Last year....

So two weeks ago, I pledged to blog more.

And I'm determind to get a year-in-review post in here before Febrary.

So...get ready beacuse here it is!

In January someone celebrated their 4th birthday and got a big-girl bike!

We had more lost teeth

And a visit with our favorite family!

We saw the BCS National Trophy

And went to Colorado for Uncle Ben and Aunt Bekah's wedding

Alex and I ran the Warrior Dash again

 Someone turned 7

And we did lots of strawberry and blackberry pickin'.

We also went to the beach

Visited with our Florida friends again

And then went back to the beach.

We got even further away from the baby stage when this little guy got potty trained.

Melody and Charlie we asked to model for my friend Sherry's awesome line of children's clothing and are now famous and being offered modeling contracts all over the world. Ok, I might have exaggerated that last part...

Four out of five Powells went back to school...including this little guy who started preschool this year!

We cheered

And played football

And celebrated a third birthday with cupcakes

Our favorite family come to visit again and we had fun with our friendly rivalry

At Thanksgiving we got to meet our new cousin, Holden Luke

And then watch him get baptized in December

We went on a ski trip to Beaver Creek, CO. Jack learned how to ski backwards and Melody thought riding the gondola was more fun than skiing.

And then we wrapped up our busy 2011 with a great Christmas at home!

Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

Goodbye

This is one of my favorite pictures from our last beach trip.

I just love the way my children are holding hands.

I love the way that they are gazing out ove the ocean.

I love all the hair in Melody's ponytail.

I was thinking about this picture today.  Mainly because, for me, Labor Day is sort of the day I feel we all say goodbye to summer.  I'm excited about the new school year the four (yes, I said four! I'm finally back in school!) of us are embarking on.  I'm excited about activities and events that are already cluttering our calendar this fall. But I love summer.  I love the lazy days.  I love the freedom.  I even love the heat.  I love the heat a lot.  And I will miss summmer.  This was a special summer for my children and I.  And think of this summer fondly.

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it!
Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

Bright and shiney things

Melody loves all bright and shiney things so I knew it was only a matter of time before she would want...her ears pierced!

She has been asking for a few weeks. I was ready for her to do it. Alex wasn't so sure. Melody and I discussed it and determined that ear piercing is really a girls' decision though. So, while at the beach last week, we decided to take advantage of a rainy morning and get pierced!

Melody was so excited but I knew she didn't really understand what piercing meant.

She could tell something was going on.

I think she thought all was well and good when she got a lollipop.

Then she found out what ear piercing really was!

Fortunately they did both ears at the same time.

I really think she thought the pain was worth it when she saw them!

And a kiss makes everything better!

(All photos courtesy of the talented Pam P3 Powell.)

Putt-Putt

Last week I blogged about our beach trip.  While the sand and surf was fun, that wasn't all we did.  We played an exciting game of...putt-putt!

Jack was thrilled when he saw that there was a putt-putt course right outside our room.  He has played a few times and is a self-proclaimed expert.

On Saturday night, after dinner, the four of us decided to tackle the putt-putt course.

This is how our game went:

We spend a lot of time decided what color balls to get. (Yes, much to Melody's dismay, Charlie also insisted on a pink ball.)

Jack announced to everyone else on the course that he was a putt-putt expert.  After all, he has played before.  Twice.

Charlie misunderstood the purpose of the game and just ran around grabbing balls.

This prompted me to repeatedly yell out, "Charlie, stop grabbing other people's balls!"  Fortunately, that provided amusment to the other families playing putt-putt in a more calm manner.

Melody wanted me to help her with each wack of the club.  This provided ample time for Charlie to continue is ball-stealing spree.

Jack continued to show off his "expert skills" by louding proclaiming all he knew about putt-putt, water hazards, bunkers, putt-putt compared to real golf...

You get the idea.

Finally, we finished.

 (I know you are all going to say how adorable Melody's outfit is and, yes, I agree.  It's a creation by my friend, Sherry, who designs all kind of adorable children's clothes and accessories.  Visit her here...and she's having free shipping until July 1!)

And what's a game of putt-putt without ice cream afterwards? (I told Melody and Charlie to take off their shirs since ice cream sandwiches and white don't really mix, and Charlie decided just to strip all the way down.  Literally.  I stopped the diaper removal just in time.)

Would you believe that, after all that, I let them talk me into playing again the next day! The sun must have really bleached my brain.

(Who am I kidding...we had a blast, ball stealing and all!)

Sand, Surf and Fun!

Our summer has been off to a fun start!  After celebrating Jack's 7th birthday, we headed to Destin, FL for a few days.  My dad had a conference there so we went down to mooch off them keep Grammy from getting too bored.

And it was anything but boring!

We immediately started our sea shell hunt

followed by a refreshing dip in the waves

And some of the waves were pretty big!

Jack learned how to boogie-board.  Yes, I taught him.  You probably don't know this but I am an expert boogie-boarder.

And what would a trip to the beach be without a rockin' sand castle!

What fun trips does your family have planned this summer?