Parker Family Get-To-Gether missing a few Parkers

We had a wonderful weekend in Centralia but we were missing half of the family. As you can see we were missing Crosby, Lauren, Crosby II and Shannon and Sarah but we managed to have a wonderful time. The weather was perfect and the children played and played while the adults drank and ate!

Coco and a few of her grandchildren enjoying the new pool. The pool is great for kids because it has two sets of steps and a ledge on one side that the children can stand on. There isn't a "deep" end but it is 6 feet or so which was perfect for Parker who loves to dive for rings and sticks.

Taylor in is puddle-jumper. If you have a toddler and don't have one of these then I highly recommend getting one. They are great and keep your child afloat. Even if they fall in they will float on their back.

Taylor going down the slide

Bennett being cool
We moved from the pool to the slip n slide

And of course there were LOTS of rides on the golf cart!!!
Cute cousins!

Catching butterflies in Coco's garden
On the Sunday morning I tried to get a picture of the three of them and this is the best I could do with two of them still in their PJs.
Parker, Bennett and I are still having a good time in Centralia. The weather has been in the low 80s and the sun shining so we have been busy outdoors. I have more pictures to post soon.

Happy Father's day Clif!

I'm so lucky to have Clif as a husband because he is such a wonderful father. He loves to play with Parker and Bennett and he even took them out to breakfast at on his big day. Thanks for all that you do and continue to do for our family!

And I can't forget my own dad.....thanks for being a great father! We can't wait to see you this weekend!

IT IS HOT IN MISSISSIPPI! and it is only June!

Good thing I am heading North for a couple of weeks with the children to visit Coco and Papa Jack. We are definitely staying busy this summer. Three weeks ago Parker had swim lessons every afternoon and is now swimming like a fish. She can get just about anything off of the pool bottom in the shallow end. Yesterday she started diving off of the diving board. It looked more like a belly flop but it didn't seem to hurt her. I will get a picture this week since we swim twice a day due to the 100 degree temps lately. This past week, she had dance camp every morning for three hours and a small program on Friday showing us what she learned. During those three hours, Bennett and I tried to get a little one on one time swimming, playing inside or running errands. I took a little video on my camera from the program and will post soon. The teachers said that they couldn't believe how well she did at the program because all week she just sat up against the wall (I wasn't at all surprised by this). I was pretty impressed too!

Here is a picture of her on the first morning of dance camp

Bennett grabbed a seat to watch his sister dance

Having dinner on the patio after an afternoon of swimming.
Also, my garden has been looking great despite the heat due to my new watering system!

The first week of June we all headed down to Gulfport to stay with Aunt Lauren and Uncle Crosby while Clif competed in the State Amatuer golf tournament. We had a wonderful time. Lauren had all sorts of fun activities for us to do. We headed to the beach one morning. As you can see from the pictures it was really overcast but that is just the right amount of sun for us redheads!

Above, Bennett is ready to hit the beach and play. Below, Parker, Bennett & Crosby get started digging in the sand. All three splashed around in the ocean but got a little cold once they got out.

The next day we headed to a splash park which the children really enjoyed. They were able to run around and stay dry or run through the fountians. Bennett ran straight in, Crosby took his time deciding which was the best way to go and Parker did the same.

Bennett and Crosby having fun running in the fountains. This picture is funny because right above Crosby are these big troughs of water that when they get full they turn and dump and right as he was getting ready to finally run through the fountains, he ran right under them as they turned and dumped on him. He was a little startled but got right back to business after checking in with mom. Then one afternoon, we went over to the Berry's to eat crawfish and let the children swim in the fun little inflatable pool with a slide. After swimming, Bennett had a seat with me to enjoy his goldfish.
Back at Crosby and Lauren's, Bennett enjoyed playing on their deck and really enjoyed wearing this empty flower pot on his head!

Thanks Crosby and Lauren for having us in your home! We hope y'all have a great summer and we look forward to meeting your new addition!

