Gardening/Herb Project

I had been feeling a little crafty lately...so Brynn and I decided to paint and garden all in one project.  We painted some pots and planted some herbs and tried not to get too messy!

I had some old blue paint and found some old chalkboard paint...thought they turned out
pretty cute!

Then Ryan got home from work and got to get in on the fun!
Brynn wanted to plant some purple flowers in her flowerpot.

I have no idea if I'll get my herbs to grow, but I planted some basil, rosemary, mint, cilantro, and chives.  I really hope they work!



After supper I was cleaning up the dishes while Ryan and Brynn headed outside to play.  They planted some of the purple petunias in the little flower boxes on the swing-set.  This is seriously the BEST view while I'm doing dishes..I love to watch them playing out there!

I am NOT much of a gardener (Ryan usually plants and does everything with our garden) but I love to reap the benefits!  I would LOVE to make some homemade pesto with my fresh basil!  Keeping my fingers crossed that I keep them alive!  HA!

Mom's iPhone pics

Here are few pics my mom took on her phone while we were in Memphis.  They did a LOT of playing outside, eating outside, and gardening outside!  I love getting her texts with pictures, but maybe even better than that are her play by plays of what they do.   If you know my mom she is NOTORIOUS for writing LONG emails that detail her day (I kid you not, one day a couple of years ago she sent me an email about her day that was three paragraphs long...one paragraph being SOLELY about how nice and smooth the grocery carts were at Schnucks!!  And then at the end of the email she says "Now I can't even remember what I was emailing you about...oh well!)  So her texts are no different...I took a picture of one of them, but of course you can't see the whole thing...HILARIOUS!

It went on and on...HAHA!  Thanks Mom!

-

Getting ice cream down by the river...

Getting ready for church on Sunday.

And then one more from MY phone from running errands the other day (when we got stuff to do our "gardening/herb" project.)

So thankful for grandparents who love Brynn SO MUCH!  (And send crazy detailed texts about all the fun things they are doing with her! HA!)  Love you Mom!

Memphis In May Triathlon Weekend

This past Saturday morning my parents picked up Brynn around nine in the morning and Ryan and I headed off to Memphis for a quick getaway.  He and his buddies had their annual "Memphis in May" triathlon on Sunday.   We got up to Memphis around noon, and met up with Jason and Sarah, and Pam and Rick.  We did some fun shopping and then that evening a BUNCH of us (like 25 people...all triathlon people from the Cape area) ate at Macaroni Grill before their big race.  

That Sunday we were up bright and early to cheer them on.  It was a GORGEOUS day and the weather couldn't have been nicer (although I did get a nice little burn on my shoulders).  This triathlon is called an "Olympic Distance" (this is the distance the Olympic triathletes compete in at the Olympics).  They swim 1.5 K, bike 40 K, and run a 10K.  (In American terms that means they swim almost a mile, bike about 25 miles, and then run 6 miles).   

Getting ready before the race...

A little brotherly love..helping each other get in their wet-suits!

Me and Iron-Man (don't those wet-suits look like super-hero costumes or something?)

In line to start...

There are HUNDREDS of racers, so they all line up in bib number order and jump in the lake every three seconds...it literally takes an hour or so for everyone to start.  So some of Ryan's training buddies were ahead of him at the start, and some were behind him.

They had to swim almost a mile in this lake...crazy!
And I kept thinking "what a crazy job for this girl...she literally had to sit there and take a picture every
three seconds that a racer jumped in the water.  I kept worrying her stool would tip over!"

I always think the "transitions" are so fun to watch.  They run out of that water while ripping their wet-suits off, throw on their bike helmet and sunglasses, and run their bike out onto the road.  Then they like try to jump on their bike and slip their feet in the bike shoes while they are starting to go...it's crazy!

Uncle Jason finishing...

Ryan finishing...WOOHOO!

I think Ryan said he finished like one minute and forty seconds behind Jason, and he was really proud of himself!  =)  He is usually in a good mood after his races anyway, but he felt like he did a really good job, so that was fun!  He finished ninth in his age division, which was pretty awesome considering how many  athletes there were.  When he saw that he kept saying "wow, is that a typo?"  HA!  And Jason finished FIRST out of all the "Clydesdales" (all the "big boys!"  HA!)  GOOD JOB BANDERMANN BOYS!

