Week One!!!

Greetings from Lake Hamilton! It is absolutely beautiful here, and the boys are in heaven swimming, tubing, fishing, playing and then completely crashing at the end of each day. Ryan and I are having the best time watching the bond between these boys develop, grow, and strengthen...one of the main reasons this vacation was so important to us. So much has taken place since we arrived last Tuesday here in Hot Springs, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Beautiful Lake Hamilton...The view from the deck...

The boat dock...This is the boys' favorite spot!

The Soladay family lake house...

It's such a pretty lake.

A typical night while dinner is cooking on the grill. Preston actually beat me at dominoes...well...with Ryan's help. =)

Tubing on the lake!

Even Carter got a turn this year!

Trysten patiently waiting his turn...such a sweet smile!

Little Preston...

Love him...

Our good friends Chris and Kristin joined us for a few days, and jumped right in with the boys! Kristin helping the boys fish...

Chris playing with Trysten and Carter...He'll be such a good daddy someday. =)

We celebrated Preston's 8th birthday on Saturday and gave him the choice as to where we ate dinner...He chose Chili's...Chili's it was! Preston and Trysten with P's new Bakugan!

After dinner, we went and played mini-golf!

My sweet hubby...We are so blessed to experience life and share our children together...

Carter was hilarious playing mini-golf! He had us all cracking up!

These 2 have been inseparable...

Austin's endless pursuit to catch a catfish...which he finally ended up doing!!

Love watching them together...

This is what the boys look like at the end of each day...exhausted and happy!!!! =)

On to another amazing week.....

BUSY!!!

The day has come! We're leaving shortly after Ryan arrives home from work today, and we're off to the lake house for 2 glorious weeks of family time! The kids are coming out of their skin with anticipation, so I have sent them to the media room to watch a movie with strict instructions not to interrupt the packing with miscellaneous, random drama. In other words....Mama is BUSY!

We surprised the kids last night with my new car right before we left for family pictures, and in the infamous words of Trysten, they thought it was "tight"! Now they're actually looking forward to the drive! I am looking forward to reading the handbook on the way there, so I can figure out/set up all the voice activated goodies it came with! Until then, have a great week, and I'll post pics of the happenings on Lake Hamilton as they occur!! Love me a road trip, baby!!

My List and Father's Day

When I started dating again after my divorce, I made a mental and physical list of what I wanted in a future husband, and it went something like this...

1. Sense of Humor- I wanted someone who could laugh through the good times and the bad.


2. Divorced- I wanted someone with a realistic view of marriage and what it takes to make it work.


3. Had Children- I wanted someone who understood what it is to love your child, so that he could in turn love mine.


4. Respectful- I wanted a man with integrity and morals...someone with a good character...not someone I had to hide parts of his personality that I wasn't proud of.


5. Responsible- I wanted someone who I knew I could become a partner with to make responsible financial and life decisions for our family.


6. Honest- I wanted someone who lived life honestly for his family and himself.


7. Strong Family Ties- I wanted a man with strong connections to his own parents.
   
8. And....as a joke...I had "needs to be 6'2" on my list....=)

I had no idea that I would find a man with everything on my list and more...Not only did I find my soul mate, but I found a man who took on the role of father to my children without looking back, without any questions, without any complaints...That's a good man...

Ryan,

You are an amazing man, and I am continuously in awe at what you have done and continue to do for our family. The boys love and respect you more than I could have ever hoped for, and as we discussed several times over the past weekend together, I am more in love with you than the day we said "I do.". There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for bringing us together. Happy Father's Day, baby.

Your Wife...

NOW FOR SOME FATHER'S DAY PICS!!!

We spent the day with Ryan's close friend and boss, Steve, on his boat at Lake Texoma. It was a blast!

Steve and Trysten...You can see Steve's 2 little girls on the boat. They are precious!

Priceless moments...

Good times! Trysten wasn't too sure about how he felt about the tube at first!

