Lazy Days of Summer

With Christopher working now in Hampton the boys and I are on our own to find some fun! It is a big change as I have been spoiled for the last two months with almost ALWAYS having someone around. The first week was an adjustment back to normal, but an enjoyable one. Liam has mastered the art of scooting backwards and will play for hours in the playroom, and you know Sam and his trains. If you throw in Busch Gardens and Water country USA we are keeping busy. During a down moment we put Liam in the Highchair with his Graham crackers, he loved them so much he dozed right off. Both my boys sleep with their eyes open! Freaky! He is eating like crazy lately! He had his first taste of spaghetti yesterday and LOVED it. Just like his big brother for only having two teeth he is a pretty adept eater. Sam himself is addicted to veggies, Pees Corn and Broccoli in particular. This is him literally downing an entire bowl of corn by himself! (that was a great diaper let me tell you!) Christopher attended the Republican convention for Virginia this weekend as a delegate. Which meant Saturday for the most part was just me and the boys. Liam was having a tough time (teeth are the WORST!) so I took the boys to Archers Hope (otherwise know as college Creek-- hello the old name is way prettier and I will refer to it as such from now on). They did alright but were ready to leave after only an hour. This was a bummer as I had become completely engrossed in Twilight. I had put off reading it till I would be able to read it the way I wanted-- in a day or two. It took me an afternoon and a morning... yeah fast read. It was great! I mean no noble prize for writing or anything but you get lost in the world she creates. Christopher for as long as I have known him has been a fan of Vampire books. I always thought it was silly until now-- I can totally see the draw. I guess I should break down and read the Anne Rice series he so loves :)

Park fun

After Chris got home from work we headed to the park to unwind. It is great to go now that Sam can do most things by himself. He is getting braver every time. It was so cute because when he got a little scared he would say "momas here" I just about died. I always say that to him but never thought he would say it back :) Liam loved the swing, I think his way to small hat looks hilarious in the video.

Sam's preferred method of travel.

Climbing through the tunnel telling me "Sam's comin".

Six Years and Goin Strong

Today was our six year wedding anniversary! Whoo hooo! Not that I am shocked, I knew the moment I met Chris I wanted to spend forever with him. I know gooey and cheesy but its true. To celebrate we -- bought a mini van! Yup we have switched to the dark side and are now the proud owners of a Nissan Quest. My sister in law Kelly bough one about four years ago and I fell in love with them then. Its charcoal and has all the trimmings I LOVE, leather, DVD and the awesome automatic doors. Plus the review alarm thing so I don't run into poles... or bikes etc. We then went to Dairy Queen and all got Ice Creams which ironically enough none of us finished. I know thrills and spills a minute. But hey what better way to celebrate our wonderful marriage then with the people we love more than life itself! Speaking of which here are some pics! This is getting out of the bath tonight. Seriously how cute are they! I have also included some nostalgia pics of our wedding. What a wonderful day. Thank you Mom and Dad and Jan And Rick for a day I will never forget. Nor would I go back and change one single thing! How rare is that! I love that we had Irish Dancing. How can you have a Murphy Crawford wedding and not! The back of my dress was my favorite part... it made me want to walk around backwards.. but I think people would have thought that was weird. I loved that there were flowers EVERYWHERE. I didn't have one specific color just "spring colors" the women who did the flowers was AMAZING. I only met with her once and she did everything perfect. Our Cake was by Kerry's cakes who I think has done every single Crawford wedding! She is amazing, I loved the little dots so simple.

Christopher's friend Mark caught the garter...lovely

Christopher's friends at the Temple. So reverent. One of my friends gave me the best sggestion ever. She said to pick a perfume that I hadn't worn before for the wedding day/ honeymoon. Then keep it and wear it every anniversary. I loved the idea and picked Love spell. Now every year the smell triggers all the happy feelings I had that day. The same thing happens when someone walks past wearing it to haaa! What I loved most about the day tough was knowing that I was going to be with Christopher FOREVER. I honestly think that is what got me through the long 18 months of being apart with him in Iraq, knowing that no matter what we were sealed in the temple, a bond never to be broken. Sorry to get all churchy on my blog, Chris just brings out the emotional side of me. I love you Christopher!

