Ben's 1st Bowling Trip!

It has been really hard keeping Ben entertained with Tropical Storm Debby hanging around. We decided to brave the weather yesterday and go to the mall in Lake Wales for some bowling. Ben had such a good time! We will definitely do it again soon!

Chick-Fil-A, Museums, Papa and Reese!

I had an appointment for a hair cut in Lakeland on Friday, so we made a fun day of it while we were so far from Frostproof. We took Ben to eat inside a Chick-Fil-A for the first time for lunch. He had fun playing on the slide in the restaurant, and we all enjoyed some chicken and waffle fries. After lunch and my hair cut, we took Ben to the Children's Museum in downtown Lakeland. This museum has 3 floors of fun! Ben brought his fireman's hat because we figured they would have a firetruck like the one in Sebring. They also had a grocery store section where Ben enjoyed shopping. I think his favorite part of the museum was the bottom floor where they have a tree house and slide play area with a model orange juice making plant. We played at the museum for two hours! Ben took about a 30 minute nap from Lakeland until we stopped in Bartow to visit Papa Stone. While Jeremy and Ben were visiting Papa, I snuck over to my friend's house to visit her new baby girl, Restina Maria Lane. She is a precious baby girl with lots of dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. Restina is my friend's maiden name and she has always wanted to name her baby girl that and call her Reese for short. I really enjoyed holding Reese and having some mama talk with Anna-Maria.
Here are some pictures from our fun-filled Friday!

Ben added sunscreen to his cart and said they were buy 1 get 1 free. Can you tell he shops with me? Ha!

And here are a few cute ones of little miss Reese......



Fun with Easton

Ben got to spend some time with his buddy, Easton, today. They had fun making a pretend picnic, playing music, slipping and sliding at baseball camp, and eating a yummy lunch at Frostbite.

enjoying a snack on the way to camp

Ben likes to "make it rain"

these boys love playing tag!

sitting in the stands pretending to watch a baseball game

I would love to know what this conversation was about

lunch at Frostbite with our friends!

Father's Day

We spent Sunday relaxing and eating some yummy food with the special dads in our life. Ben was so excited to give his Daddy the Father's Day card he picked out. It had a squirrel on the front wearing boxers. He said, "I think my Daddy will laugh at this." He is such a thoughtful little boy. After breakfast, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's to spend time with Grandpa Byrd. We took Grandpa out to lunch while Grandma went to church with Papa Stone in Bartow. Ben kept telling his Daddy and Grandpa "Happy Father's Day! I love you." at lunch. It was the sweetest thing. We went home for naps, then headed to Bartow to see Papa Stone and Uncle Chuck. Papa and Uncle Chuck grilled steaks for us and Miss Pauline made punch-bowl cake for dessert. We really enjoyed spending time with the wonderful men in our lives.

Ben and Daddy

Papa Stone and Ben

3 Generations: Neal (Grandpa Byrd), Jeremy and Ben

We also got to ride Papa's mule over to the pond to feed the ducks while we were in Bartow. Ben really loves feeding those duckies.

Grandpa and Ben being silly

I Work Out!

Ben loves to work out with his mama! He is getting pretty good at some of the moves. His favorite are donkey kicks. I got a few cute pictures of Ben after my work-out yesterday.

Golf with Dad and Grandpa

Ben played golf with his Dad and Grandpa for the first time yesterday. They played nine holes at Lily Lake. Jeremy said Ben has a pretty good swing! They played six holes of golf, then went out to the truck for some Gatorade and crackers. They finished the last three holes after their snack. Ben is so lucky to have such a great dad and grandpa in his life.

Ben's 1st Dentist Visit

Ben visited the dentist for the first time Friday morning. We took him to see Dr. Tarver in Lakeland. Ben had x-rays, a cleaning and a flouride treatment. I was so nervous because they do not let parents go back with their children. The dental hygienist came out to get Ben and she was very friendly. Her name was Holly. Ben was a little hesitant to go with her, but as soon as she mentioned getting a balloon and the treasure chest, he was ready to go! After 50 long minutes of waiting, we were called back to get Ben. He was all smiles with his green balloon, slinky, new toothbrush, stickers, and a flosser. Dr. Tarver met with us and told us Ben's teeth and gums were perfect! He showed us Ben's x-rays and showed us that Ben has all of the teeth he is supposed to have for his age. He told us how wonderful Ben was and that we are doing a great job with our brushing. He even gave us a picture of him with Ben and a sweet letter to put in Ben's scrapbook. I'm so glad our first trip to the dentist was such a positive experience. Ben says he can't wait to go back again!

Ben and Dr. Tarver

Such a brave boy!

Grandpa met us for lunch at Fred's after Ben's dentist appointment. Ben was so happy to tell his Grandpa all about the dentist. We did a little shopping at Lakeside Village after lunch. We let Ben pick out a special toy for being such a brave boy. We also treated him to ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, then went to Common Ground park.