Tool Bench

Rock was so thrilled about his new tool bench he could hardly sit still.
He shows the pliers (and his standing skills) to his dad.
Thank you to the Cripe family for this fabulous new toy. It is sure to provide hours of fun for many years to come.

VBS

This year, our church wrote their own VBS curriculum. Most of the ideas came from the mind of Trish, one of the most creative women I've ever met. Then, Fix wrote the majority of the lessons, workbooks, etc. It was a VERY busy time, but also a lot of fun.

The theme (displayed in the fantastic cupcake cake above) was LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! and the church was transformed into a movie studio of sorts. For the Bible lessons, the students learned about the Lord through several of the parables in the New Testament.
Here is the Executive Producer Fix emceeing the awards ceremony/closing program. He did a great job with everything he worked on and I am so proud of my hubby!

p.s. As mentioned in my last post, we all got sick during VBS week so that's part of why I didn't do much posting in July. I hope to do better in August although it's shaping up to be a busy month as well!

Sleeping

For a variety of different reasons (teething, growth spurt, being sick, etc.), Rock has had some trouble sleeping lately. Thus, we've been trying a variety of solutions to help him get some zzz's. During VBS week, he struggled to fall asleep because he had a cold and he couldn't breathe very well. One night, I went out with some girlfriends and when I came home, I found this adorable sight on my couch.

This was the only way that Fix could get him to fall asleep. Precious.

IKEA

Rock, like his parents, loves IKEA!
Clapping for the other patrons.
I love his sandals (thank you Nana Kerry) and his outfit (thank you Saladas).

Old Town Bowie

Before the Smallmans left town, we took them on a tour of Old Town Bowie.

First stop was the Train Museum complete with a vintage caboose.
Will was a little tired.
Geneva and Rock enjoyed the best part of the Train Museum.
Aren't they just the cutest daddies ever? Oh and the kids aren't bad either!

July 4th!

On the 4th of July, we went to Papa John and Nana Kerry's house. We thought it would be wise to wait until Rock was completely exhausted before we took a few pictures.
Auntie H with her niece whose name I cannot remember.
Aunt Elizabeth
YAY! The Smallmans were here for the 4th! Will, Christel and Little G (Geneva) were the perfect addition to our Independence Day festivities.

Although we skipped the fireworks for the sake of the babies, it was fun to be with friends and family!

JUNE UPDATE: Fix Beach Trip

Right after the beach week with my family, we headed just a bit north to the Outer Banks to relax in style with the Fix family.

Rock shows his dad how to chew on Mom's sunglasses.

I bet you didn't know that Rock is already well on his way to a career as a Rock Star!
He's in a band with his Cousin Caleb.
They like to use Fix's hair product and rock out.
Rock loved using the hose to refill the pool.

This was a super cool way to extend his reach.

Caleb getting ready to dive in.

Notice how Rock has a toy drumstick in his hand. He found this with one of the toy drums in the beach house living room. I don't think he ever voluntarily put it down. It was also an excellent tool to extend his reach.

You have to make a lot of crazy faces...

To get a boy to smile just right with his grandparents.
Practicing walking on the beach with dad.
Rock is on a mission to walk alone. Of course he bursts into tears if you even think of letting go of one of his hands.
Rock was jealous that he didn't have his own pair of sunglasses like Caleb. What he forgets is that Grandma Cokie gave him a pair, but they were too small for his big head.
After all that beach and pool time, the boys had a lot of fun getting clean.
Two of my favorite summer words: CRAB FEAST! Fix is a pro at cooking the live ones!

The three most devoted crab eaters: Uncle Joseph, Fix and Rachel. Papa John (not pictured) helped make a dent in the pile o' crabs.

If you take a picture on vacation with a copy of our local newspaper and send it in to them, they'll publish it! This also happens to be our best family shot from the beach week with the Fix family.

Rock really loves the beach!

The boys with the Nana Kerry in the "Beware of Shark" outfits she bought them.
My best shot of the two of them. Seriously.
This a picture on the way home when we stopped at Cracker Barrel. It is significant in that it is the first time Rock used crayons. Woohoo!