I think he is the next Picasso! It is truly a masterpiece, and of course I got a picture!

The crayons were that good that he even learned to write his name...just kidding, that was Daddy!

My First Post and Hurricane Ike

So, here I am...an official blogger. Yes, it is one of those "never say never" things that I did anyways. I have entered what you experienced bloggers call the blogosphere. Thanks to Heather, she has walked me through everything...I must say that it took some time to set up since I am someone who has to click and drag a hundred times before I finally figure out what it is that I am trying to do. But, my hope is that friends and family can be informed and encouraged by this blog. My main reason of setting this up is so that people can see the amazing changes and accomplishments that Colt Henry is making daily. I hope that I can update often rather than send out 75 pictures every 3 months, but all I can promise is that I will try to update as often as I can. My little munchkin keeps me quite busy these days.

When I started my blogging adventure at the end of last week, I had completely different plans of what my first post would be. I wanted to send updated pictures of Colt and catch everyone up on what we did this summer. But, Hurricane Ike put a kink in my plans as he has done to thousands of people on the Texas coast. You see, I feel like I have been affected by Ike because my sister has been directly affected by it. Ashley and her family live in The Woodlands, Texas just north of Houston. I am used to talking to Ashley daily, if not four or five times a day, seriously. Today, I called and called, and could not reach her. I finally talked to her tonight and cannot imagine what they have to deal with now.

It is a true blessing that they did not have any damage to their house, and that just one tree fell on their fence. But, she said that their power would be out for two to four weeks; people are standing in line for hours to get groceries in the dark because they will only let 15 people in at a time; gas, ice, batteries, and propane are nowhere to be found; people are hanging their laundry out on their fences; and ramen noodles and soup are about the only options for food since they were instructed to throw everything in their refrigerators away. I just take for granted what I am blessed with everyday...power, air conditioning, food, the luxuries in life.

I guess I am rambling, but it is times like these that I used to think..."oh that is so sad, but I know that things will get better for them." But, that is probably the last time I will think like that when a natural disaster occurs. Because tonight I heard my sister say "I just want to wash my clothes and eat a hot meal." And, it is hard for me when I feel like there is not much that I can do. So, for the two people reading this, I just wanted to ramble for a minute and if you happen to know someone who has been affected by this storm...let them know that you love them and are there for them.

We also have to rest assured that our God is a great and powerful God. We know this by what just occurred this past weekend. He promises that He will never give us more than we can handle. And, for an amazing description and awesome pictures of this storm...look at Heather's September 12 post on "Just Me, HP" that is linked from this page.

So, I continue to thank God daily for my sister and the blessings He brings through her family to mine.

You know that I have to include pictures, so here is Colt with his wonderful cousins, Madison, Macey, and Thatcher.