Fear

Fear, its funny, when we are born we have no fear, no idea of the dangers of the world. We learn fear, we are taught fear.

My son has been scared -

the one time, I regretfully put a brown paper bag on my head to be funny, and made him cry for 15 mins.. needless to say he is A-fraid of masks...

Or his fear of Walgreens for 6 months after Easter. Because he thought that big ugly scary looking bunny was there... It wasnt until one day I clutched him in my arms, while he pinched and screamed,  I walked down to the pharmacy counter to show him that the Easter bunny was all gone..
Soothing him, telling him " he went home.. hes all gone"

Now, his insecurites come out every time we enter Walgreens, " Easter bunny is at home, mommy?"
" yes baby, hes all gone, he went home"

A few weeks ago, the children at day care were, innocently playing outside on the swings,
one child: " come push me austin"
So he does, then gets accidentally kicked. Nothing major, and I thought it would just be a passing thing. Because there were no boo-boos..

Today, weeks later,  when we go outside, Austin is petrified of the swing.

It really made me think, fear. Its a legitamte thing, and its hard to conquer.. Even when you're 2, or even moreso when you're two..

here I am at 22, and have some irrational fears, some legitamate ones too.. And we could try to spend our entire life being afraid to do things, or even trying to conquer them.

Fear is often either unfounded ( unlike Austins rational ones) or unexplanable..

Either way, as an adult I find most my fears are not of the physical nature, like heights or spiders, or Easter bunnies, but more so of the emotional nature - like rejection, or lonliness..

Today we got together with an old high school friend.. And Austin LOVES her..

1) she has the same name as me, so he gets to say "becky" without me telling him to stop
2) there was los of water and "kids" to play with..

he has NO FEAR of water...

Ebb & Flow

Life has its ups and downs, without the sad, we wouldnt have anything to compare the happy to, or to even look forward to.

What goes up, must come down.

With every, 'hole' or 'valley' will come a moutain, and victory.

Thus is life.

We mostly move peacfully through the ebb and flow of life, the busy, busy holidays evenly weigh weekends like this, where we do much of nothing, just hang out with each other, sitting in the sun, do alittle fishing, cook on the grill.

Dont get me wrong, I thrive on the busy, and the holidays, and the baking and everything.

But I LOVE me a good quiet weekend with the two guys in my life that mean the most to me.

It really makes you realize what you have. what you have to be thankful for.

So.
I did just that.

A good ole fashion family weekend..


And next weekend I am looking forward to a romantic getaway with my hubby man!

If you know me.. well, you know what I love, and how I roll..

I like to have fun, I like to take pictures, and I love to just live life happy! mostly, I do.. I am a really lucky girl! I have such a great husband, wouldnt have it any other way.. I have the most beautiful son, and sooooo many family members who I love, and really love me too!

I get all shivery thinking about how loved we are!

 ******
So. what have we been up to you ask?

Well, Im glad you did ask, because I have been dying to tell you.. ;)

We have met some new friends, and Its the most perfect situation. Keith found his perfect identical match, and awesomely enough I found one in his wife ( I think they are happy about this, because they sneak off to fish ALL the time... )

So we have been having a blast, in our double dating honeymoon stage..

Last week they brought us hiking, as if you forgot that!!

And seriously, we had to become best friends right? its just too perfect, not to!

so any way.. We are in love! and lovin' life!

oh and if your wondering, Austin and their baby are gonna be best friends too, its decided!!

Heres a few pics for ya!



Mr & Mrs




Me n Katie



arnt they handsome?

Apparently I think so.. or maybe that was the southern comfort talking? who knows!

TA-DA!

Have a good weekend..

** Austin Update**

Austin is doing a lot better with his mouth, the swelling is ALL the way back to normal. and his burn is completly gone too! He has earned 8 cars ( matchbox) for peeing on the potty, you gotta catch him at the right time and mood ( if you know what I mean, hes a little tempermental) he has yet to poop, BUT this is progress for us, this kid doesnt care any about the potty, and Im pretty sure he does it jsut for the cars..
but still..

oh and guess what?
he hasnt come into our bed in the middle of the night, FOR 6 NIGHTS!!!! AND falls asleep on his own too..

he is growing up so fast...

enjoying his pops!

