Rosemary, How I Miss You So...

Well, family vacation has come and gone.  How does 7 vacation days go by soooooo fast and 7 days of a work week drag on for what seems like eons and eons...  

We do a big Hodges-Wainscott Family Trip every other year (because someone always seems to get pregnant in the off year - so every other year it is!)  Two years ago we stayed in WaterSound and loved it, but this year our house was in Rosemary Beach and it clearly did not disappoint.  Simply AMAZING...

Now, I will say that going on a big vacation with a CHILD is a bit different... WHEW!  A whole new ballgame I will say.  Thank GOD Ledger still naps twice a day:)  We had babies sleeping in closets, one in the laundry room and Maren slept in the media room on the 3rd floor.  Babies everywhere...

And with 6 kids under 6, a Bob, a Bebo (Until Wednesday - Cleaners was calling:), 3 adult couples, and 2 extraordinary "nannies for the week" which are both nurses in real life (Score!), THERE WAS NEVER A DULL MOMENT....

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Let's get this show ON THE ROAD!

 

Trying to keep this little dude entertained before take off was almost impossible.  He did like the planes though...

 

One flight down, one to go!

 

 And someone is STILL not asleep...

 

 Finally arrived...

 

 This is the front of 267 West Water is where we called home for the week.  It backed up to 30A and was magical!

 

 Didn't sleep the whole Uber ride from the airport to the house until the last two minutes - I kid you not.  PASSED OUT for the next hour - car seat and all.

 

 These two...  Be still my heart.  They are such great buddies.  Ellis and Ledger.  

Don't you even think about dropping some food on the floor with these two! 

Lightning speed human vacuum cleaners like you have never seen.

 

 If I could have stolen this oyster mirror in the foyer without being noticed, I would have.  It was to die for...

 

 Beautiful MJ waiting on the pizza...

My favorite two guys...

 There were lots of walks around town and to the beach...

 A quick day-date while Ledge napped!

 And LOTS of pool time...

 "This is AWESOME, Mom!"

 Ready to hit the beach!

 L wasn't quite sure at first...  He didn't like the sand on his hands and feet.  But by Tuesday, he was a pro!

I think Ledger gets his tan from his Daddy:)  He LOVED being slathered up daily with sunscreen, let me tell you!

One of my faves...

 Just a boy and his Bebo...

 And a Hodges Vacation is never complete without flinging bodies through the air somewhere, even into a pool!

 Even Ledger got dropped into the pool. YIKES!

 Cody and the little girls of the fam...

 Bob and Little Maren...

Slade, Ellis, and Briggsy...

"Seriously, back in THIS thing again?"

Playing frisbee with Daddy...  

 We have one of the most competitive family I may have ever seen...  The trash talking at the ping pong table was at an all-time high!

 Smores after bath time...

Boys of the family...  Minus Ledger.  Bedtime calls.

 Aunt Lindsey snuggles...

Love this little guy so much!

And these people.  Love doing life with them...

Tuesday night before Dad left, we had a family dinner at The Pearl without any children, toddlers or babies.  IT was glorious!  One of the best meals that I have ever had.  I highly recommend the restaurant at The Pearl.  

And no one wanted Bebo to leave, as you can see, especially this little guy.  Lots of tears from his best buddy Knox.  

But as you can tell, 'Vacation Bebo' was over and done.  It was back to Texas in his starched Wranglers, long-sleeved button down, and boots in 95 degree weather.  Bless him!

 Our sweet friends the Gerhardt's drove two hours from their beach house to come visit us!  We have so much fun catching up.  Didn't seem like it had been 6 months since we had last seen them.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Wainscott...

I mean you have to go for it, right!?  That grip.  YIKES!

And these two ladies are SAINTS.  SO patient, loving, and entertaining.  

We LOVE you Juliette and Kate!  YOU two are ROCK STARS.

 Sweet Kate, Juliette and Ledge.  Obviously, someone was tired and over pictures at this point in the trip.

