My "nerdy" boys

Okay, so I know I haven't blogged for a long time, and I have oh so much to catch up on (like the birth of another miniature human), but I couldn't resist this picture. What in the world? I guess we don't have enough food, candy, snacks or treats in this house, because when the nerds from Landon's stocking were spilled, he and Ashton proceeded to clean them up in true doggy fashion! Funny little dudes!

A daring success!!

I guess sometimes it pays to be a little crazy! As some may know, I am about to have a baby. Well, this stubborn little dude was breech (head UP) for a long time. In my efforts to avoid a c-section my doctor scheduled me for a procedure called an external version. This is where 2 doctors try to turn the baby from the outside of my stomach. One tries pulling while the other pushes. All the while I am hooked up to an ultrasound so they can ensure the babies safety. Now, I have had this done 2 times, and let's just say it is NOT very comfortable to say the least. In fact..... it KILLS! I had it done with Kennedy and she wouldn't turn and that is why she was born C-section. Emma was also breech, and I had it done with her and she turned! Yeah Emma!! Thanks to that I have been able to avoid subsequent surgeries! Anyway, back to my point. We were hoping the baby would turn on his own before the version, but I was a little skeptical. I tried different suggestions to get him to move, but they didn't seem to work. The night before we had to go, we went swimming at the pool on base. My friend Lisa suggested I try doing a handstand in the water! Well.......

I did! and I do believe it worked!! When we went to Lawton the next morning, they got me all set up for the version, IV and all. When he went to the ultrasound he said "well look at that, a successful version!!" The baby had turned!! He said he had probably just turned the night before!! Maybe that shows that he isn't stubborn afterall!! Can't wait to meet this little guy!

I AM talented!

I'm always teasing about not having those nice outwardly noticeable talents like sewing, crafting, playing the piano, etc. Sometimes I must admit I am envious of all the crafty fun things people can make (okay, I know, I can learn..... and I do at least copy them and make them with them) :) It is embarrassing when my friend Ashley made Maile a cape for her birthday and the snap wouldn't stay on and I had to ask her to put some velcro on! I'm surprised she didn't just say "come on Julie it is just velcro, how easy is that?" (she is way too nice to say that!) Anyway, my point is, I have found a way in which I AM crafty! Jodi found this graphic and emailed it to me.... I think it just may fit!!! What do you think? :)

August Hodgepodge

I have been trying to think of how to organize my blog and how to put on the pictures of just random things. I decided that at the end of the month I would just go through and any pictures that I wanted on the blog that hadn't made it, would just go in a "hodge podge" post. So, here is my 1st one.
Below is a picture of all my girlfriends here in Altus when we went out to lunch to celebrate my birthday. We went to a yummy Mexican Restaurant in town. (my fav) I've said it before, but I have wonderful friends here and Altus life certainly wouldn't be so perfect without them!! Thank you ladies for making my day special!
How could I pass up posting this beauty??!! What does this poor boy have in store for him with 3 older sisters? :)

Our good friends the Mumfords went to Utah house hunting and we were lucky enough to have their 2 oldest kids for a couple of nights. We love those kids and it was fun to have them! My kids love them too, so it really was a good time. Here is a picture of the girls reading and playing with Anna before bed. They all wanted to sleep by her. Why couldn't Anna just have 3 sides?

Jacob (child genius, seriously) was so nice and would read to Landon each night before they went to bed. It was sooo cute and Landon liked having a "big brother" for a couple days.

Here is a picture my friend Lisa took of Landon..... I think he is so handsome. Many days that smile may be the one thing that saves him.... :) We love you Landon!!

Here is a picture of my friend Amanda. She was Kennedy's 1st grade teacher and I just love her. She is due about a month behind me and I thought I'd include this "pregnant picture".

A few weeks ago we went to the lake with some of our friends. It was sooo fun. We had dinner and just played. My friend Adreann took some cute pix of the kiddos and I wanted to add them.
Kennedy and Mikey

Needless to say, it was a great month, full of fun and laughs!

