New Home!

While we were in Newport, something very exciting happened. We closed on a new home!! We are beyond thrilled and feel very blessed to get this house.  We definitely felt the Lord's guidance and doorways were open as we needed them to.  We didn't use a realtor.  We found out they were getting ready to put their house on the market so we came to the homeowners with a number and it was accepted! No bidding wars!!

We decided we needed one last trampoline sleepover.

With moving comes repairs and getting the rental back in order.  Lexi and Kendri were eager to help. For the first little while that is.....

And of course Dexton makes everything more exciting.....

And in between it all Kyson squeezed in cub scout day camp.

And here is the new place! We are planning some big renovations so stay tuned.

Newport 2017 part 2

The best part of the life guard stand is the all day entertainment it offers.  From playing in the shade underneath to jumping off it really is a staple for our beach trips!

We have to put these kids to work when its time to take everything to the beach.  There are some many of them it makes the load light!  

Here is Dexton running to the beach because how can you not??

 Another favorite past time - wave jumping.

 Lynch Mutt's is the place we all go on Monday morning when the cars have to be off the street for street sweeping.  It's a delicious way to pass the time!

Frisbee throwing at sunset.  #summerlovin

We snuck away on our beach cruisers to try some shaved ice.  Not quite as good as Hawaii's but close!

Now the diva is starting to shine....

Dexton wasn't too sure about this being buried in the sand but he went along with it

Climbing on the rocks looking for sea critters.

And another trip comes to an end.  See you next year Newport!

Newport 2017 story

We love the beach.  So Much.  In fact, we let our love for the beach show by our exuberance.  There may be some little feet running through our rental because it is hard to contain our excitement when we are on vacation with cousins and sand and waves and ice cream.  It is TOO MUCH to contain.

And our neighbors know it.

Our downstairs neighbors that is.  We apparently rented the beach house with the only family in the world who can't tolerate toddlers pitter-patter.  I am not saying we are innocent by any means.  But you try telling a just barely turned 2 year old boy that running is not an option.  It doesn't work.  I know because I did it.  Several times.  I even started carrying him through the house.  Our neighbors have no sympathy.  After a few conversations that ended on the poor side, they finally called the landlord with their complaints.  Oops. I don't know what to say.

 But I can tell you this. After all their complaining, Dexton got ahold of a water bottle and flung it over the rail and right on their patio.  As they were sitting outside no doubt trying to escape the sounds of little feet playing tag.  I think it narrowly escaped someone's head. Oops. This may have been the incident that resulted in the calling of the landlord.  But I cannot say for certain as I am no mind reader.  Unfortunately for us, that was not the last incident.  The following day Dexton chucked a ball over the railing and onto the patio again.  Luckily no one was sitting out.  I quickly told Kendri to go retrieve the ball..... undetected if possible. No bueno.  She was caught and boy did she get an earful.  She tried to explain that her baby brother threw it over the rail. They told her they didn't believe her because "2 year olds can't throw that far."  Ahem.  I beg to differ ma'am.

Anyhoo.  The good news is we didn't get evicted.  And we still enjoyed ourselves.  I am not so certain about our neighbors however.....oops.

Our friend Amber Pitt took us beach exploring on Sunday.  We went to church with them and then headed out to see some awesome stuff. This is Laguna beach and it was beautiful!  It was especially green thanks to all the rain we've gotten this year.  The water was sparkling and blue and the moss made it feel magical. 

This tower was a big hit.  Obviously.  It felt like a beach right out of a storybook.

Happy summer!

Dexton turns 2!

The love for Dinos is real, you guys.  So real.  I slaved over this dinosaur cake and I have to tell you, there was a point when I didn't know if the dinosaur was going to make it.  

In fact, the head is a blob of cake mixed with frosting so I could shape it.  That was not the original plan.  But it became the last ditch effort before I scrapped the whole thing.  It's amazing what frosting can do.

Dexton is a joy.  He brings so much love to our family.  He keeps us on our toes and definitely makes us work for our hugs but we wouldn't have it any other way! He loves dinosaurs and Sadie that is enough for him.  We love him!

Happy Birthday Dexton!