Could stare at this view for the rest of my life and not ever grow tired of it, but back to reality it was.

What a great vacation with the people that I love the most in this crazy thing called life!

Happy June All~

~H

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May Already?...

I seriously have zero idea how it is already May.  Wasn't it just the IceMageddon of the decade here in Lubbock?  That was a nice welcome back gift.  

13 days left of school.  I cannot believe it, but I am ready - and I had a two and a half month break in there!  I think I speak for ALL teachers - WE are ready, and hello - the kids are TOO!  LOTS of stuff will be crammed into the next three weeks....  STAAR - that bad 5-letter word, end of year tests,  award ceremonies, class parties, Buddy Fun Day, park days, and a thousand other things to do!  WHEW!

Well, here is a photo dump of what has been happening the past 30 days.  The blog has suffered lately.  I just get home at night and have nothing witty nor funny to report some days.  It was much easier when I had a baby that napped from 430-530 every afternoon and I could carve out that time for this blog.  Now, I am keeping up with a loud, babbling, fit throwing, cute as pie little boy.

 Lubbock wind still at it's finest.  Love coming home to find the brand, new wreath ripped to shreds and scattered all over the yard...

 These bloomed this week.  Very appropriate I thought.  Purple and gold aka Geaux Tigers!  A part of Louisiana here with us in Lubbock.

Awesome night with these sweet friends at Jenn Hatmaker.  She was amazing.  And hysterical!

Who needs cartoons when you have Steve Harvey?  He could do this all day every day if we let him.  The Game Show Network is his fave.

 Yep, ladies and gents - we have a little bit of an attitude these days...  Thank you molars!

Pout pout face...  No wonder his favorite book is Pout Pout Fish!

But MOST days, this is what we get at the Wainscott household.  Molars cut through FINALLY, and our precious, chill, little babe is back in action...

Last weekend was spent with the whole Hodges Clan celebrating Ellis's birthday and the baptisms of Knox, Briggs and Ellis.  It was two days packed full of fun!

 Happy Birthday Sweet E!

These two are the best of buds...

AND these two....  God Bless Them.  Eating Cheerios off the cement.  I mean Ellis is the 3rd child so I get it.  Ledger is the first and you think I would be a bit more concerned.  Well, I am not and I am kind of shocked.   At least they were eating Cheerios and not rocks or something.

Just some "mild" pushing to get to the crushed, little snack!

Sweet, little Maren...

Love these sweet guys...

And when the uncles get together, flying babies is always to be expected.  I always thought it was funny and quite entertaining pre-Ledger.  I trust them both - I mean they were college athletes for Pete's sake - BUT HOLY MOLY.  Ledger was soaring....  EEEIIIKKK!

 I don't mind mid-day snuggles when someone has a fever at daycare and has to leave. 

Teacher Appreciation week was last week and our administration OUTDID themselves.  They are the best!  Jeans all week, breakfasts, lunches, Bahama Bucks treats, fun drawings throughout the day on Friday, and so many other things.  And Friday morning we went to our boxes and each teacher's favorite Sonic drink was sitting there!  Woohoo - I'll start any day w a Sonic Diet Dr. Pepper!  

And today, Mother's Day has been nothing short of spectacular...  Church, brunch, a nap, and spending the day with my two favorite guys...

SO thankful for these two ladies.  Couldn't be prouder to call them Mom and Mother-in-Law...

And.....  the best gift of all, (after calling him my favorite non-sleeper yesterday) was that this kid slept from 7:40 last night to 8:15 this morning.  Yall, this is unlike anything we have ever experienced with this child in 480 days of being on this Earth.  

Dear Lord, I cannot thank you enough for the amazing sleep Brad and I had last night.  I don't know what I did to deserve it, but please let me know and I will continue to do it forever I promise.  But let's be real, I am sure this mini-phase will be short-lived.  Don't worry, I will let you know about it.  But anyways, thank you again for the night of uninterrupted, blissful thing called continuous sleep.

Thanks,

HW

Happy Mother's Day All...

~H