I just wanted to announce that my good friend Melissa Schultz in Houston gave birth to William "Liam" Phillip Schultz on May 26th. He was a little guy weighing 6 lb 5 oz but mom says that he is eating lots and has already gained lots of weight. Mom, Dad and baby are doing great.

Memorial Day weekend we were in Natchez for Clif's cousin Carr's wedding. The wedding was at Monmouth and was beautiful. I had never been there and we had a great time. The children really enjoyed the little fish pond and ducks on the larger pond. Below is a picture of Clif in his new seersucker suit and Bennett in his seersucker too.

Parker and Bennett were immediately drawn to the goldfish pond. Right before the wedding Parker had her arm up to her shoulder in the pond trying to "fish" she said.

This is one of my favorite pictures as well as this one
Here the gang is checking out the ducks
And here Bennett is running off quacking like a duck!

Aunt Sunny had create a great children's table. Below is Bennett, Parker, Ethan and Mary Olivia taking a break before the bank started up

Behind where the kids sat was the table of goodies. It was decorated with cotton candy, suckers, cookies, jelly beans, etc. Definitely cute but Bennett ended up eating 6 suckers!

They also had fun toys for the children to play with including the wand you see Bennett with below, hula hoops & bouncing balls

So, by the end of the wedding the children were sticky and exhausted so we headed back to Park Place to take a bath and go straight to bed....except dad who headed out to the boat. At least he was a winner! The next day we got up early and headed to Gulfport for the night...pictures to follow soon.

We've been doing a lot of swimming already these days. Parker has started swim lessons this week and will finish next week. Below are just a few pictures from a couple of weeks ago. Bennett has just started getting in since it has warmed enough for me to get in with him.

All this swimming makes them end of like this which is a wonderful thing!

I've gotten a little behind with all of my travels these days. So let's get caught up!
We've had lots of rainy days and Parker and Bennett like to take EVERY stuffed animal and carry them from the play room to the den and then any where else they feel like it.

Here they are in front of the side door
Now we're ready to read before bed. Below Parker was reading to Bennett from her favorite books all about Reptiles and Dinosaurs.
Then the Carnival came to town! Parker had been before but this was Bennett's first trip and he loved it! Below is Bennett riding the Dumbo ride with me.

Parker riding the Dumbo ride

Parker and Clif riding the Dragon roller coaster....her favorite!

Clif and Bennett on the trucks.

Then the Bulldog team came to town for the Annual Alumni meeting and the new football coach spoke. Below is a picture of Parker getting paw print painted on her face while Bennett looked on in amazement.

Parker, Bennett and Shelbi....their favorite sitter these days.

It is so hard to get a good picture of everyone!

Then to top off some of the crazy days we've had in May, Bennett started crawling out of his crib. Below is a picture of him taking a nap in his big boy bed. By the end of his nap he had fallen between the bed and the railing. He is still sleeping in his crib the majority of the time but is increasingly climbing out. I still think that he is not ready for the big boy bed so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Taking turns

On a rainy day Parker and Bennett took turns playing with the hula hoop.

Thank you Crissie's mom for sending us Baby Jaguar!
We are so glad to have Baby Jaguar back in our lives. He went missing the Saturday we went to Starkville to visit for Taylor's birthday. I had no idea that she brought her with us and then left him at the Cook's house. We were frantic for a couple of days until we heard that he was comfortable living in Starkville and that she would be home soon. Since she has been back home sleep comes a little bit easier each night! Thanks again Crissie's mom for taking such good care of her!

Here is one of the ultrasound pictures of baby girl. As you can see she is very active and kicking wildly with one of her legs straight in the air. I also learned that she is breach right now so pray that in the next couple of months that she turns the right way. The ultrasound continues to have my due date on September 9th and I think that my doctor is going to induce around then so we might have a baby born on 9/9/09. That would be easy to remember!

Parker, what do you think it is?

We are very excited but I'm not sure Bennett feels that same way!