July- here and gone!

I hate when I get behind on blogging. I hate that the more behind I get, the more I just don't want to try to catch up because it's going to take me a million hours to upload pictures. And if I had a million hours in the first place- I wouldn't be behind! I guess this is the viscous cycle so many of my friends have found themselves in and stop blogging. Yes...YOU know who you are!!! ;) So, I will just dump a ton of pictures on here, leave a caption or two and consider myself caught up!

A couple weeks ago Jerel had the week off and we checked off more of our Greenville bucket list. I am amazed that there are still things that we want to do here and just haven't been able to get to them yet. I am telling you- this place is great!

First, we went to ride George the train. I wish that I had taken a better picture but for $3 a ticket you get to ride on this cute little train two times around the track. The boys loved it. We took Nolan's friend Will. We just love him and would let him become a Warren if his Mama would let him. She just had twins (# 4 & 5) so she might not notice for a day or two if he moved in!! :)

Another day we ate at the Runway Cafe.  We have a really small downtown airport that the private jets fly in and out of. Recently they opened a fairly good restaurant where you can sit almost out on the runway and watch the planes. I will say- it was a great idea...not such great execution. A nasty storm rolled in while we were there and Nolan FREAKED OUT!!! It's hard when you want your 4 year old to act like a 24 year old! ;) We will go back when the skies are bluer!

However after the nasty storm we headed to TCBY for Waffle Cone Wednesday. Apparently .99 cent ice cream is healing for a frazzled soul! 

Then we (ok, Jerel) spent a ton of time hunting down the perfect family truckster. I will admit- I never wanted a van, but it is really nice and oh so easy with the boys! Only 13 more years and I will never drive another one!!

Our other adventure was out to Holly Wild, which is kind of a red neck zoo/safari where there are animals that have been in movies, commercials, and tv shows. The boys, especially Elliott, loved it. As a side note- Elliott LOVES LOVES LOVES animals. Especially farm or safari type animals. As you look through my blog you can always play "what animal does Elliott have in his hand?". There is always one there. Always!

 Yep- my child has his hand in that animals mouth!

This rhinoceros is named Tank. Elliott's rhinoceros that is in his hand in these pictures is now named Tank as well. Cute kid!!

We then went out on this old ghetto bus for a "safari" and got to feed all these beautiful animals bread. It was actually really cool.

My sweet Nolan didn't actually have a great day. He was a little scared to feed the animals and a yellow jacket flew up his shirt and stung him. But if you ask him he will tell you 1) he had the best time, and 2) he is allergic to bees. He isn't!

That day I left for Atlanta for 3 glorious days with my best friend Kelly. We are able to get together every summer for a weekend and it is such a special time. I think this is the first summer that one of us wasn't either pregnant or just had a baby. I don't have any pictures from the weekend but this is us at my wedding.

And this is all the stuff we bought...

My sweet husband who is the best- kept the boys while I was playing. Thankfully, it was cow appreciation day! He was so brave to dress them up and they had a blast!

All right people- peace out!!!

Incredibly Thankful!

This week I have had to much to be THANKFUL for. I feel like God has been showering His goodness on us. I am humbled and grateful.

First- this past Sunday we decided to make a quick Costco run after church. I love how centrally we live to most things in Greenville. Our house is around the corner from church and Costco is just a 10 minute drive. As we were crossing a fairly busy intersection that we go through everyday- a car completely missed his red light and t-boned us. We were the third car through the intersection so he really missed his light. We're wondering if he was texting?? We'll most likely never know. Anyway, it was a terrifying few seconds of my life. I saw him just before he hit us, screamed, Jerel turned the wheel and wham...wham...airbags...dust...me screaming (maybe cussing???)...Jerel screaming...my babies screaming and crying...trying to see through the airbags and dust...waiting to spin into and hit more cars...finally coming to a stop...trying to call 911...seeing that we were all alive and no one was bleeding...trying to get my screaming, crying boys out of the car...sweet people stopping to help...police cars...fire truck...ambulance...

Beyond THANKFUL that we all walked away- including the guy who hit us. So THANKFUL that we did not, somehow, slam into other cars. Incredibly THANKFUL that we literally stopped in front of a city bus shelter that had a bench and shade (it was 107 degrees that day), that a neighbor was driving by and was able to stay with us and drive Jerel home, that friends from church drove by- stopped- and were able to take me and the boys home, that the boys have seemed mostly unphased the the whole experience. I do not take any of this lightly. All of this could have had a much different outcome.

Jerel went to the place that our cars were towed and took these pictures. Its obvious that the guy driving also turned his wheel at the last second. If he hadn't he would have slammed into Jerel's door. THANKFUL!

Our poor MDX- which we had been planning on driving for a very long time, has been totaled and we now have to begin the search for a new vehicle. Bummer. However, the guy had insurance through Nationwide and they have been great to work with. THANKFUL!! And we all walked away with nothing more serious than bumps and bruises. Have I mentioned how THANKFUL I am?? :)

Another thing that that I have been THANKFUL for this week with the 4th of July is our freedom, our sweet friends, and our home. I had decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to have a party at our house for the holiday. At first I didn't think anyone could come, so I kept inviting more people and it ended up that most everyone could come. We ended up with 25 adults and 23 children. C.R.A.Z.Y- but so fun. I am just so THANKFUL to have such great friends and THANKFUL to have a house that has a layout and yard that can accommodate that many people.

This was my one decoration! ;)

My sweet Bailey always loves a good party!

 Water balloon toss...

Three legged race...

 Water gun fights...

Watermelon seed spitting contest...

Playing in buckets of water...

 Sweet babies napping...

 Sparklers...

 Watching fireworks...

Exhaustion!!!

It was such a fun night! And again, so THANKFUL for the freedom we have to enjoy all these things. I know that many men and women have paid a great price for us to have this freedom. If any of you are reading- THANK YOU!!!