Showered with Love

Boy do I feel loved!! Even on baby number 6 I got to have a baby shower! I really do have such wonderful friends and feel so blessed to have them in my life.
The shower was for my friend Katherine and I. We are actually due on the same day and she is having a little girl! (her 1st, she has 2 boys... exciting!)
This is a picture of the beautiful table that Jodi decorated! (it was at her house, and she is a wonderful table decorator!) Aren't the diaper cakes so cute! (funny story to follow about those "cakes") Everything was dee-licious!! Below are pix of some of the people who came! What could be more fun than getting together with great women friends, eating yummy food, and celebrating babies!! :) Thanks Lisa for taking the pix! I guess that is how you managed to escape being IN any of them! :)

Here is a shot of Katherine and I! It was a really fun time and I am thankful for all the thoughtful and generous gifts that I received!!! Thanks Ladies!!

Rodeo Fun in Altus

Whoever said that fun and exciting things don't happen in Altus Oklahoma, has not witnessed the Cattle drive and Rodeo! :) The morning of the Rodeo, a cattle drives goes through the base and the elementary students all get to come and watch. The boys and I decided to join in the fun. It is always fun to get together with friends and let the little ones run around!
Here are Landon and Ashton just chillin' as they wait for the cows and horses to walk by.
The boys were a bit skeptical of the horses at first and didn't want to pet them. They did want to be close to them though. At least Ashley is brave! :)

Micah got to join us for a few minutes. Just in time to help Landon warm up!

Later that night we were able to go to the actual rodeo. It was military night which meant we got to enjoy a free dinner! No clean up at home is always welcomed!

We arrived early and had dinner and then the kiddos spent lots of time looking at the horses and cows before the rodeo started. Emma said they were feeding them TONS of grass! Oh the simple pleasures! It was a fun night and we even bought a new cowboy hat!!

Here is Landon proving that all of the fun and action isn't just in the arena, but that the bleachers are where it is at!!! Good times!

Family trip to Dallas

We decided to do one last hurrah before school started... to kind of end off the summer. Well, it didn't exactly go as planned because we weren't able to get a reservation (at a good price) until the Friday after school started. That was okay, not much could be happening on day 4, right? We left right after school on Thursday, because I had a Dr. Appt. in Lawton. We got to the hotel around 9:00 and the fun would soon begin. There is just something magical about hotels! The kids were so excited to pick their beds, set up the hide a bed, and turn on the TV. For some reason TV is so fun in a hotel. Maybe because they get to be laying in bed to watch it!
Friday morning we had a yummy breakfast and then headed to the mall.... we were going to the American Girl Doll Store!!
We were meeting up with our good friends the Neilsons so we decided to wait for them to go to the AG store. The girls begged and begged to go ice skating, and we gave in. It was the first time for all of them and they loved it!! (Maile stayed by the wall the whole time!

We also got to eat some yummy fries!

Then we were off to doll heaven! The kids were excited to see their friends and spend their summer reading money! They each got to choose one outfit for their doll! (that was lucky because you could potentially spend lots of dinero there...... girls are expensive!)

Well, our ultimate destination was the Great Wolf Lodge!! Such a fun place. It is a hotel with a huge indoor water park and this one even had an outdoor pool/park also! We had been to one in Virginia in 2005 and were excited to go back!

Look at all those blondies!! So fun to be with the Neilsons!

Here is our crew out in front of the hotel!

This is right inside the lobby. You can see the indoor park in the background! They are ready to go!!
Micah and the boys.

Here are the girlies! They played hard for 1 1/2 days!

Ashton was crazy about this slide and would walk up to the top and go down by himself... he wanted to do it all day long! It was really cute!

Kennedy and Grace in the outdoor pool.

Ashton had fun sitting on this little bike thingy, but never quite figured out how to squirt it!

But Maile and Landon mastered it!

Here are Landon and Jaike. They are best buddies and have known eachother since they were about 3 months old! They sure had fun together!

By the end of the second day the kids were soo exhausted! They played hard! We left the waterpark when it closed at 9:00 pm. We hit the Wendys drive through and went to a different hotel (cheaper since we were done with the park). Both boys fell asleep in the car and we carried them upstairs to the room. They never woke up... not for dinner, diaper changes,pj's, or anything! It was really funny!

The kids loved riding on the luggage cart. (it's that hotel magic again). Check out that cute cheesy grin!

A sure sign of a successful family vacation.... a happy, licorice covered boy in a carseat!

We had a blast! It was so fun to see friends and spend great time together as a family!