No longer mom...I'm mommy!

Hadley has been calling Austin, daddy (more like da-eee), for several months now, but I have always gotten a short and sassy "mom!"  It melted my heart when I heard that sweet little word, "mommy" come out of her mouth today!     

Oh how I love this little girl!

Happy Memorial Day!

After our long race filled weekend, we had a nice relaxing day at home on the lake, with Austin's family.  It was so nice to just wake up and have the whole day with Austin and Hadley.  We swam in the lake, played in the new pool and then ate a tasty lunch that included some of Austin's smoked meat.  Yum!

Aunt Shelby enjoyed playing with the neighbor kids on their rafts.  Ahh, to be a kid again!

Hadley played with daddy in the lake, running back and forth to her count of three.

This is what Hadley does when she wants you to count to three for her to jump or run into the water.  She holds up her fingers and says "two, two."  I think it's super cute!

Great Grandpa and Grandma Reames came down to spend the day with us. 




Grandma Kim came down to spend the day with us too... 

Hadley sported her patriotic swimsuit, which was ideal for swimming on Memorial day!

Hadley probably had the most fun playing with the water hose.  We could barely get the pool filled up, because she kept pulling it out to play.

...and let us not forget the reason for this day. 

I think this quote speaks volumes, "all gave some, some gave all." 

Happy Memorial Day!

Potty Time!

Hadley has been extremely interested in the potty lately.  She likes to go in and sit on the toilet, and then flush when she gets off.  She also tells me when she needs her diaper changed.  We bought her an Elmo potty last week.  I am happy to announce that she used the potty for the first time at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Friday evening.  She also went again on Saturday.  Yeah for Hadley!  When she got home, we put her Elmo potty together and she has been practicing going potty ever since.  She has yet to go again, but it is a work in progress!  

Today we had Austin's family over for Memorial day, and Hadley had to come in from swimming to try out the potty.  That's why she's still wearing her sun hat.  Too cute! 

   

Indianapolis 500 - 100th Anniversary

Once again, Memorial day weekend was very busy for us. Austin traveled to Indy on Saturday with Keith, his friend from high school, to partake in all of the pre-race events hosted by our friends. Austin's parents watched Hadley, and I had to work. Today he attended the 100th anniversary of the "greatest spectacle in racing," the Indianapolis 500 race.  He took a few pictures on his phone, so I "borrowed" them for the blog.  I'm glad they survived the super warm weather.  It always seems to get really hot just in time for the race.  All in all, it was another fun day at the track for the boys! 

Austin took Keith out to eat in Warsaw on Friday night, when he got into town.  They ate at Wings Etc. and Keith obviously had a huge beer!

On Saturday, before the big pre-race party at the Ladisich house, Austin took Keith out to eat at one of our favorite downtown eaterys - Bourbon Street.  They have the best tenderloins around, and it looks like Keith got to find out for himself.  Yum!

Hanging out in the morning before the race started.  It looks like they enjoyed some bloody mary's for breakfast...one of Austin's favorites!

Gentlemen (and ladies), start your engines!  It looks like the sun came out and the boys enjoyed another hot race day. 

...and this years winner is: Dan Wheldon 

Saturn Outlook

Austin and I have been contemplating buying a new car for quite a while now.  The truck is getting old and not getting very good gas mileage anymore, and the car has 162,000 miles on it.  We haven't had car payments for the last few years, so it is quite painful to think we have to make a payment again.  We've been doing some research and trying to decide exactly what we want.  We really wanted a GMC Acadia with a brown exterior, but didn't want to pay that much.  We found the perfect alternative a few weeks ago - Saturn Outlook.  It comes in brown too!  When one of the dealers called and said they had one that might meet our criteria, we went to take a look...and bought it.  Yeah!  We love our new vehicle, and Hadley does too.

   

OBX 7 - Final Day in the OBX

Today is our last day in the Outer Banks and I am very sad to see this family vacation come to an end.  It has been a long time since we all got to spend this much time together and it has been a true blessing.  Thanks dad, for an awesome Christmas present that I could never put a price tag on.  I'm going to enjoy this day to its fullest, so you will only see a few pictures. 

While we were eating breakfast this morning, someone noticed that there were dolphins jumping in the water right outside of our house.  My sister managed to snap these pictures.  You have to look closely in the picture above to see one, but it's pretty evident in the picture below.  They were awesome to see!   

We were getting ready to go outside to the ocean.  I'm not sure why Hadley was making this face?  She's so animated, and I love it!

Miss Hollywood on her way to the beach...

Hadley and I were having a great time playing in the waves until a big one just her height came in for the ultimate splash.  I couldn't get her pulled up in time and she got super soaked.  After that, she just wanted to play in the sand for a little while.  Understood!

Below are pictures of my view from front and side to side.  I love vacation, and I love the ocean!

I love watching these two little girls play together!  What great lifetime friends they will be, and it warms my heart.  They had an awesome time enjoying the sand and toys today!

My traditional writing in the sand...

When we got back from the beach, we got in the pool.  Gabe and Juli had arm floaties and Hadley wanted a pair.  Daddy drove into town really quick to buy her some.  As you can see below, she loved them.  She's such a water bug and was swimming on her own in no time!  Oh, I almost forgot an important milestone in her swimming...she started blowing successful bubbles yesterday.  She dunks her head in the water all the time and blows ON the water, but never actually made bubbles IN the water before.  We couldn't be more proud!  I tried to get a video of it yesterday, but my camera battery died.  Bummer! 

Gabe picked some of the wild flowers outside by the boardwalk and brought them into Lex this evening.  What a sweet little guy!

After dinner the girls enjoyed bananas for dessert!

...and that's it folks.  I'm sad to say that this family vacation has come to an end.  We are getting ready to head out for our drive home, but not before one more breathtaking view!

Thanks a bunch OBX!

I hope we meet again. 

This is a vacation that I will remember forever!