Summer Fun

Oh my goodness, I feel like we have been on vacation forever. First there was the beach and then Aunt Sister's lake house. Fun, fun, fun.

I'll do a post here about the beach to stay in chronological order.

Our lovely friends the Jeters asked us to go on vacation with them several months ago. We agreed and then BP's oil catastrophe hit and we didn't think we would be able to go. We played it by ear and decided at the last minute that it was an opportunity of a life time and one that we shouldn't pass up. So, we packed our bags (several of them) and headed for Alabama - Gulf Shores. There was a 10-12 hour drive ahead of us, but the excitement of the beach kept us all in good spirits.

The diaper change above looks sweet and loving until you see where it took place:

You gotta do what ya gotta do right? Adam was amazing. He drove almost the entire way there and back less the three hours that I put in. All  that and diaper changes too? What a man!

Once we got to the beach the boys were so excited.  The Jeters met us in the front of the hotel waving and smiling. Our first day on the beach was awesome.  Jude and Liam loved it.  Liam more so than Jude.

Liam waits for Daddy on the beach as Atwood and James test out the water.

Daddy and Liam play in the water and the sand. Adam would pull Liam up over the waves whenever a "big one" would come and they would both say, "here comes a big one!" So stinkin' cute!

I love this picture. It reminds me of the At&T adds, "more bars in more places."

BEST BUDDIES: Jude and James

One day was a little rainy and the Fish family needed a little outing of their own so we went to the main Gulf Shores strip and checked out the shops. We were swallowed up by a sharked and attacked by an octopus. YIKES!  After all the excitement we needed something to eat so we headed to the ice cream shop and had some of the best ice cream I've ever eaten. Afterward, Liam entertained us with dancing and climbing up on the table to eat some of his brother's shake!

The sunsets were amazing! One of the big things to do at night is go crabbin'. We put on our headlamps, grabbed our buckets and some popsicles and headed out for our adventure.

We caught a few crab. One of them was big enough to pinch the tar out of Adam's finger. ha ha ha. Atwood got so tickled at Liam because whenever we caught a crab he'd tell Atwood, "I wanna eat him!" and "We got one. We got one!"

Cricket and I enjoyed time by the beach with a margarita. And the boys enjoyed night swims at the pool. Whenever the tar balls (oil) were too bad on the beach, we swam!  Jude and James dove into the 3 foot end, swam all around and did canon balls and helicopters. Liam actually jumped in a TON, went under water a lot and began swimming back and forth between me and Adam. It was awesome.  He also enjoyed some time in the little pool with Grant. But most of his time with Grant was spent stealing his toys and yelling at Grant. He's got some discipline/obedience issues that his parents have to help him work out. 

On a different note, one day there was a purple warning flag on the beach that we didn't even notice. As I was going back to shore to get Liam's floatie, this super sweet woman told us that there had been shark sightings all day. She had one swim up close to her in fact. We got out of the water immediately and then found out that a guy a couple of "huts" down from us was stung by a stingray.  What?  FYI the purple flag means dangerous sea life in the waters. Swim at your own risk! Point noted and remembered forever!

The big guys built this awesome fort with the help of their mommies. The blue pillows in front were their pool. The loved it.

Overall, the trip was a HUGE success. We had a total blast. It was so neat to see how the boys reacted to  the ocean and it's many facets. God is amazing and wonderful. We are blessed beyond belief. And we're pretty convinced that our boys rock!  They did awesome in the car for 12 hours!  Wahoo...thank you DVD player and snacks.

No Mo "Trailing Wheels"

Friday June 11th: Dallas, Texas. Jude Fish is about to turn 5 and wants his Daddy to take him to the park to try riding his bike without "trailing wheels" aka - training wheels. Liam Fish is hungry and wants to watch a "moomee" aka movie.

Assignment: Dad takes oldest son to the park with bike. Mom readies dinner while youngest watches Peter Pan.

Jude returns happy as a lark riding his bike to and fro without "trailing wheels."

Liam dances all around as Peter Pan saves Tiger Lily. Liam also repeats over and over, "yook Mommy, they are flying" and "chomp, chomp, chomp" (the sound the alligator makes while attacking Hook.)

Daddy has the wonderful idea of celebrating the event with shaved ice snowcones. Jude gets bubblegum (sick) and Mommy and Daddy share Tiger's Blood (yum!)

Upon completions of said snowcones, Jude taught Liam his best karate moves. We had so much fun!  I hope I remember this night and the laughter we shared forever!

Mission: Accomplished

One, Two, Buckle My Shoes...

Precious isn't he? He turned two yesterday and while my heart was full of joy at the amazement of the depth of my love for him, I was also a bit sad. He's not a baby anymore. He's getting so big and he talks all the time...sentences! (I'm pretty sure he's a genius.) Liam is amazing. He has brought so much laughter and love into our home. 

Here are some of Liam's characteristics that we know of thus far: FUNNY, stubborn, strong willed, loving, affectionate when he wants to be (everything is on his terms), silly, mischievous, easily excited, athletic and focused (with a very short attention span.)

