Sunday, June 26, 2011

Summer Time Fun

We have been busy so far this summer doing all sorts of fun things!

*Brayden caught a "ginormous" catfish at the lake, using chicken nuggets as bait
*We have made s'mores over the campfire
*Lots of arts & crafts
*Lots of swimming
*Lots of playing outside

Bristol is 4 months old and now weighs 12.5 pounds. She's 50th percentile for height and weight and everything looks great.

Managing 3 kids and achieving a work/life balance in the summer started out much more difficult than I expected, but we are starting to get into the groove now and things are going well.

Pictures will be posted soon!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

What a Year!

We have had quite an exciting year! Here are some highlights:

*One year ago today we found out that we were expecting baby #3, sweet Bristol. Happy Father's Day, Kenny!

*Needing more space and wanting a neighborhood, we put our house on the market in October, bracing for a long road to the "Sold" sign. Two weeks later, we had a contract. The next day we visited 4 houses, put an offer on one, and it was accepted two days later. Our realtor thought we were crazy when we told her, back in September, that it would be great to be moved and settled before the baby arrived...

*We  moved to our new place exactly 6 weeks before we brought our baby girl home from the hospital.

*Saw way too much of the hospital with Bristol's birth, Kenny's kidney stone, and Buddy's illness. Everyone is doing well now!

*Survived our first road trip with 3 kids to Mississippi (15-ish hours over 2 days each way).

*Kicking off our 10th summer together at camp (and Kim's 24th!), with Brayden as a part-time official camper for the first time!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Thirty-One Catalog Party

If you're like me, you can never have too many cute bags and purses. These are so cute and you can even personalize most items! Check out my online catalog party at www.mythirtyone.com/laughlin31! You can shop until my party closes on June 22. Let me know if you'd like a catalog or want more details about these products or any on the website.








The June special is awesome! Get the Large Utility Tote for $9 if you spend $31. There are a variety of colors/patterns to choose from.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Crazy

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of CRAZY activity!

We went on a 14-ish-hour trip to Mississippi to visit our family. Two days driving to get there, two full days there, and back again. Our hotel on the way home was a suite and Brayden & Brinley got to sleep in their "own" room on the sofabed, which they thought was so awesome. Whoever was driving got to "relax" while the other parent rode in the middle and tended to baby Bristol (who now absolutely hates her car seat) and passed dropped items to the big kids in the back, changed the dvd, foraged for snacks, etc. We had a great time visiting family, swimming, visiting Chuck E. Cheese, enjoying mozarella sticks and chicken tender salad at The Grill (new digs are more upscale, but still that same yumminess!) and eating donuts from Shipley's Do-Nuts. That would be the day before the robbery/stabbing of the employees at Shipley's. Yikes.

Once we got home we immediately jumped into the pre-camp craziness. The to do list seems never ending and the number of days before staff and campers arrive is quickly dwindling. This time of year I stay up late working, and then when I hit the bed I can't sleep because I am thinking about all of the things that still need to be done. It seems a little more stressful than usual this year! I am so thankful that we both are able to work together, can understand what each other is dealing with at work and can help each other. We are so happy to be able to share the awesome summer camp experience as a family with our sweet children. What a cool place to grow up in the summer!