Summer "summer-ized" in a picture

Need I say more?The only thing we're missing is them eating watermelon too........

(which they did for lunch)

Yay for free.

I know you're thinking, "what a geek!" posting shopping trips and buys but it gives Brooks and I such a high.......and plus, it's my blog, right?

Last week Target was good to us, and we didn't even take pictures of everything! So everything you see in the following pictures (and 2 boxes of cereal, 4 contact solutions, 12 more Johnson's Soap Buddies that weren't pictured) were all free! (it was 80 Sobe Drinks in all, but we drank a few before Brooks and the boys stacked them)
I actually ended up paying 10.37 cents, but after the Kellog's Fuel for School rebate (buying 10 Kellog's products on one receipt) it was free since they'll send me $10 in the mail. So you're thinking it wasn't free because I actually spent 37 cents for all of the above? Wrong again, thanks to Target, I got $10 on a giftcard to Target....for the Sobe drinks deal.
(Oh, and a BIG thanks to Brooks and the computers at the library in the hospital for printing all the Sobe coupons......3 cents a copy there isn't too bad in order to get free things, right?)

My Mom came to town yesterday!!!! So I'm going to go enjoy her being here!

Does this outfit make my "calves" look big?

I find it amusing that I dress like a cow, since I feel like one anyway, considering Iris is only 6 weeks now....and that's what I am.....a cow.

Yep, it was "Cow Appreciation Day" today at Chick-Fil-A.

And if you dress up like a cow, you get a free meal (kids get kid's meals!!!)
My 4 of my calves. Bronson wasn't too thrilled about the nose painting.
He asked, "Why isn't it 'Tiger Appreciation Day' or something cool?"
Ummmmm, BECAUSE TONY THE TIGER DOESN'T GIVE FREE FOOD!!!

A TRUE friend would dress up like a cow with you! Here's Cianne and her kids after we got to Chick-Fil-A. We got food, balls, balloons, stuffed animals, and Happy Meal toys and MOST OF ALL, AWESOME lemonade as only Chick-Fil-A can do!

Brooks brings home the bacon, yes. I can acknowledge that. But today, I provided DINNER, so I guess that means I bring home the.....beef.

Tired yet?

of all my postings of Iris? Sorry, but I'm a proud mama.Loving resting on Daddy's chest (I can't blame her), with her pathetic heat rashed face.

I've tried kissing it off, but it hasn't come off yet. :)

Don't even think it......

Would YOU dare hold Iris?(Like I've said before, Sally is her constant companion. It's actually quite sweet and I'm still wondering if it's her way of having an offspring since she was spayed.....hmmmm. )

Oh, and here's a shot of my new haircut

(while the boys were playing with the camera and somehow some of the buttons don't work anymore. Nice.) And before you go thinking that now that my hair is done all the time that I wash it more often.....you're REALLY mistaken. It feels soooo much better in this heat with my hair like this, that's for sure!

Bringin' my zoo to the zoo

Bronson goes to Zoo Camp 3 times this summer at an awesome zoo about a hour away. So I decided, "Why not, go spend 5 hours at a zoo, in the middle of the day with 4 kids, one being a newborn that hates her carseat and stroller? Sounds like fun!" Actually, it wasn't too bad and the kids had a great time! Nursing in nasty bathrooms and hot/humid puppet theaters wasn't too fun though.

They LOVED this tadpole pond that you could catch.....um.......tadpoles (obviously). Oh, you're wondering why Aleeya is in her swimsuit? Well, it's because that was her spare set of "clothes" after she peed through her first set.....but it turned out to be a pretty good idea considering...........

Yep, you guessed it! She fell in. So nasty. But at least she didn't let go of her net.






Yep, all 4 are in there. Who needs to go to the gym with this workout?

Aleeya couldn't be happier with that icecream cone......that melted sooooooooo fast in the heat that I MAYBE got a third of my money's worth. But who cares....her smile was worth it. I forgot how I don't like sprinkles and how they taste like old sugar.

Camden and Emerson got to ride the Merry-go-round and found their 2 favorite animals! What luck! They were next to eachother too!

The lizard Camden caught.......BEFORE it detached itself from his tail and ran away. Camden didn't notice until the lizard was safely out of his site, and was shocked when he looked in his hands and had half a tail.

My 2 kids are the ones laying on the buffalo's back and backside. We later met up with a friend here, and that's her little boy Will on the front. He's a cutie.

We had fun though and they all fell asleep on the way home! However, I'm thinking next time Bronson has zoo camp, I may talk Brooks into going with me.........call me crazy.

BURNT KNEES?!?

Seriously, who sunburns their knees? Okay, I do. What a dope.

I ALSO have weird finger marks of a sunburn all over my shoulders where I DIDN'T rub the sunscreen in (hence, I turn the family picture above to black and white and not keep it in color.......look closely you can see my killer marks on my shoulders)

I MEANT to put this picture at the bottom, but here are the boys watching cartoons after our first day at the beach. Emerson is OUT, and Camden is in a daze. We REALLY wore them out every day we were at the beach at Hilton Head, SC.The Smith boys.....3 generations. I just can't figure out WHERE my boys get the whole flexing their muscle thing for every picture.....

Wait...........what the? Here's Bronson and RA in the ocean. Here is the place they found all the sand dollars and moving things. They had competitions to see who could throw them them farthest. Not sure who won....I tried to stay away from that area of the water.

A sand dollar Emerson caught. (one of MANY)

2 starfish they caught. (They also caught some snails in those cool shells, 2 fish, and did I mention A TON of sand dollars?) Don't worry, I made them put them back in the ocean.

Probably the BEST family vacation ever. We had a blast!

POOL TIME

THIS is what happens when Daddy dresses Aleeya!Right after Brooks brought RA into the pool with him. Anyone who knows RA should pretty much know that he's pulling some cheap shots trying to get Brooks to put him down.
The pool seriously was the best! One morning we spent 5 hours there until I MADE the kids come in to get out of the sun and eat a little. Then of course, we went right back out.

Call me Crazy........

Can you believe it was MY idea to go to the Crazy Crab to eat?!?!

Here is Bronson chowing down on them. He ate a ton.Camden and Brooks with his big pot of lobster and crab.

And..............Aleeya. My sentiments EXACTLY.
In my defense, I DID try crab and it still makes me shutter uncontrollably.
But hey, my salad and baked potato were REALLY good.

Last night at the beach

Aleeya has become QUITE the Grandma's girl and wouldn't leave her alone!
Grandma snuggling Iris..........Grandma couldn't have been more helpful!

Leaving soooo clean from the beach.

My alert little Iris.

Hottie Brooks and Emerson

I LOVE this shot because Emerson kept getting pounded by the waves and I had him sit down on the beach to take a picture. It just so happened that a wave came and knocked him down just as I was taking the picture!