Love this pic...

Father and son...Pure joy!

Steve's sister-in-law and I hanging on the back...As Tiffany said, nice angle!

Steve's daughter, Lauren...I wanted to take her home with me!

Perfect ending to a perfect day...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!

The Recipe...

The Baseball Crew Party Recipe:

• 17 kids
• 25 adults
• A Pool
• More food than can be healthily consumed by the total number of people in attendance
• 4 cases of Capri Sun
• Brownies
• Miller Lite
• Boxed Wine...because we like it...
• So much laughter your sides hurt the following morning

Mix all together, and you are guaranteed a good time!!!

There were lots of water guns...Ya...these become really annoying after being shot in the head about 10 times...

He's a fish...I'm serious! He can stay in the water until his finger and toes are raw.

Brandon and Jennifer...love them!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Soladay...I just like saying that...The crew loves to tease us because we still act like newlyweds...=)

Mike and Sheryl...Love them too!

Sheryl, Liz, me and Kathy...Some of the most amazing women I have ever met!!!

Ryan got suckered into throwing all the kids in the pool...Still a kid himself...That's why I love him!

It's so unfair that kids have abs like this! Have they ever done a sit up...no!

Trophy time!

The infamous box of wine...There's a story behind it, but that's for another day... =)

GOOD TIMES!!!

Our Soundtrack

I was sitting in my bed this morning listening to the boys...beyond the walls of my silent, peaceful sanctuary...playing, laughing, singing, simply making noise for the sake of filling up empty space, and I thought this must be the soundtrack of our family. I have never purchased a movie soundtrack CD due to the fact I always considered them a compilation of meaningless background music, but really when you think about it, it's the background music that makes a movie. So I guess the humming while coloring, high fives and woo hoos after completing a trick on their scooters, the laughter, the music and even the crying make up our soundtrack. I have found that when the boys are at their dads, and the house is completely silent, I miss the noise. Perhaps I have lived around it for so long, I am comforted by the familiar sounds. In fact, the first thing I do in the morning is turn on music. It reminds me of my mother barefoot, dancing to the Bee Gees when I was little. I loved watching her...

The soundtrack of a family is forever changing as it's members grow and change as a result of life experiences, and no two families have exactly the same one. How exciting and romantic at the same time to realize we have the ability to create our own for our families. It's funny how simply tuning into the sounds in my home are a reminder of how truly blessed I am to be right "where" I am...

Summer is Here...and Recent, Random Pictures!

Summer is officially here, and I couldn't be happier! I love the laid back schedule, the warm weather, the freedom, the vacations and the endless possibilities for outdoor fun! My boys spent the first weekend of the season with their dad, so Ryan and I spent 3 days acclimating ourselves into the summer routine...It's a rough job, but someone has to do it! Here are some recent, random pictures to celebrate the beginning of my favorite time of the year!

Trysten posing for the camera...He's quite possibly the most photographed child on earth!

The boys having a blast at the beach pool!

Trysten and Austin after Preston and Carter buried them in the sand...
Carter and Austin
Carter taking a break at the pool...

My sweet Preston...I love profile pics
Carter showing me his wrinkled hands from a long day in the water!

Austin and 2 of his friends riding the paddle boats...

I love pics of the boys in their uniforms! So cute! Although it's summer, baseball isn't over. Preston has 1 more regular season game, and then it's the playoffs. His team is in 1st place!

Ryan and I on our date night! We had dinner at Cru', watched The Soloist at the Angelika Film Center....amazing...and then listened to some live music under the stars. If you live in the area, you have to check out The Shops of Legacy on a Saturday evening. Very romantic. =)

Ryan and I having dinner at Chris and Kristin's house. They have a great deck and outdoor kitchen, so after a day in the pool, we lit candles, put on some James Taylor and had steak and potatoes. It was awesome!


WELCOME SUMMERTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!