Fourth of July and Swimming in Table Rock Lake

We watched the fireworks over Table Rock Lake at Grandma and Grandpa's. Even though the fireworks were far away, the boys "needed" their ear protection!

The next day, we went back out to Grandma and Grandpa's and went for a boat ride and went swimming. The boys really enjoyed it....and Abel really enjoyed jumping off the boat!

Mammoth Cave

On Sunday, we took the boys to Mammoth Cave. I never realized how large it was! We went on the Discovery Tour, which was a self guided tour that just went into the mouth of the cave. We figured that was all that the boys would be able to handle. Unless we wanted to carry them the whole way!

Dane was pretty concerned about bats the whole time, so after this photo he pretty much kept his hood up. But, his daddy assured him that the bats would fly into my hair before they got to his!

Abel had double protection....

This picture was taken by Abel. He was quite the picture taker on this trip. I won't bore you with all the ones he took....just the good ones! I think I know what Santa will be bringing him this year....

Dane trying to hold up the cave...

Dane, Abel, and Eric on their way out of the cave....

Branson, here we come!

Our July started out with a road trip to Branson to see Grandma & Grandpa Clark. We left on Saturday (July 3), and returned the following Friday. We packed a lot of things into the week, and I have a ton of pictures. I'm sure I won't get this all into one post, so stay tuned!

By Saturday afternoon, we had made it down to Louisville, Kentucky and took the boys to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. We got to tour the factory, which was pretty cool. Dane seemed to really like the museum, especially since he just finished his first season of t-ball.

Here is the outside of the factory & museum with the large bat!

Abel inside the museum..

Dane inside a large rock that was carved into a glove...

Trying to get a good picture of the two monkeys smiling....but instead, I got this!

Dane about to practice his swing.....

Good picture....but I always seem to catch Abe with his eyes closed!

Abe and Daddy....

Abel was watching the pitching machine.....and was so amazed at how fast the balls went by.

Eric and Dane with Babe Ruth. I LOVE Dane's pose....

Dane requested this picture....

Eric holding Derek Jeter's bat...

Dane with Lou Gehrig's bat...

The boys had a great time there, and it was a nice rest stop after a long day in the car. We then headed south an hour to Cave City. We stayed there for the night, and took the boys to Mammoth Cave the next day.

Really....One year already?

Wow....I'm so sad to see that it has been a whole year since I have written in this blog. I guess that life got in the way . . . .

Our computer has always been downstairs, in the farthest corner of the house. We thought this was a great plan when we moved in, but it turned out not to be for me. If I just needed to look something up on the computer quick (or blog), I would have 4 little feet running after me and it would take me a long time to get them all back upstairs. We just got a laptop that I can use upstairs, so that has made a world of difference. Now I just have another set of hands (Dane) that likes to play games on Nick Jr....

Hopefully having this upstairs will allow me to keep up with my blog. I really enjoyed doing it, and I know there were many people who enjoyed reading about the happenings of our family. I haven't gotten everything installed on this laptop yet (to transfer pictures from my camera, mainly)...so it may be a little longer before I get pictures on here. But, at least I can let everyone know what's going on in our lives!

As everyone knows, we are expecting our third little boy in September. I am in the process of trying to organize and paint this house. Dane and Abel will be moving downstairs, and the new little guy will take over their room. The boys have requested blue walls with green stripes to go with thier surfer bedding. I am going to try to make them happy, although I have never done anything like that before....I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Right now I am working on the upstairs living/dining room. We have a friend that is redoing our table and hutch, so with that gone, I am painting the whole upstairs...tan, chocolate brown, and celery green. I am about half way there. We have a new loveseat and chair picked out for up here after all the painting is done. After we are done up here, I will be working on Dane and Abel's room, and then the baby's. I have so many projects to get done before September, it is crazy! But, I know that what doesn't get done before he gets here, won't get done for a long time.

Dane has graduated from his preschool and is now on to kindergarden in the fall. He has amazed Eric and I with what he has learned these past few years, and is reading very well - amazing. He seems excited to go, especially since he will be riding the bus in the mornings with Maverick and Maddox.

Abel will be starting preschool in the fall (2 days a week) - providing that he does well on the potty this summer. He has been more of a struggle to get potty trained than Dane was, but I am hoping we are almost there. If we have to delay it for a few months, no biggie.

Eric has been out of town the past few weeks, and the boys and I will be glad when this stretch is over. We miss him a ton. Even though he works a lot when he is home, it is nice to have him here every night. I am really proud of him for the work that he does and how hard he works so that I am able to stay home with our boys. That is what we both have always wanted, and we are so lucky that we are able to make it work. When I told Eric that we were expecting, he told me that I just bought myself 6 more years of staying home! I need to stop writing about that....I can feel the tears starting to form....

In other news....a few years ago we sold our Ford Explorer in exchange for a smaller car that was better on gas (a Dodge Avenger). We have loved it, it has been a great car. Eric's truck is starting to wear down, so we have been thinking for the past year or so that we need to replace that. It was going to get replaced by another truck for him, since he really enjoys driving them and they are useful when doing house projects. However, after learning that we will be driving around three little boys instead of two, our thoughts changed. Well, I think Eric would still prefer a truck, but my "out-loud" thinking seemed to have changed his mind as well. I would be hauling around a stroller and baby gear...would i want to be throwing that in the back of a truck all the time? As time goes on, I will probably be driving the new car more often, and I have to say that I really wouldn't mind driving a truck around, it was just more about the logistics. So, after driving numerous things.....we got one. I have to say, as much as I love the Avenger, I didn't realize how much I missed driving something a little bigger.

On Monday, we bought a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. I absolutely love it, and Eric says he does too (although he still loves his truck). Someday I promised him he would be back in a truck. I think this just made the most sense for us now. I told Eric he would have the exclusive driving rights this whole summer, and after that, on the days I don't need to haul all three kiddos around - it's his. With Dane riding the bus, I may actually only need to drive it 2 days out of the week. It's fun to drive and the boys love it. It has a third row of seats, which Dane will eventually be riding in. When we test drove it, he got to ride back there. The smile on his face the whole time we were driving was priceless. We drove it last Saturday, and then spent the weekend thinking about it. On Sunday, Dane said he wanted to go get it..."We just have to go there and give them some dollars, and we'll be all set"....if it were only that easy.

We got it, and couldn't be happier with what we ended up with. Eric is gone this week to St. Louis, so what do you think I have been driving????? The Pathfinder, of course!

This hopefully gets everyone caught up, and I hope that I will be able to keep up with this blog better than I did . . . . .