Happy 7th Birthday, Laci!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my precious first born!!!!

Laci was born at 2:45 in the morning, so 7 years ago today I was waking up a first time mom!!!

Laci is independent! Laci likes to put on a show! She is a natural leader! She is compassionate towards others!

Laci loves to read! Laci loves softball and golf! She likes to ride her bike and play outside! She loves to swim!

Around the house she is a great helper. She likes to be in charge. She loves her little sisters (especially when they do what she says).

She likes school and works very hard. She will talk to almost anyone. She loves to laugh and sing.

Laci is a wonderful kid and we have come to expect a lot from her. Many times we have to stop and remind ourselves she is only 6 (now 7) and she's still a kid!

She has brought continuous joy into our lives and we look forward to how God is going to use Laci.

Golfing Saturday

This past Saturday we decided to try out a new driving range in Little Rock. It was pretty neat and not very crowded and when you are taking 3 children to a driving range that is a good thing! I love going to the driving range because Brad has his stepladder of girls. There is me, then Laci, then Megan and then Brynn Bradley is crawling around eating golf tees! haha

Megan had a hard time getting her tee in the ground!

Laci did really well and hit a lot of balls, which is good since it was so hot!

Meg still having trouble with her tee.

Brynn says what, I'm not getting anything!

We had such a fun day. Brad always says I don't have to wear pink and they don't have to wear a bow. So, he was glad to see on this day I dressed all 3 in collared shirts, shorts and tennis shoes!!! (proper golf attire) But, I still managed to throw in some pink...and some hairbows!

Brynn Bradley - 8 Months

Brynn turned 8 months old this week and again it's all going so fast! Another month full of her big ole precious smiles!!!!!

Brynn is crawling, sitting, standing and she can move herself around our ottoman. But, if she has to go longer distances, she will just drop and crawl. She will be sitting in the living room playing and the next thing I know she is in Laci and Megan's room playing with them.

She still has no teeth. But, that doesn't stop her from eating. She loves basically anything we let her try. She says dada, but that is about it when it comes to talking. She has learned to clap and will do that when we ask her to.

People have started saying who does she look like? Because she is really starting to have a look all her own. Still dark hair (that is growing like crazy) and bright blue eyes. She also has started letting out a squeel when someone takes something she is playing with away. Right now, it's so cute.

She loves water. Whether it is the swimming pool or the bathtub, she will splash and play for as long as I will let her. This week she started sticking her face in the water and it scared me to death.

We love you, little Brynnie!!!!!!

Backyard Ball

It is so hot during the day that it is almost unbearable to play outside (unless you are in the water). So, one evening Brad told Laci she had softball practice in the backyard. She and Meg got their gear on and we spend a couple hours just playing softball.

Brynn played outside also. She even ate a little dirt! haha

If you are wondering what is on their faces, let me explain. I'm not sure how long they have been around, certainly not when I played. But, they are called game faces. The girls wear them in the field while they are on defense. They are not recquired and not everyone wears them. And, I was totally against them at first saying I don't want my girls to be sissys! They need to learn to be tough. Then, I saw how girls around here hit the ball and I saw a little girl take a ball to the face and decided it was in the best interest of my girl's faces to invest in these contraptions!

I love the picture above because it shows how totally differently Laci and Megan are built!

Sweet little softball girls!

Girlie Girls

I got this precious outfits from a girl that runs a home based business called Bratti Mati. She makes very cute stuff (even hairbows and headbands) and I thought she did a great job on these outfits.

The Beach - with friends

It just so happened that this year at the beach most of Benton decided to go the same week. We ran into lots of people we knew and even got to have dinner with good friends one night. It just so happened some very good friends stayed in the same condo as us!!! Even on the same floor!!! It was great for the kids to have friends to play with, the girls had people to talk to and boys had lots of "guys" to do guy things.

There was an afternoon whiffle ball game, lots of throwing the football and on one of the red flag days they tried body surfing. One of the most amusing activities was on one of the days when the water was rough, the guys decided they would try and stand and let the wave hit them and see who could stand through it! I don't think anyone of them did it! Here is one of my favorites. You can see the wave crashing the side of Brad's head and hitting Brandon right in the face.

