After a restful nights rest we were ready for what was going to lie ahead. We are only a few miles from the Eastern Time Zone, so in consequence the sun comes up at about 5:15 AM. The plan was to go on a boat ride with Scott's friend and hang out on a sand island.

Here is Charlie after waking up at 7 AM. He nevers wakes up at 7, but for some reason he did and Laura go to sleep in a little. Now Jack woke up at 5:30 AM (he is supposed to wake up at 6, and you will never guess whose responsibility it is to wake up with him, MINE, I'm a good husband). I say that, yesterday morning when we left El Dorado Laura asked me to get our sandwiches and put them in the ice box for the trip. I forgot them. (way to go me). And then today, me being the great husband prepared my families snadwiches for lunch. And then forgot to pack Laura and mines sandwiches, got the boys sandwiches but not ours. (way to go me)

Jack and Samule have loved playing with each other.

At the island Charlie loved crawling around in the water and drinking the salt water.

Jack collected Sea shells and put them all in a bucket. The neat thing was after he collected all those sea shells in the bucket he would then reach in the bucket and throw them one by one back into the ocean.

Laura's brother and his family.

Charlie looking full after a great meal.

Jack posing for the picture. This was the view from our table.

Think we've got it figured out?

Our vacation started out early. We decided to wake up at 3 AM and head out early. The goal was 3:25 AM, but reality happened and we proceded out of El Dorado at 4:00. The plan was to get the boys and load them up and let them sleep in the car until daylight. But we thought we had it all figured out, then Jack decided to be social for about an hour b/c he was so excited about the vacation. He slept maybe 45 minutes (supposed to sleep for 2 hours). My wife provided activities for the kids for the trip. She had about 20 different activities. Thinking we have it all figured out, the plan was for us to pull out a different activity every 30 to 60 miles. Every 15 minutes jack would ask for something else to do.

One actvity Laura had (a puzzle)

This was taken at 8:45 AM. That is almost 5 hours of driving. Oh Yeah!!

Charlie sleeping. Laura hung black curtains over the windows to keep the light out.

Jack sleeping (naptime) that is the curtain hanging over the window.

Jack playing with the slinky (another activity). The activities lasted longer with Charlie.

We got here at about 3:30 PM; so that was about 11.5 hours of driving. It went great. We went to the beach and Jack enjoyed the sand (meaning throwing the sand) and Charlie, oh Charlie, Laura put him down about 30 feet from the water and he took off to the water. The waves didn't scare him, he just crawled right in. He did drink a few tablespoons of water, but he kept going back for more. And he wasn't even in his bathing suit. He is going to be a swimmer.

On the trip Jack seemed to be more interested in aggrandizing himself than letting his brother sleep. (he was excited about the trip) (Joey, here is my word)

Family Easter Celebration

Mark's brother, his wife, and new baby boy are visiting from the north and we were so excited to celebrate our risen Savior with them. Since they only get to visit once a year, it was also the occasion for family pictures. Here are some of the best pics:

This is Jack and Charlie w/ lambs that Mark and I gave them. Jesus was the Lamb of God.

The John Day family

The Paul Day family

The Mark Day family. If we seem to be over-smiling, its b/c Paul is making some really goofy faces to get Jack to smile and look at the camera.

The Grands w/ all three of their treasures. Do they look happy or what?!

I thought this was a great shot of Grandpa w/ Jack and Charlie

The Day men

Birthday Party

Here are some shots from Charlie's first birthday party!

Jack was kind enough to help Charlie with blowing out the candle and opening the gifts.

Its a frog in case you are wondering.
Charlie had just eaten a big dinner, so he didn't eat the cake. However on his actual b-day, 9th, we had chocolate cake and he devoured it! He was a mess and we caught it on video but not with the camera (sorry!).

Our kids are famous now. Well, not really. But they inspired 2 new menu items at our favorite place to eat lunch, The Old Towne Store. Its a health food store that also has a bakery/deli. I LOVE to eat there!!!! And since we're friends w/ the people that own it and work there, they always whip something up for the boys. Now our special requests have been added to the menu.

If its too small to read: the Jack Special is 1/2 a peanut butter and honey sandwhich and the Charlie Special is 1/2 a turkey and cheese sandwhich.

This morning we planted the plants in our 4 ft by 4 ft raised beds. I went to a seminar on square foot gardening and we're going to try this method. We have high hopes for lots of vegetables! Good thing we didn't plant yesterday. We had a bad storm pass through last night; tornado siren and all. The siren is just a block from our house, so it was very loud last night at 11pm. The four of us had a fun "hall party" listening to the radio.

A year ago today.....

... CHARLIE WAS BORN!!! He turned one today! Here is our precious birthday boy! We're having his birthday party on Saturday, so check back in a few days for some messy cake eating!

New Pets

We have become what I guess would be called backyard hobby farmers. We are planting a garden tomorrow and a few weeks ago a friend gave us 5 baby chickens. I have been wanting chickens for a while and Mark was now forced to build a coup for me to house these eventual egg-layers! Well, Mark's dad got involved helping build the coup and yard and he never just throws anything together. So we have a top-notch set-up. Here is Jack playing inside the coup before the chicks moved in.

Jack was selling hamburgers, popcorn, and pizza to us through the nest door.

Here he is going in through the front door.
And Charlie sat by studying nature. He particularly likes eating it too. Today while I was working on our garden he ate a clump of good ol' earth. Where was I, you ask? Right there beside him. You can't take your eyes off him for a minute!

John and Jack putting the finishing touches on the coup and yard.

Mark and Jack trying to coax the chicks into their new home.

Thinking about coming out.

The chicks finally came out of the pet carrier when I got on the other side and started talking to them. They're really fun to watch - pecking, stretching their wings. One of the chicks is pretty aggressive towards the others, so we think it might be a rooster. We are beginners for sure! But what fun!