At two, Liam loves: Cars the Movie (Maymo aka Mater is his favorite), Monsters Inc., Hot Wheels, "Moomie Nigh Nigh" aka movie night celebrated with popcorn and anything sweet, his brother, doing anything and everything his brother does, balls, his Mommy and Daddy (one more than the other depending on the day), "moogic" aka music, his paci and blankie and being outside. He's also gotten into books a bit lately, taking 2-3 to bed with him each night.

He also LOVES cake, ice cream and well, SUGAR!

Liam's birthday celebration was small... brother, Mommy and Gramma. Daddy came home after a breakfast meeting for pancakes with Liam and then went to work. Liam got a new hot wheel toy from Gramma that he adores and got to go swimming with brother in the kiddie pool. We had cupcakes (as you can see) and sang Happy Birthday - he smiled and sang along. It melts my heart when he sings the birthday song and twinkle twinkle. I just want to eat him up. Anyway, I digress. Liam was running around the house, rant into the dining room table and cut his eye open. It turned slightly black and blue later. We also celebrated with a call from Papa Dude saying he had cut his finger tip off with a saw and was in the ER. Geez! Then, we were getting ready for church and thought Liam might have Hand, Foot and Mouth disease so he stayed at home and watched Monster's Inc. with Gramma. Whewww, what a rough birthday. Thank goodness for the awesome parts of the day!

MIA

I know. I've neglected this poor blog for a bit. There really is no excuse other than the fact that I have posted a few things about the boys (all three) on the other blog (Pure and Noble.)

This guy is turning 2 - 2! - in just a couple of days. Where did my baby go?

He even has facial hair! Ha ha ha! (Liam likes to eat cupcakes face first.)

This guy (the smaller one) is turning 5, just like it says on his shirt!

Jude also starts a new school (just for the summer) tomorrow and T-ball.  Both are with his best buddy James. We'll see if the friendship survives! Ha! The T-ball team is the Co-op Kangaroos. Jude is super excited about it.

The boys are officially settled into their "big boy" room. Jude sleeps on the top bunk, his choice, and Liam sleeps in his crib. It's working out pretty good. Only a few kinks to work out - Liam keeps Jude up late talking at night and Jude wakes Liam up in the morning. There is definitely a difference in personalities. Jude is such a lover and so sensitive. Oh, and a big pleaser.  Liam is a joker that loves breaking the rules. Lord, help me!

We went to a concert at the Arboretum today with some neighbors and had a blast.  It was a kids' singer and both boys danced and acted silly. Liam was dancing like a crazy man while Jude rolled down the hills. Adam and I watched dotingly and both admitted we are blessed beyond belief. Our boys are amazing! Liam's head was drenched about halfway into the event. It's only May and he sweats like a little pig. I can only imagine what August will bring. Ugghhh. We have been cooling off the past few days with a sprinkler and the kiddie pool that Gramma bought us last year. Liam loves to get in with his brother butt naked! I'm not gonna lie, I love it too.  They are so cute.

There's no telling what this Summer will bring. Lots of silliness and excitement I am sure. I am gonna try my best to cultivate the love of art this summer with fun crafts like the one we did above. Maybe we'll make mud pies, collect and paint rocks and do some watercolor with popsicles. Not sure. 

Maybe a little of this to kill some time...

Jude had on his Spidey costume and Liam attacked!

Spidey didn't stand a chance!

Whatever we end up doing, Summer is sure to bring more of this:

friends and popsicles

Easy Rider type outings (can't you see their rebellious spirits?!)

hot, sweaty days

miniature golf!

jam sessions with friends!

Here is to an exciting Summer adventure with two amazing boys!

It's been a while...Sorry!

I thought I'd catch you up on things with us at the Fish house via images...

Not only is Liam a total ham, he's a true Texan too.  ha ha ha.  He had such a hard time getting those  boots on!  In the end, I had to  help him out. He's got some growing to do before he can walk in them!  Ha ha ha. Pudding: I gave Liam and Jude a treat, turned my back for a second and turned back around to find more on him than in his mouth!

Liam is also a dare devil. I am sure I will be a frequent customer of the ER with this one.  He was helping with the dishes the other day and while I turned my back to get the dishwashing soap, he got a knife out of the dishwasher and was licking it - sharp side.  I screamed in complete terror and then the three of us (me, Liam and Jude) began to cry as Daddy remained calm to make sure Liam still had his tongue and I had my wits about me.  Uggghhh...that was a tough one.  Don't get me started on how I had to run and get him out of the middle of the street the other day!

As for Jude - he's working on his soccer and basketball skillz and seems to be getting better everyday.  he LOVES sports and Bear Grylles and his Daddy and brother.  He has also been doing a lot of Big Wheel riding lately!

I don't have pictures of this for fear that the boys would fall into the water, but I took Jude, James and Liam fishing with Pop and Ma.  They had so much fun.  They caught 5 fish - kept 2 and 3 got away.

Liam has learned to chew gum without swallowing it.  He and Jude are definitely brothers!

lots of tears over this

It is with much joy and sadness that I share the photo above. We moved Liam's crib into Jude's room.  They love sharing a room.  All Liam did in his other room was sleep anyway. It makes me sad to think that all this baby stuff will be painted over and packed up. They grow up WAY too fast.  i love them both very much and blessed beyond all measure to be their Mommy!