Branson's 4th Birthday

I can't believe Branson's 4! It makes us so sad that he's growing up so fast, it really doesn't feel like it's been 4 years already! We had Branson's gifts out on the table in the morning when he got up, he was so excited to come around the corner and see everything sitting there. He said, "did my friends come in the night while I was sleeping?" We let the kids have a fun cereal for their birthday breakfast, so far it's always been the "rainbow cereal" that's been picked. Unfortunately, they only eat the marshmallows and leave the actual cereal - which is a good reminder why we don't buy that cereal on a regular basis.

So our last birthday party with the pool... So sad! My days of not having to plan activities and games are over! We usually do our parties pretty small, because, well, let's be honest, the thought of having a million kids over makes me nervous, so this year we did 2 parties. Popular little Branson's accumulated so many friends over the years, we could have easily had 5 or 6 parties, so we had to narrow it down. It's starting to really hit me that we're moving and having to say goodbye to our friends. Although we talk about moving to Canada all the time, Branson doesn't realize that we're actually leaving everything and everyone. I feel sad for him, he really has such good friends here!

 

 Spence's girlfriend Lyla

 

 Smith

 

 Jones & Hudson

 

Cameron, Hudson, & Branson, showing off their rings

 

And party #2...

 

Chase, Grant, Dahlia, Alyssa, Alexandra, Talmage, Brener, Branson, & Dexton



Swimming Lessons

Branson did swimming lessons this year, and it definitely went better than last year! I think we needed that extra year to be fully comfortable without his lifejacket. I was amazed at how much he learned in the 2 weeks. He's a little fish now!

They pushed their faces in the water to make sure they kept them in. They had the kids lined up along the side of the pool and threw them in so they could get to the surface and swim to the side on their own. In the end Branson was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side on his own. We could only watch the lesson on the last day, so it was crazy to see the improvement! 

Summer Fun

We have to fit in as many fun summer things as we can before we leave. And it's so crazy hot outside, the pools and splash parks are pretty much our only option!

 It took Spence a bit to get used to the splash park, this is actually the first time he went in, but he loved it once he was comfortable

 There's beach volleyball courts beside the fountains, and the boys love to go over and play in the sand. It had rained a couple days before we went and the courts were just giant mud puddles... Of course the kids loved them! They just ran and slid, went face first into the mud, they were in heaven!

 Anyone who really knows me is looking at this thinking, "The Caryn we know would never let her children do this". It was hard at first, I will admit, but they had so much fun!

Branson and his friend Hudson, hanging out by the pool

Baby Shower

My amazing, talented and creative friends, Heather and Nadine threw me a baby shower this weekend. It kinda made me feel bad for anyone that I've ever thrown a shower for. They went all out and everything was super cute. I really don't think that much about all the cute little details, so it's nice when other people do! It was so good to see so many of my friends too, it just makes me sad that I'm going to have to leave them!

 We stenciled cute little pictures on onesies. So stinkin cute. I've forgotten how little newborn clothes are!

 Jamie, Jodie, and Danielle... Jamie and Jodie had to leave early, so they weren't in on the group picture

Heather, Nadine, Ashlee, Danielle, and Shannon

I love these girls, will I ever find replacements??

Teeball

We were able to get Branson in teeball this year. He was actually too young for the league, but they let him in anyway, and he had SO much fun! Teeball's a wee bit intense here, we started practice in February, which he had 2 per week, then once the games started, we had 2 or 3 games a week. He loved everything about it though, his uniform, his cleates, he couldn't wait to get dressed for the games. The best part though was that his team name was "Rangers", so he actually got to be a Texas Ranger, perfect for this kid!