Birthday Celebrations!

We have celebrated some milestone birthdays over the past few weeks. Mawmaw turned 70 and John turned the big 6-0! We had the pleasure of spending a weekend with Mawmaw. And then for John's birthday celebration we got to spend some time with some good family friends visiting from Michigan. Here are some pictures from Mawmaw's birthday celebration weekend;

Evelyn and Lane enjoying the pool with their new floaties.


And Tori, who can't resist an opportunity to be poolside.

Lane tried so hard and finally was able to pull the trigger on this monster squirt gun.

Lane has no self control when it comes to frosting.

Mawmaw's birthday cake and singing, note the question mark candle and Lane who eagerly awaits a piece of cake.


Uncle Brolin having fun with the children.

Lane putting on a mini concert performance. He sang and played for all our guests.

We celebrated John's birthday last weekend which included pool fun, a boat ride and even a fried turkey oh and we can't forget the home made pineapple chiffon cake made by John's mother Mamaw, sent from Texas! Here are some photos from last weekend's birthday celebration;

Lots of new pictures!!

Peeking
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

Just uploaded over a page of new photos to flickr. We've had fun the past two days! Check them out :)

Happy Father's Day

Justin had a wonderful Father's Day. He got to sleep in, eat warm blueberry muffins when he woke up, and he even got a handmade card from Evelyn and Lane. We spent the day relaxing, tending to the garden and just enjoying each other's company.

Sweet

Magic Moment
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

This photo was featured Monday at Shutter Sisters. The One Word Project continues, the word for June is sweet. So glad they thought this was sweet too :)

Mud Covered Baby

Last week we had a couple days of rain and when it finally stopped we were itching to get outside. The kids had a blast splashing and playing in this mud puddle. They were soaking wet and needed a pre-bath before their actual bath. Evelyn was covered from head to toe in mud.

The Garden Chronicles, An Update

It has been over a month since the last Garden Chronicles post, so this will be an update. So much has happened with our garden over the past month.

We mixed/filled the bed with dirt.
Planted our seedlings, tomato and pepper plants.
Installed a fence to keep the bunnies out (our yard is quite enchanted with bunnies and birds). We may have to put up a scarecrow once the fruit starts growing.
We now have a jungle.

We are proud of our little garden and take well care with it. It gets watered and every day and evening we visit/admire the garden's progress.
It's like this garden has become part of the family. Some days Lane even says "we need to water the garden". So far gardening has been a learning experience that we are enjoying.

Tree Swing

Justin and Lane built a tree swing this weekend. We gathered up the supplies on Saturday and then Sunday Justin and Lane assembled and installed the swing. They did an amazingly impressive job. Our tree swing is the sturdiest, most well crafted tree swing I have seen. Justin even got to exercise his inner boy scout by tying bowline knots. After completion, Lane had the honors of the first swing. He loved it and kept saying "a little faster daddy" as Justin was pushing him on the swing. Evelyn was next to have a go. She couldn't have enjoyed herself more. She laughed the entire time she was swinging. We all love our new tree swing! Lane said to Justin, "daddy, did you build this swing for me?" and Justin said "yes", then Lane said "I love you daddy" and gave him a big hug. When Justin told me this, my heart just melted. I have a feeling the children will enjoy this swing for many years to come.