It's August already??!!

I can't believe August has rolled back around already! This summer went by way too fast. I'm having to make myself sit here and update the blog, because I feel like there are a million other things I should be doing to get ready for the new school year! Ben will be 3 years old in less than two months....can ya'll believe it?! I've been surfing the internet looking for ideas for his birthday celebration. Ben has told me that he wants a GREEN birthday cake! That's his favorite color if I haven't already mentioned it.

We've had a pretty low-key week. Jeremy and I have been doing a few projects around the house while Ben's at Joycie's in the mornings. My niece Lauren stayed the night with us Thursday night. Ben loves when she comes to visit. He still can't pronounce his L's, so instead of struggling to say Lauren, he just calls her "cousin." It's pretty cute. We took them to Lakeside Village for pizza and ice cream, then to Common Ground Park. Lauren thought it was pretty much the coolest park ever! Here are the pictures from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Love this! Ben and Grandma on the see-saw. (Jeremy and I were on the other side making them bounce really high!)

Ben and cousin Lauren building a tower

Ben playing with his memory game before bed one night. He's really not that interested in finding matches yet. He just flips all the tiles up and says what's underneath each :)

CHEESE!!!!

Rainy afternoons = boredom! Ben and Daddy played bowling on the Wii for the first time this week!

Island Time :)

We had such a great time at Anna Maria Island last week with Grandma and Grandpa Byrd. The water was perfect! Ben made his first sand castle and had fun decorating it with seashells. We can't wait to go back again. I've posted some pictures for you all to enjoy :)

Vero Beach 2011

Jeremy, Ben, and I got together with my side of the family this past weekend at Vero Beach. The weather was gorgeous! I'm usually not a fan of the beaches on the East coast, but this beach looked more like the Gulf on Saturday. Ben had so much fun playing with his cousins. I've posted a ton of pictures from our trip, so enjoy!

This little guy liked posing for the camera. My sister's boyfriend picked him up and Ben got a close look. I'm not sure what kind of crab it is...it was a pretty blue color :)

Nathan Hayes (he doesn't like posing for the camera)

One HAPPY kid!

He could have stayed in the pool all day :)

Ben and me with Aunt Cindy (my mom's oldest sister)

BEACH time!

Nana buried Ben in the sand...he thought it was hilarious!

We took some family pictures on the beach at sunset. I thought they turned out really well :)

trying to get Ben to make a silly face with me

Ben was really concerned about Caleb. He kept pulling on my shorts and telling me that "cousin Caleb is sad." I'm trying to figure out why he's sad in this picture. After trying a few things, I asked if he wanted to get back in the water and he signed "please" to me. Precious!

No pictures please! Just put me back in the water!

My younger sister, Whitney, with Caleb

My mom loves this picture. It's rare that we're all together and can get a picture of all the kids. I loved seeing her so happy. I think this will become an annual trip.

Nana and her grandbabies :)