The journey

Whoever said the "its not about the ending, its the journey that counts"
Isnt an out-of-shape 20- something mother of a toddler, yup that would be me!

We met some new friends, and went hiking, looking back Im glad we did it as our first 'double/family date"
however, while I was huffing, puffing, seizing, hyperventilating, sweating, and panting I didnt think it was such a good idea. There were times when I wanted to quit, I almost did, there were times when I was so tired, so exashted I HAD to take a break, I sometimes slowed up the crew,
but getting to the top.
It was like crossing a finish line in a marathon, it was something to be proud of.
Which is such a good reminder of parenthood, of marraige, relationships, and life in general.

Its hard. Its sweaty, sometimes you think you cant do it, sometimes you fight, swear, kick and scream. But then there are the beautiful moments that you experince, that you would have never gotten to if it were not for the long ass journey up the mountain to begin with.

Like meeting new people, forming new bonds, learning things about yourself you never knew, growing closer to your husband, and God.

Its corny, but so true!

Life is beautiful, and the finish line is so great! And the journey up the hill with people who I barley know, was an experience. Not only did they get to meet a very outof shape little french girl ( I tripped a lot) But we got to know each other, and expiernce it together!

Bottom line - the journeys arent always the pretties part, the funnest or the best part, but thats where the bonds are made, and the lessons learned. And memories, hey! I love memories!

the pre-hike nap ( wish I would have taken one, looking back)

waking up on the trail

taking a break, half way up.. or was it the begining, who knows

THE VEIW

my heart!

the 'crew'

Austin playing with puppy doggies

AHH!! feels nice !

Ending a good vacation..

This vacation was so long it seemed, as Austin gets older, there are more things we can do with him, and its just great!
I am so happy we got to spend a whole day out on the boat, on our last day with our visiting family..
we had a lotta fun..

getting ready to hit the 'seas'

austin and auntie ashley

this is austins bear, he named him 'Pooh'. Pooh likes to fish

so does Austin

but he does get sleepy

but its okay, cuz daddy lets him drive the boat

We had a great time, and sad that its over! night!

Storyland part II

This year we went BACK to storyland, where we had even more fun than last year, because Austin was old enough/ tall enough to go on rides, and oh my goodness, HE.LOVES.RIDES!!

He loves this ride.

milking the cow

driving the truck

eating the icey cream

riding the train

We banked some serious memories today people... LOVE IT! And love my whole family!

God bless America

Not only was  this weekend Indepence Day weekend, a really cool holiday, but also Keiths vaca.
It started with a two day yard sale, a mild case of heat exashtion, fireworks, and then a visit from the in-laws.
And its only half over!

little yellow tractor

Daddy and Austin eating 'SICKLES'

Baking Shortbread and Strawberries ( my father has informed me you must mash the berries, who knew!! I never did)

** Getting ready for the fireworks with Austin and Daddy **

painting on stahs

Austins First Fireworks show - amazing, and he wasnt scared one bit! What a little man!

getting ready for the 'boom booms'




Watched from the bed our of truck! we are true americans!!

 

The next day our family from out-of state arrived. We baked pies and cookies, and had a cookout for the fourth!

Red White and Blue

The star top crust was a very new idea for us to try, we really loved it!

Keith worked all day on the porch.. such a good worker!

sparklers

God Bless America, and God Bless You!

 

**We took a trip to the coast too**..

 

 

 

built castles

played in the sand

jumped over waves

Went on a picnic,

Had an honest-to-goodness water ballon fight, where I may or may not have had a temper tantrum when Keith threw one at my back side.. but who knows really?

I hate/love this because we are both making really ugly faces - on accident!

Over all, the weekend went over quite well, which means, bickering, sweating, forgetting things, but over all having a good time, and making memories - because that is what really matters!