Little Charli and Brynn both stayed home with grandparents, but Ansley came along to watch.

Okay...I HAD TO (just HAD TO) take this next picture because I was cracking up.  Sometimes I HATE what Ryan wears to these races...you guys know how much I hate triathlon "outfits."  But seriously...look at the guy in the background.  I made Ryan stand there and pretend to pose because I didn't want everyone to know I was taking a picture of this guy, but SERIOUSLY...I think I'll stop making fun of Ryan's clothes from now on, and just be thankful he doesn't want to wear something like this.

What does his wife or girlfriend think of this?  GROSS!
And if for some absolutely crazy reason this guy ever sees this on my blog...
"I'm sorry, I just don't really like your choice of Speedo...but whatever works for you."  

Some of the guys....Blake, John, Alex, Ryan, and Jason

And what did my husband do after the race?  He was so gross and sweaty, and it was really hot outside.  The race is all around this huge Harrah's Casino Resort so there are multiple hotels and casinos around.  He just decided to jump in the pool right there...I wanted to apologize to all the kids swimming in there and tell the parents "sorry my husband just totally contaminated the pool, you might want to get your kids out!"  HA!

We got back around four that Sunday afternoon, picked up Brynn, and headed off to Ryan's cousins graduation party.  We had a LOT of fun sitting outside, eating lots of yummy food, and watching and helping play with the kids.  FUN WEEKEND!

22 Week Baby Bump - And NAME REVEAL

This past Sunday I hit 22 weeks!  I am definitely starting to feel pregnant!  I am feeling lots of movements multiple times a day, and poor Ryan has to sleep next to me while I'm barricaded with pillows on all sides. =)

I am so antsy to start putting the room together!!  I know that probably sounds crazy, but there are several reasons.  1 - I think part of it is because I know how tired I will feel toward the end and how nice it will be to just know things are done.  2 - I think Brynn is really starting to understand that she is going to be the "big girl" and that Baby _____ (name to be revealed at end of the post!) is in mommy's tummy.  I think she will adjust easier if she has several weeks to see the room ready and waiting for baby's arrival.  And 3 - I won't be having a big shower this time around where I get a bunch of stuff for the room, so we can pretty much start whenever.  I also go crazy thinking "I really hope this is a girl and that the ultrasound is right!"  HA!

Ryan laughed at me so much when I did this pose.  I just think my arms look slimmer when they aren't pressed against me!  HA!

And BABY HAS A NAME!!  A lot of you may already know this, because we've liked this girl name for awhile now.  We are 99.99999 percent sure we will name her Emory.  The middle name is still up in the air, but right now we are leaning toward my middle name...Blair.  At first I was a little worried like "will Brynn be jealous that Emory has mommy's middle name?"  But...Brynn has the RYN from Ryan's name, and we always thought that was cool, so I guess we will just explain to her how she has part of Daddy's name and Emory has part of Mommy's name.  

We talk to Brynn about baby Emory and she pronounces it "Baby Emmy."  If she ever tries to plop down on my lap or scoots her arms or legs over me, I"ll say "remember to be careful around mommy's belly."  She has now started saying "I sorry Emmy" anytime she accidentally touches my stomach.  =)  Sometimes she will lift up my shirt and rub my belly and say "Hi Baby Emmy"...I definitely teared up a bit the first few times she did that!

So thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far, and ask that you continue to pray for us.  We are so excited!!

Birthday Night Out

***For some reason I just found this little post in my drafts...I have no idea why I never posted it, and I honestly can't remember what weekend this was...maybe a month ago?  Anyway - figured there was no reason to delete it, so here it is.

The past Saturday night one of Ryan's best buddies (who also happens to be my sister-in-law Sarah's younger brother) turned the big 3-0!  To celebrate, his wife had a little surprise party for him at the new casino in Cape.  We ate at one of the restaurants, hung out, and listened to a hilarious (and awesome) 80's cover band called the "Retro Nerds."  It was a great little date night out!



I never got around to taking a picture of the birthday boy...sorry Kyle!


I wish I had gotten closer so you could see these outfits closer...they were AWESOME!  I felt like I was watching Screech's friends from Saved By the Bell...they were dressed as major nerds...AND they were really good!

