4th of July '13

Well, July has begun! I knew going into the month that we would be diving in head first to a very busy month. We have a lot coming up for our family and I'll do my best to keep up with the blog so I don't get too far behind. 

~~~

We kicked off the month with the 4th of July. Jonathan started his day at 8 am by meeting my dad at the dock to do some fishing. Pops recently joined a boat club and has access to several great fishing boats. They spent all morning and early afternoon out fishing. They caught a few fish, but threw them all back. Nothing was really worth keeping. 

The boys and I hung out at home and did some housework while Jonathan was fishing and headed over to GG & Papa's house around 2 for some family fun. We texted Jonathan and Pops when we got there and they drove from the lake back to the bay (where GG's house is). Derrill had a pool set up for the kids to play in and before I could get them changed into swimsuits they were drenched! I couldn't be upset, they were having so much fun!

Apparently floaties are needed in 1/2 foot of water!

Beginning our afternoon

Pops "parked" the boat at the end of the neighbor's pier and let us go out on a boat ride after the boys changed into their dry swimsuits. This was the boys' first time on a boat. 

Waving to the family on shore

Aaron was a little nervous and stayed close!

Loving the boat!

Watching Pops

Driving the boat! (Don't worry, we were anchored and he was pretending!)

 By the time we were back on shore, Thomas and his family were at GG's house and we were ready for lots of playing in the yard.

Snacking

Grandma and Hannah Joy

More water fun

Having a blast! Aaron LOVED the water and spent almost all afternoon in the pool. He was pretty mad when dumped out all the water later in the evening. 

Eli

GG & Papa

Thomas and Hannah Joy

Uncle Derrill sharing some ice cream with Aaron

I said, "act like you like each other" and this is what I got. I guess it's a cute picture : )

Chase & Katy

Playing football

Papa playing with the big boys

Aaron still eating ice cream. 

And still eating it!

 The beauty of spending the 4th of July at GG and Papa's house is their view of the fireworks. We can watch multiple fireworks shows from their backyard and the Kemah fireworks are super close.

There were two fly-overs before it got dark. This formation came first and a group of 3 bomers flew over later. The bombers literally went over our heads. 

Watching a movie as we got later into the evening and needed help keeping the boys occupied as we went past bed time. 

Aaron almost made it but fell asleep 3 minutes before the fireworks began. I kept his ears covered and he stayed asleep until we put him in the car to go home. 

 The fireworks show was spectacular! This was the first time Jonathan and I had seen fireworks live since Caleb was born. I'm so glad both boys are finally getting old enough to chance being out later! Caleb wasn't a fan of the loud booms, but loved watching the fireworks as long as his ears were covered.

The next morning the boys slept in later than usual and were super relaxed! We had plans around lunch time, but they were pretty chill until company came over.

He looks like a teenager to me in this picture! Just relaxing! 

This was my favorite 4th of July in quite some time. It was so nice to have the full afternoon with family and the weather was nice enough for us to be outside all afternoon and evening! I hope to have many more 4th of July's like this one in the future! 

Swimming!

Caleb started swim lessons the first week of June. I am COMPLETELY AMAZED at how much he has learned in a month!

Before he started lessons he hated getting his face wet and if he accidently put his head under the water in the pool he would choke and gag on the water. Bath time for the past few months had been an awful fight since he didn't want water to get near his face. He started lessons excited about swimming but very fearful about getting his face wet.

Here's Caleb now:

Amazing! I can't believe he's really swimming! He's learned so much that I decided to go ahead and put Aaron in lessons starting this week. I'm sure the first few times will be rough, especially since he doesn't separate from me very well. But if all we get out of lessons is that he doesn't suck in the water, I figure that's worth it! 

I'm so beyond astounded at how much Caleb has learned so far. Way to Go Buddy! 

Fun in June

Somehow we are already on the last day of June...I'm not really sure how we got here. Last time I checked we were beginning summer break and now we're suddenly 1/3 of the way through. Wow, time really flies when you're having summer fun! 

We've been busy with swim lessons, fun around the house, some fun outings with friends, and some family time. Nothing has been particularly post worthy, but I don't want to forget our fun either. So here's a "dump" of all the fun photos and a few captions to go along. 

Caleb powering up for his first swim lesson. More on that in another post! 

Our indoor road for cars

Caleb likes to follow the road, Aaron not so much!

We took the crib out of Aaron's room. This is where he slept for a solid week before he finally accepted that his big boy bed would be more comfortable. It took some manuvering to get this picture, he was sleeping against the door! 

Mommy and Aaron relaxing together

We had a family gathering at Grandma and Pop's house (I'm not sure what the occasion was)

Aaron loving on GG even though she was on the phone

He LOVES GG

Grandma reading a book to the boys. Caleb and Eli were telling her the letters they saw, Aaron was "reading" too -  "B, B, B, B"

We went to the zoo with Samir and his mom. Aaron terrorized the birds before we went in

Loving the Lego exhibit at the zoo

Lego aquarium

Lego zebra

Lego tiger

3 boys playing the African drums

Having a snack one afternoon while watching a movie on the computer. I love when they rest together

I love when they play together too. "Uttending" (pretending) to sleep on the stairs

As you can see, we've been busy and having lots of fun!

Mullinnix Family Reunion '13

The whole family minus Thomas, Kristen and Kids

This year we gathered again for our Mullinnix family reunion. I don't remember the last time we were all able to be there, this year Thomas and his family had a commitment, but everyone else was able to get together to catch up. The first weekend in June we were able to gather up at the community center to talk, play games and eat some yummy food. 

Walker and Sophie challenging each other

Clearly thinking hard ; )

Boys playing together

Eating our meal

Sarah, Dad and Katy catching up

My favorite ever picture of my Dad and his brother! 

Working on a family puzzle

Teamwork!

Aaron and I took a walk to visit Grandpa's grave...he fell asleep on the walk back! 

Caleb wandered into Granny's room while we were visiting at the farm. She found him back there and they talked about the pictures of Grandpa on the board. One of the sweetest moments I've ever witnessed. It makes me tear up just to think about it now. 

Caleb having special time with Granny

I think they both enjoyed their time together

(You have to turn up the volume to be able to hear Granny and Caleb...it's not much, but it's more to help me remember the moment)

It was a LONG day, but well worth it. I wish the farm was closer and we could visit more often, but I do enjoy the days we get together.