The Kneggs

The Kneggs

Sunday, October 20, 2013

A Camping We Will Go!!

This past Saturday, Trey turned 35!!  For his birthday he decided the wanted to take Bryan on his first camping trip.  I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried, but all in all, he did fantastic and we had a lot of fun!

On our way to Eisenhower State Park!
We arrived around 8:00 and it was a little misty.  Bryan got nervous as we were setting up the tent in the dark. He was not as sure about this whole camping thing as he had been the week leading up to our trip!

The tent is up!
Once the tent was up, though, all bets were off and camping was the best thing EVER!!  He even got to eat marshmallows (not roasted) before bed!

Marshmallow Face
 After a cold and windy night, we were up at dawn and ready to find adventure!  We started the day off with breakfast tacos and chocolate milk.

YUM!!
Before leaving to explore, we had to get a few pictures in front of Daddy's new tent.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

CHEESE!!
 First, we went down to the beach to throw rocks in the lake.  I felt a little bad, Bryan was fascinated with the sandy beach - apparently we don't get him out enough!!

SAND, MOMMY!!

Watching Daddy's technique

Taking a turn

The first rock was too big, how about this little one?

Finding Shells

Giant Rock

Hitching a ride to the car
 After our adventure to the beach, we went back to the tent to rest.  That lasted all of 5 minutes and one quick round of building Cooties...

Cootie Tower
 Then, we were off on a nature hike.  There was a trail right by our campsite, so exploring we did go...

Our Fearless Leader

Checking out the Scenery
The hike wore us out, so we went back to the campsite for lunch and a little rest.  We put up the hammocks and got to relax for a little while.

He loves the hammock!

Looking at the Bois D'arc trees with Daddy.
 Bryan and I took a little nap - 3 hours - then we drove around and explored a little more.  We saw the boats in the marina and on the lake.  Bryan just wanted to drive around with his head hanging out the window like a puppy dog!!  We, then, headed back to camp to start our fire for the night.

Playing in the smoke
We roasted hot dogs, but all Bryan cared about was the s'mores!

Roasting his first marshmallow 

He lost interest in the cooking...

... But not in the eating!!
I love that he closed his eyes and relished in the s'more!
 We played and sat by the fire for a while longer before going into the tent for another round of Cooties...

Meet Cowboy Cootie, Rubanana, Wacky William, and Bunny Bunny


We turned in around 8:30 - yes, think what you will, we were tired!!  Bryan is not a good bed buddy!!  He not only talked in his sleep, he wouldn't stay in his sleeping bag!  It was COLD and he kept wanting his feet on the outside of the blanket.  Trey and I woke up several times to put him back in, only to find him out 5 minutes later.  At one point, he was totally out of his sleeping bag and curled up on his pillow!  Oh well... We all got up around 7:00 for breakfast and packing up.  Bryan stepped out of the tent and said, "Mommy, this is the best campsite ever!"
 
One last bounce on the air mattress

Sad face about packing up his Spiderman sleeping bag

Deflating the air mattress cheered him up

Interesting Technique

He stole my shoes when I told him he couldn't go out
of the tent without shoes... Then I was stuck inside!
 What a fantastic weekend!!  I can't wait until the other 3 can join us and we can continue to make such wonderful memories!!

All worn out and heading home!

Bryan's 3rd Birthday... Yep, late as usual...

Back in August we celebrated Bryan's BIG 0-3!!  He decided he wanted a Pirate Party with a piƱata.  I like having a boy who knows what he wants.  Here pictures from the fantastic day...

Chocolate Cupcakes and Pirate Cakeballs


All Dressed Up and Ready to Party

Arrg Mateys

My 4 Little Pirates

The Big Birthday Boy


Who wouldn't want to eat a cake pop while everyone sings?

This is how he eats cake...

Pirate Cousin

Looking for Treasure

Pinata Time

Good Form


C's Turn

Eyes Closed and All

Good Hit
In the end, the pinata won!!  The grown-ups couldn't even bust it!!  We had to get a knife and cut the thing open!

So many great toys!!

Here comes his big present...

A Big Boy Bike!

And a helmet, of course!

The boys with all of the kiddos, while the girls got to visit
in the kitchen!
Bryan had a fantastic day and, even 2 months later, talks about all the people that celebrated with him.

Friday, July 5, 2013

My Firecrackers!!

What a difference a year makes...
Our first family picture... This was easy then,
now, not so much!!
Last year, the Fourth of July was our first attempt to really leave the house after the babies were born.  We had so much gear to pack for our three 2 month olds that barely moved and their almost 2 year old brother!!  Fast forward a year, and we packed only one small bag for our 4 overly active kiddos to go over to Noni's house.  Right when we got there, Bryan begged to get in the pool with Trey, so a family picture was not going to happen!  I did manage to get a few good ones of the little kiddos (I'm trying to stop calling them babies - SAD) before they joined in the water fun.  I was feeling a little guilty that I never had 1 year old pics taken, so this is my attempt...

Just Chillin'
Silly Girl

3 of my Loves

Cheese!!

Being Themselves...

Serious Face

Who me?

On the move...

A SMILE!!

Banana
                   
Then the clothes came off, and it was on... SLIP 'N' SLIDE!!!

Ruby Splashin'

They found the pool at the end of the road...

Cheese

William loved splashing!!

The Girls
 
Meanwhile in the big pool...

Riding Daddy's Shoulders

Ready to jump!

SPLASH!!

So proud!

Making their own waves...

William made a break for the big pool

Savannah

Jake got out the sprinkler ball - so fun!

Savannah some how figured out how to walk on the
Slip 'n' Slide

Bryan wanted to join the fun!

So did Skylar!

This is his lifeguard run...

Ruby chillin' with her big cousin

William kept trying to catch the
sprays of water.

Cousin Fun

More walking...

William trying to get the grown-ups wet!

I asked Bryan to smile and this
is what I got.

So much fun!!  I love Jake just relaxing on the sprinkler
ball while the others run around!

They made it a race track

Jake took a break, so William went for it!

Getting a drink

WALKING!!

She kept crawling away so Granny would chase her.

William trying to figure out how
Jake keeps getting on top of the ball!

A few more more favorites...
William LOVES Jake!!

Watching ground fireworks from a distance.

Sparklers

I just plan loved this one of Luke and Tony

Tractor Ride

Smoke Bombs

After visiting for a little while longer, we had to get home and put the little ones to bed.  We promised Bryan fireworks, and thankfully, they are legal in our neighborhood.  We set up our hammocks in the driveway and got ready for the show!!

Bunk Hammocks

Love Love Love

CHEEEEEESE!!!

A little nervous about his first sparkler.

Helping with smoke bombs.

He loved running thru the smoke.

Getting settled in for the show...

Melts my heart

When it got too loud, Bryan retreated to the bottom bunk!

Watching the show with Mommy

LOVE

It is very hard to get a decent picture of a firework...
Trey and I tried and tried - he won!


Our last sparklers before bed!

We had 5 left, so why not light them all at once?

Happy 4th of July!