Brynn Lately...

Brynn is just at such an interesting, funny age.  She talks a LOT and we can usually understand what she is trying to tell us about 98% of the time.  Some funny things she has said and done lately are...

• She was going poo poo on the potty the other day and I was standing in there with her.  I guess she wanted her privacy because she goes "tinks mommy, go out."  (AKA...my poo poo stinks mommy, so go out!)  HA!
• She likes to help pick out her clothes...which is always an interesting ordeal.  The other day we put on her clothes and I heard her talking to herself.  She was in the guest room looking in the mirror and repeating over and over "I SO pretty.  I SO pretty!"  I guess she has a pretty positive self-image right now!  =)
• There are several girls that live near us that are somewhere between like 9-12 years old.  Brynn thinks the "big girls" are so cool, especially because they ride their bikes and scooters up and down the street.  One of them wears this purple bike helmet with a unicorn horn.  The other day when Brynn woke up from her nap we opened her blinds and looked out at the street.  The girls were riding by, and Brynn saw the helmet.  She says "I have helmet too.  Put on mommy.  Show big guls." (She doesn't pronounce the r in girls).  So we had to get her pink bunny bike helmet out of her closet, put it on her head, and walk outside to show the big girls her helmet.  Of course when they rode by she got really shy and didn't wave.  Then she started waving furiously after they rode by and kept saying "see guls gin??" 

Clearly she was excited about showing her helmet off!  HA!

• This probably won't sound funny, but it's just the way she says things.  We really try to talk about holding hands before we walk in a road and how we always need to look for cars.  We were at the library and a car was really far away.  I was holding her hand and said that we could go ahead and walk across to our car.  She goes "no mommy, wait-uh min-it, wait-uh min-it!"  So we stood there for like five minutes waiting for this super slow car from far away to go across.  =)
• I was blow-drying my hair and she has a little Disney blow-dryer that works.  I said "why don't you go get your blow-dryer so we can do our hair together."  She goes and gets it and I said "are you going to blow-dry your hair?"  She says "no, I bow-dye my knee cause I big gul."  (She started blow-drying her knee...she had fallen the night before and had a big boo boo there.  I guess she thought it would help??)
• This isn't really funny, but it just cracks me up how she can really understand things and verbalize it.  We were at Lowe's buying ferns and she saw the "water falls" (aka the bird baths and all the little water features).  We were getting ready to check out and we told her we had to go.  She says "wait uh min-it (that's like her new phrase these days!)...I wanna (and then she pauses for a long time) touch it."  Part of it is just the way her little voice says things, but I could not stop laughing.  Ryan walked over and said "what did she say?"  I told her to tell Daddy what she wanted to do.  She says "I wanna touch it" and smiles really big.  It was just a funny moment...probably not on here though.  HA!
• She was with my mom at the park a weekend ago and my mom said they got out of the car and Brynn looked at the park.  She had told my mom she wanted to swing.  As soon as they saw the swings my mom said Brynn yells "can't swing, all full!"  (All the swings had kids on them).  My mom said the way she said it was just so funny my mom burst out laughing.  Again...not anything that sounds funny on here...but special little memories to us.  I love how much she expresses herself!
• She has started saying "oh my goodness, oh my goodness" a lot!
• Pamaw got her this hat for the summer and she really likes it.  She has been wearing it around a LOT!

• The other day before Bible Study at church she helped pick out her outfit.  She wanted to wear her "pup-ple budd-fie shut" (purple butterfly shirt).  Then she says "need pants, cover my boo boo" so she runs back to her room and comes out looking like this (pic below).  I was super impressed that she actually found these and put them on herself!  Hey...she had blue in the butterfly shirt so I let her wear them!  HA!

There is NEVER a dull moment at this stage of life...NEVER!  =)  Oh Brynn...we love you so much!

Mother's Day...where my husband learns an important lesson about gift-giving...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!  Sunday was a great day of spending time at church and with our families.  

I always knew our family was blessed to have such a legacy of Godly women, but I don't think it was probably until college that I really understood the blessing of the moms and grandma's in our life.  At church our pastor spoke about the legacy a mom can leave, and how special it is if you've had that Godly legacy passed down.  Ryan and I are both so blessed to have that in our lives, and I PRAY that we will be able to show our children the love we have for Jesus.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all those ladies!

