Oh, The Beach!

My wonderful Aunt Jane lives at the beach.  To say I love the beach is a bit of an understatement.  I'm almost positive my house in heaven will be on the beach.  So, when Aunt Jane moved to a little town near Cocoa Beach, I was ecstatic.  My mom and I have made 5 trips to see her (we invited the big boys once!).  Every trip is just perfect...the food, the beach and of course, the company.  I love that my boys love Aunt Jane too!

We started our visit with a stop in Metter to visit with Seleta!

Our days were spent at the beach.  The boys loved "riding the waves" and Levi wasn't bothered by the sand.  He's a beach lover too!

He also kept this pool ring on his head for an extremely long amount of time.  He'd walk around with it on his head.  

We visited the pool in the afternoon and evenings.  It's a great pool and it's right across the road from Aunt Jane's house.  Just perfect!

 Someone was a bit sunburned after our first day at the beach!

We found a really great putt-putt place for the kiddos.  The boys had a blast!

Don't you just love summer colors?

 These two are so special to me!

 The whole bunch!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our "family".  Aunt Jane has made such an everlasting impact in my life.  I look forward to our next visit!!!  

Random Summer Fun (2013)

We had a wonderful summer full of vacations and visits from family. When we weren't out-of-town, we spent our time at the pool with friends, enjoyed our newly finished basement and colored lots of pictures.

We also...

...had a blast at the mud course at our local park.

 ...enjoyed celebrating David's birthday at the old faithful Olive Garden.

 ...celebrated at home.  Happy 32nd Birthday Babe!

 ...drew wonderful drawings.  This drawing in particular makes me a bit teary.  Noah is starting to truly get "it" when it comes to the truth of Jesus.  He drew this picture while he was supposed to be napping.  The other reason I get a bit teary is that I was really upset at him for not napping, and then he showed me the picture he drew.  Mommy fail...I think the picture was much more important than the nap!

 ...had fun with friends.  Noah will hate me for this picture one day!

...ate McDonald's after a great 6 year old check-up.  Noah is so glad he doesn't have to get any more shots until he's 11.  

We'll Do Anything For Free Food

Chick-Fil-A is a staple in our home.  Not only do we love the food, we can actually all eat for less than $25, which for our family of 5 is cheap.  Gavin no longer eats a kid's meal!!!  The employees at our Seneca Chick-Fil-A are especially wonderful and make our family feel so special.  And, if you offer us free food, we'll do whatever we need to do so we can partake.  So, here are the Odoms as cows...

Boyle Cousin Camp 2013

Over the summer, Nate and Lila joined Mimi, myself and the boys for a week of fun in Dacula.  I took loads of pictures (yeah!) and promised a book to commemorate our fun, which I haven't done (boo!).  The kids really do love spending time together and the boys are constantly asking to go to Nate's house.  We truly cherish our time together.

Everyday, we started out with a morning bike ride.  It was about the only time of day that it wasn't ridiculously hot or raining.

 

After riding bikes and while Levi took his morning nap, I took the big kids down to the pool for morning swim.  They could have stayed there all day.  Pools are the best part of summer!

The boys played a little tennis while Miss Lila would swing at the playground.

Little Bit learned how to walk while we were at Mimi's!

My dad and I took the big boys to the Gwinnett Braves game.  The boys had fun, enjoyed their Dippin' Dots and let dad and I watch a little bit of the game.  

At the movies to see Despicable Me 2.

Our eventful trip to the Yellow Game Ranch.  It was incredibly muddy because it had rained a lot that week.  I am not a huge fan of this "zoo" but at least they have the deer confined to their own area, so they are no longer able to nibble on your clothes. 

Relaxing after our lunch at chinese!  

Now that we are heading into spring, we are planning our 2014 Boyle Cousins Camp, and I know the boys can't wait.  We are so blessed with such a wonderful family!

Baseball 2013

Noah joined his first t-ball team last spring.  The boy loves sports!  If he could be outside playing football, soccer, baseball, basketball or golf at all times, he'd be a happy camper.  His favorite sport varies with what time of year it is and seems to coincide with whatever sport David is playing at church.  So, when this little guy got a glove, some baseball pants, and his own helmet, he was in heaven.  David id great with kiddos, so he was willing to coach the team.  I'm not sure if he'll be able to coach baseball when they actually "play" the game, but for now, David enjoys teaching the kids to run the bases.

 Ready for their first game.

 I'm sure the first of many pictures posed with a bat!

And of course, we had to get some black eye block.

Noah got 4 homeruns and a bazillion base hits...granted there were no players covering any base and their were no outs in the game.  Go Rays!

What a Difference a Year Makes

I've been looking back over the pictures on my phone from the past year, and I can't help but be a bit sad at how quickly my baby has become a toddler.  He's a sweet, inquisitive, hungry, smart toddler, but a little bit of his baby gets lost each day. The photos I was looking at were taken over the last year, but what a difference a year makes!

Learning to climb the stairs.     March 2013

 Watching his first Masters.      April 2013

 At his first Clemson baseball game.  Go Dawgs!      April 2013

 The infamous sleeping picture.          June 2013

 About to take his first step.        July 2013

 We'll do anything for free food!         July 2013

 The boys loves a hat!          July 2013

 And he loves the sand!         August 2013

 Oh, the cottage...           September 2013

 Sporting Nate's hat!        September 2013

Another hat!         October 2013

World's cutest rockstar!         October 2013

Levi's first hair cut!            November 2013

One of the sweetest faces ever.             December 2013

And now he can climb bunk beds too!          January 2014

Kindergarten Graduation

We head to Back to School tonight to meet Noah's (2nd) Kindergarten teacher, so I thought I would post some pics from his (1st) Kindergarten Graduation.  Noah had a wonderful year with Ms. Mahl.  It was the perfect decision for him to double up on kindergarten.  He learned how to read, really enjoys math, and became more and more confident in the classroom setting.  Oh Noah, can be silly with the best of 'em, so another year to grow in maturity will not hurt a bit.  

Getting ready to toss his graduation hat!

 Noah and his best bud! We will really miss seeing him every day!

 Thanks for a great year Ms. M!

 Mimi and Paka came to celebrate.

 The two amigos!  Gavin can't wait to start at Trinity this year!