WHATS UP. New Pjs thats whats up. OOOWWW!

Oh to be a Kid

What more can I say? A little Mermaid Slip N Slide. A Target steal at just $9.99. Probably more slipping was done than actual sliding, but needless to say, it was some more good times with the cousins. Tatum has such a blast with these girls, I cant imagine what life would be like without them living so close. What a great group of kids.

Our First Born (son that is)

Yesterday at our church we had our little Brades dedicated to The Lord. The whole experience was just really super special-as most of our family was able to make it out, and my big bro (Pastor Nate) was able to pray over him. To us, a baby dedication is just a great way to commit our child to the Lord, publicly, and just say " Lord YOU gave us this child, and we commit Him back into your Hands!" It was awesome. Brady did pretty good to, as he was being held by his well known Unkie, and Tatum stayed pretty still and quiet except for a few random comments (but of course that's expected) Thank you Nathan for doing the Honors, and for our family traveling the distance to be there. We love you all so so much!

Livin the Life of Riley

Good morning everyone. Its about 8:00 on Wednesday morrning, and I
have the greatest job in the world. This is the view from the 10th tee
box looking back at the 9th green. This is were I will be working today.

KISS

If you've ever seen Tatum and Brady together in public, you might have noticed that Tatum is pretty indifferent towards her brother. She might give him an occasional glance or pat on the head, but for the most part she steers clear of him, probably counting him pretty boring compared to the alternative surroundings. Well folks, I'm about to blow her cover-but shes playing it cool. At home their relationship is a little blooming love affair. Tatum has of course taken awhile to come around, but as the gap of age, size, and personality is shrinking daily, she is beginning to realize that her brother is, well, actually pretty cool. Brady on the other hand has been head over heels for Tatum since day one, and has obviously put himself out on the line for her, seemingly not even minding the rejection..but is now beginning to reap the benefits of his unconditional love. A few weeks ago, Tatum kissed him for the first time (that's right the first time-if you know Tatum you know that she does everything in her own time) She discovered though immediately that it was not as bad as she thought. The kiss was followed by a hug. Later on in the day I heard kissy noises in the other room where they were playing, and walked in to find Tatum kissing his forehead over an over again. Since then she even kisses him on command. Now of course this seems silly to the average parent, that their two kids would share a kiss, but I'll have you know, it is a very huge step for our daughter. She is VERY selective on who she kisses (hopefully this will never change!) Its even a bigger deal that I caught it on video. I know, really, its a miracle.

Saturday

Family Day! We headed to the beach and the park..followed by a BBQ at home and a late night movie. Fun times.

Visitors

Yesterday our friends from Oregon, Andy and Michelle, stopped through on their way down south. It was a great time, as we enjoyed an adult dinner(after 8), and randomly experienced eating a chocolate covered jalapeno together (a definite bonding experience). I'm learning something new about my daughter though. She is an absolute FREAK about visitors. Shes never once met Andy or Michelle in her life, but within 3 minutes of their arrival, she was sitting on Andy's lap forcing him to read her books. Then she'd bounce over to Michelle and sit on her foot, looking at her like "Hello, wheres my horsey ride?". All the meanwhile pulling out every toy and trick she could think of to show them. Later on in the day, Riley took Andy out to play Pebble, and Michelle went to the aquarium..but Tatum KNEW that they would be returning. This information was all that Tatum needed to stay pumped all day. Any sound outside (a car door slamming, someone talking) she would make a sprint for the door announcing "Their Back!". At one point, I heard a girls voice outside and thought it might be Michelle returning, but to Tatums dismay, it turned out to be some Lady..."Oh its not Michelle Tatum..its just some lady we dont know", I said to her disappointed face. "Can we just have the lady come in then?" she immediately asked. Apparently it doesn't matter WHO comes in as long as they just COME IN. Later that night when they returned, having only known Michelle for a few hours, Tatum graciously invited her into the bathroom to "watch her" during one of her marathon sits on the toilet (Lucky Michelle). And that night, while tucking her in I asked her what she wanted me to tell her a story about..and woulnt you know, "Michelle" was the answer. I guess just like her daddy, Tatum is a genuine people lover. People people people..all day every day, new, old, young, weird, normal, ugly or good lookin-it doesnt matter..she just cant get enough. I count this as a very good thing.