On Saturday night Ryan asked me what I wanted for breakfast the next morning and said that he would cook something for me.  I'm sure his cooking would have been delicious, but I requested an egg McMuffin, a fruit and yogart parfait, and some coffee...all from McDonald's! HA!

Brynn had gotten the flower the night before when my parents took her to Chick-Fil-A.  =)
It even has a coupon for a free Chicken Sandwich...WOOHOO!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!

I ate my delicious breakfast and relished the peace and quiet.  HA!  Then Ryan and I got ready for church and then it was time to get Brynn up and ready for church.  =)  But first, she and Daddy wanted to give me some gifts...oh I can't wait to tell you about them! HA!

Bringing over the flower she had gotten the night before...=)

I didn't want to read the card before church because I knew I'd probably cry!

 Ryan said "well, at least you have to read the last few sentences on the card because it is a hint about your present."  So I read it and it says something about "hope this helps when you are cooking dinner."  I'm thinking...oh boy...what in the world could this be?  And I'm also thinking "this doesn't sound like the DVD I hinted about wanting, or the cute necklace I mentioned!  HA!

So Ryan goes downstairs and brings up...get ready for it...A SKILLET WITH A LID!  HAHAHAHAHAHA!  I'm like "WHAT??"  Now, in his defense I had been wanting a good skillet with a lid because we don't have one and several things I make, need one and I have to rig one up with tin foil, etc. but SERIOUSLY...for Mother's Day???  Men...

I told him how I really was thankful for the skillet, but felt like I HAD to remind him "have you never heard how taboo it is to buy your wife cooking or cleaning products for their birthday or for Mother's Day?"  He says "well, my mom told me that, but I swore to her that you wanted this!"  It was honestly so funny that I couldn't really be mad.  =)  I DID tell him a couple of months ago that I really wanted one, but I FOLLOWED UP THAT SENTENCE WITH THIS SENTENCE "But I hope you know this IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WOULD EVER BUY ME FOR MOTHER'S DAY OR MY BIRTHDAY!"  HA!  When I reminded him of that very important second sentence, he said "oh, I don't remember that part.  And just think how fun it will be when you make...and goes on to list all these things he likes that require a lid!  HA!  I tried to explain how a skillet/lid for Mother's Day would be like me buying him new trash bags or a steam mop for Father's Day, but he kept saying "no, it would be like you buying me a new drill or a zero-turn lawnmower...which would be AWESOME!"  Oh my gosh...boys just DO NOT GET IT!

Thankfully, in the card he also mentioned me getting my nails done or doing something to pamper myself, so I told him I would just pretend that THAT alone was my gift, and that the skillet was just a gift for our family.  =)  And truthfully, he is a WONDERFUL husband and dad, and we could not ask for a better man to lead our family.  So I'll let him off the hook a little...=)

We all finished getting ready and then headed off.  Church was really good...I always enjoy hearing some words of encouragement about being a mom.  After church we went downtown to a really good buffet at the new casino.  It was so nice!  Although with three little kids between us, and Brynn wanting to pee pee and poo poo in the middle of  eating, I told Sarah "next year for Mother's Day can the guys just babysit so we can go eat in peace?"  HA!  She was like "PLEASE!!"

We headed home for naps, and then since Brynn was still asleep I headed over to my mom's because my grandma and grandpa and aunt and uncle were over there playing cards after their lunch.  We hung out, had some dessert, Ryan brought Brynn over after her nap, and we all visited.  It was low-key but perfect.  We ended up staying and playing for awhile, and then came back home for baths and to get ready for bed.

Once Brynn was in bed, Ryan and I just watched some TV and relaxed.  I hadn't really eaten supper because I was so full from the lunch buffet and the fact that I had eaten a huge piece of dessert at like 4 in the afternoon!  =)  I decided since Ryan was SO THRILLED about the new skillet, he could put it to good use. So...I asked him to make me a grilled cheese...he was like "seriously?"  And I said "but you are so excited about that new skillet, now is your chance to try it out!"

I have to be honest, getting a new skillet wasn't exactly what I was picturing for a Mother's Day gift, but I felt really special all day, and everyday.  I am so blessed to have such Godly examples in my life and so thankful for getting to be a mom myself!   HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!