Bounce on over, We had a Ball!

This past week/weekend was full of emotions - tiredness from last weeks mission trip to North Carolina (our first as a family of four!), sadness for a friend & deacon in our church passing away, excitement celebrating our boys birthdays, & anticipation beginning the school year.  Sixteen family members drove to celebrate Peyton's 3rd & Nolan's 1st birthday.  (I chose to do one party for both boys due to having family live many miles away & for planning purposes.)  We made many memories playing with new toys, eating together, & bonding while decorating/setting up/un-decorating for the party.  It was a wonderful weekend.
I decided on a "ball" theme, because Nolan LOVES balls!  We had "meatballs," watermelon balls, cheese balls, veggie balls, etc for dinner.  We had out all of the boys favorite "ball" games - baseball, bowling, golf, basketballs, soccer balls, & I ordered bouncy balls for the little swimming pool.  We had gum balls as the centerpieces, & gave out beach balls as the favor.  My mother-in-law made the boys adorable outfits (that matched the invitations)!  It all came together, & more importantly - the boys seemed to LOVE it!

Pre-party! 

Cousin Love! Lele, Hayes, Nolan, Peyton, & Carter 

Peyton pausing for a moment to smile for a picture! 

Nolan checking out his smash cake! 

Peyton loving every bite of his cake!

Delicious cookies from Suzanne Johnson

Tomorrow, we celebrate Nolan's first birthday.  My heart is full.  God has blessed us with two full of life, rambunctious boys who make my life complete.  Tomorrow will be bittersweet.

Celebrating Freedom (& Summer)!

Happy late 4th of July!  I hope you & your family had a wonderful weekend!  We are trying to make it a family tradition to go to Kentucky for 4th of July! (We have gone for 2 years, but couldn't make the drive due to Nolan's arrival date.) We had a blast!  We got to spend quality time with my family - ran a 10K race, had a delicious cook-out, enjoyed time shopping, playing with ALL of our old toys (yes - Mom has a basement full of my sisters & my toys...the boys love it).  The only downside - We drove in a downpour to & from KY, ran a 10K in rain (this was my first race experience in the rain), & played inside the entire weekend!  We made memories in the midst of the bad, holiday weather weekend.

Running the Bluegrass 10K with two of my favorite runners - Anna & Codye 

Our group - Jonathan & Phil ran it much faster than us! 

Happy 4th from the Barlows! 

Anna, Me, Nancy - we didn't plan the stripes!

After our weekend in KY, Peyton stayed for Cousins' Camp! My mom & dad had this idea last year - to keep Carter & Peyton for a week.  So, we left Peyton in KY - the longest I had been away from him in 2 1/2 years!  I don't think he missed us much.  He was too busy riding trains, playing at a water park, playing on 3 different playgrounds, eating pancakes at McDonalds, etc.!  It was a busy, but memorable week for him! We ALL were excited to get him home.

Nolan missed Peyton in the car! 

A few cell phone pictures from Mom -

Train Ride! Peyton, Grandaddy, Grandmama, & Carter 

A morning walk to see the cows! 

I am LOVING every minute of summer break!!! I hope you are too!

Summer Lovin'!

I love this time of year! I love my job, but enjoy the much-needed break from teaching.  I love getting to sip on coffee & watch the Today show in the mornings.  I love making family memories with my sweet family!  Here's what we've been up too this summer -
Peyton took swim lessons!  Since taking the lessons, I've been impressed with his confidence in the pool.

My college roommate, Codye, came to visit!!! Codye, Robby, & their precious kids came for a weekend, & we had the best time!!! We stayed up late talking, played outside & went to the park...sweet memories!

Campbell & Nolan at the park 

Loving time together - Codye & me 

We enjoyed our time at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina! We loved seeing old friends from McAfee School of Theology & new friends within the CBF.  I kept the boys busy - a hotel room with a 2 year old & 10 month old is tough!

My cousin, Daniel & Peyton 

Loved my time with Megan Redditt! 

Loving time with friends in NC! 

Today, we are headed to Kentucky to celebrate the 4th with my family! I can't wait!