this summer...

Gray is walking but would rather crawl at this point. It's been fun to have the boys so close in age, they are either playing or fighting with each other. I wish I could say it was more playing than fighting but this is one of the rare moments that they are not wrestling:)
Back in June Mac and I finished up his Kinder Music class. We have loved this class. We've met some great friends and learned some fun songs.
Ms. Kim and Mac

It was close to impossible to get that sucker away from him.
We have spent a lot of the days here at the pool. Mac jumps and
pretends he can swim which ironically looks like he's drowning:)
While Gray crawls around chasing his swim toys
and plays with his sunglasses.

Check out that profile!

Can you tell Gray is teething? The poor kid just cut three molars. At this point everything is in his mouth.
We were at the Hyde's to help celebrate Mia and Mason's birthday. Aren't they cute? I can't believe they are 2!


Mac sings constantly! Here he is singing two of his favorite songs... Please excuse the messy house and the half naked child:)


Not bad for a 2 year old!

Look Who's 27!

I was deleting pictures off my camera and realized that I didn't blog about Drew's birthday. And even though he hasn't said anything about it I'm sure he's devastated:)

Drew turned 27 on July 7th. I'm not going to lie, not a lot happened. We went to Asheville the weekend before so we count that as his little celebration. We did the usual... Made him breakfast, took him out to lunch, made him what he wanted for dinner, baked him his favorite cake, sang to him, opened presents, (new church shoes and socks, Joshua Radin Cd (amazing), a gift certificate and a cute toy phone Mac picked out for him). It was a simple day but nice.

We went shopping for Drew and Mac had the hardest time, instead of finding a present for Drew he found plenty for himself.I kept having to remind him that it wasn't his birthday. At the end Mac picked out a toy phone that he thought Drew needed and was so excited to give it to him. Even before Drew could get the presents open Mac blurted out what they were. It was hilarious and impressive that Mac knew what they all were.7 Reasons why I love Drew!

1. I love how he's super low maintenance. All he wanted on his birthday were brats and to play catch as a family. Easy enough.

2. I love how he would do anything for anyone. He got a call at 11:00 on Tuesday night to drive some people he never met from the hospital to a hotel. He did it with a smile on his face.

3. I love that he uses lotion in his hair. He swears by it.

4. I love that he takes a 20-30 min. shower every morning.

5. I love that no matter how much success he has outside of the home what he's truly proud of is his family. He loves being a dad and most of the time a husband:)

6. I love his weird eating habits. A couple carrots for breakfast. PBJ for lunch (If I remember) and at 9:30 pm he breaks out the crackers and cheese cubes.

7. I love how he makes me feel beautiful. No matter how gross I look or how my weight fluctuates he convinces me that I am beautiful. So maybe I love him because he's a super good liar:)

The list could go on and on but I'll save them for the years to come. I love you Drew. So glad I've been able to celebrate your birthday for the last 5 years.

Asheville, North Carolina (The Biltmore Estate)

Drew and Annie had Friday off so last minute we decided to go to Asheville, North Carolina for the weekend. Drew had been wanting to visit Asheville since we moved to Kentucky. It's only a 3.5 hour drive and really it was a beautiful city that had some fun things to do. The main thing on our agenda was visit the Biltmore Estate. It's the largest private residence in the United States.

Warning: 3 posts and way too many pictures

After a long day of traveling we let the boys play for a bit.

The 175,000 sq ft. home sits on 8,000 acres of some of North Carolina's most beautiful land.

The gardens were amazing.

Me by my name sake the "Ash Tree"
On the estate they had a little village with old fashioned games and people reenacting life back in the late 1800's.
Mac loved the bowling.

There was a cute little petting farm with little baby chicks.

The funkiest looking chickens and the sweetest miniature goats.
Saturday we came back to tour the inside of the house. It was absolutely beautiful!! A must see in my opinion and worth the money.

Biltmore Village and Fish hatchery

The Biltmore village reminded me of Park City. It was filled with yummy restaurants, art galleries and great shopping. All the buildings looked like old Swiss shops. We enjoyed window shopping and eating Blueberry pie ice cream.
Mac and Gray posing on the bench Mac referred to as "My size"

The fish Hatchery
Saturday we headed towards the hills of North Carolina. The drive alone was amazing. The Smokey Mountains are beautiful! We visited the fish hatchery in the Pisgah Canyon. Mac loved it. We fed the fish and went on a nature walk.
Annie and her beloved brown trout
Mac singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or rather how he says it"The a.b.c.d spider"

July 4th festivities

We left Asheville just in time to make it to our friend's get together.

Even though it rained the kids enjoyed the fireworks.

Well, some of them did:)