Water Water Every Where

Today was a fantastic day.... well most of it. Poor Liam would disagree though. He is currently cutting his top teeth and is none to happy about it. Adding to his pain, he received his shots this morning. He was such a little trooper. He stopped crying as soon as I picked him up. He is SUCH a good baby. We have been so blessed by his easy going adorable little personality. We spent the majority of the day with the Adams' at Water Country USA. Our seasons passes to Busch Gardens also work at this HUGE water park so I am sure we will be going there a lot. Especially since the boys had so much fun! We only stayed in one section that had tons of this big animals who's mouths were slides. Sam and Fischer by the end were even scrambling up the big slide by themselves! It was wonderful because the water was the perfect depth. I brought Sam's Thomas Bath toys and they loved throwing them down the slides then sliding down to get them-- such a boy thing. Below are some pictures of the cuties on memorial day. We had a yummy BBQ at the Adams'. I think Liam already loves Sophie! And who wouldn't look at that cutie!

Proud care takers of quintuplets!

A few days ago we went out back to get the BBQ ready to grill up some yummy food. Wes opened the lid and tahdah:Oh my gosh I almost died. Little birdie eggs!!! We quickly closed it back up, trying to get it in exactly the same position it was in. I don't know the rules with birdies abandoning their babies etc. because someone messed with the nest, but these babies are not going to be booted on my watch! Yesterday we were playing in the backyard and I was wondering how our little eggs were doing. I didn't want to open the lid again so I just peeked in and the moma bird almost flew into my face. So as of yesterday the newest members of the Crawford family are still growing! I went and got some bird seed so Sam and I could make little bird feeder Pine cone things. I am sure the moma is hungry (I know it is not easy taking care of little ones!) Plus there is this amazing red bird that keeps hanging around our fence and I have been trying to snap a picture of it. Maybe this will tempt him into sticking around for a second!

Another Day-- Another Busch Gardens Trip

Busch Gardens has a wonderful program called "salute the troops" it allows military families to once a year get into any Busch Gardens venue for free! This includes Sea world, Sesame Place and the Gardens'. As Wes is in the Guard they chose to use their pass this weekend while visiting us. We got a bit of a late start due to car test driving.. more on that later. It was busier then I have seen it this season, which with four cuties made me a little nervous. They had a great time though! We were apprehensive as to whether or not Lucy would like the rides but she was grinning and waving looking like an old pro in no time! Sam of course had to show Lucy his fav ride-- aka Tummy heaven. Liam and Reese had a good time chillin in their strollers and snacking on ginormous ribs! While perky through out the day the park really wore Sam and Lucy out. Oh how we parents love it!

Tillmann Time

So Chris and I have been blessed with wonderful friends! This week our great friends the Tillmann's came! Yippie! Sam is betrothed to Lucy (despite her persistent deflections of his displays of affection) so it is good to get them together every now and then. We have been having a wonderful time! Yesterday we took them out to the strawberry fields. Lucy and Sam gorged themselves and ruined their cute clothes but had a great time. They both zonked on the ferry ride home so we took the opportunity to take the drive down the colonial parkway to York town. When we got there the kids played on the beach. Their favorite game is "make Wes draw letters in the sand!" Lucy was not a fan of the water temp! Liam and I hung out by the wagon-- a safe distance from the water!

Today we drove down to VA Beach! Although a bit windy it is always nice to have a day at the beach! Lucy and Sam enjoyed diggin in the sand

While Liam enjoyed his first big mac-- what to young. Us mommies enjoyed blinding everyone with our pale pale skin--- do you think maybe the Twilight books have made us a little to into vampires... shying away from the sun. Or have we finally matured and realized Sun damage really isn't a myth. Liam loved sitting and playing on his towel. The fun N sun finally got to Lucy and she zonked in her stroller. We polished of the day by having a great BBQ at waller mill. We took the kids out on the paddle boats. They LOVED it. We saw a turtle and that just made the whole trip. I wish I had remembered my camera because they looked so cute in their life vests!