The boys searching for the perfect wave!!!

Megan and Evie

Look what I found!!!

Drew, Evie and Megan

All of the kids loved Hannah and Wes. I have known these kids since birth and if Hannah and I walked up at the same time they would all run to Hannah!!! In fact, Hannah and I were walking up from the beach and heard someone yelling, "hey Hannah," from the balcony. I looked up and said, "hey drew." And, she was so cute and simply said, "get Hannah." haha I don't blame them!

Michael playing catch with Wes

wave jumping with Hannah!!

I cannot believe I do not have any pictures of the rest of us playing! Mrs. Susie was so fun and spent most days playing in the waves with us! And, one afternoon, Anna, Christa and myself had our goggles on "exploring." It was fun to watch our kids play plus get to play ourselves!

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We had a good time at the farm and then just relaxed!

I was in charge of dessert (imagine that) and I wanted to do something festive! I found this recipe and not only did it look the part, but it tasted great! A little side note; it was supposed to go on a white serving tray, but I didn't have one so I was going to use my big cookie sheet. I needed 48 phyllo cups to make a rectangle that would fit perfect on the sheet so it wouldn't slide all over the tray. I sent Brad to the store and the phyllo cups came in boxes of 15 and Brad got 3 boxes, 45 saying, "I wasn't buying a hole box just for 3 cups." ugh!!!!! That is why there is aluminum foil around the flag, so that it wouldn't slide all over the baking sheet in route to the farm.

Mamaw had the picnic tables set up under the tree and it was so nice.

The Spread!

I wasn't feeling super that night so when Brynn went to sleep I went to bed also. I learned the next morning Brad took the girls to see the city fireworks show and they said it was awesome!

8 Seconds

We found a mechanical bull while we were in Destin and Megan was the only one that would ride it. The first night we went there they told us she was too small, the second night we went back and they said, sure she can ride! Anyway, I was fine with letting her do it because they told me they could do it easy. But, after she did not fall off he picked up the speed a little bit and I got nervous. (You can hear me telling her to just fall off on the video) I was afraid she was going to get thrown off and in trying to catch herself she would break her arm or something! But, she did great and loved every second of it.

I hope this fulfills her desire to "ride bulls."

Vacation from my phone

Brad, myself and the girls left a few days early for the beach and made some stops along the way. I didn't want to take the good camera in and out of the car on all of those stops so I relied on my phone and a new app to make some great pictures!!!

Here is Brynn sitting next to the chains on the USS Alabama. I used to ask myself who stop and tours a ship on their way to the beach. And, now I know. It was awesome! I found myself near tears several times overwhelmed at thinking back to what it must have been like to be on that ship during wartime. Made me so thankful for those that men and women that serve in the military! These chains, by the way, were huge!!!!!

We did a lot of shopping before we actually go to the beach part of the vacation. I think the girls starting wondering if we were really going to the beach or just visiting different malls!

We did finally get to Destin and started our time there spending a couple days at Baytown Wharf (I think that is what it is called).

At one of our favorite restaurants...

Here is one of my favorite pictures. We went to the Track one night and the girls played. A storm was rolling in so we wanted to get out of the arcade before it started raining and everyone that was outside came rushing in. We were all waiting at the door and we couldn't find Dad and Wes. We looked around and finally saw them!!! Neither one would let the other win!!! Love that!

The Beach - the whole clan

This is the first summer in a long time that my whole side of the family got to go to the beach at the same time. Usually, someone has school or baseball or something like that. But, this year it was my mom and dad, the Bohannan 5, my sister, Sarah and her husband, Ben and my brother Wes and his girlfriend, Hannah. We had a blast and it's always nice to have that many eyes and hands to keep up with the girls!

Dad taking the big girls to the ocean early in the morning.

The majority of the fam floating on a nice day!

Brynn Bradley's usual morning nap spot.

Wes and Brynn

Dad and Mom

Sarah and Ben

Hannah and Wes