The Rays of Sunshine

Earlier this month, we celebrated our Anniversary with a weekend getaway, with the kids, to Hot Springs, AR. Hot Springs has always been special to me, as I spent many summers there as a kid with my grandparents. We would always camp at Gulpha Gorge Campground and spend hours in the creek. The creek has a "rock" bridge, where you have to jump these big rocks to get to the hiking trail and a small waterfall that we would always play in. On the other side is this bridge, with this tunnel, and as a kid, I was terrified of this tunnel. The creek isn't too deep and I always saw other kids playing in the tunnel, but I could never bring myself to go to it. Looking at it as an adult, it's not that scary. When Ricky asked me where I wanted to go, and looking at our options, we decided on Hot Springs so I would be able to share some of my childhood memories with my family. The fondest memory I have of Hot Spring is walking the Promenade and bathhouse row.

WOW, the time has flown and we just celebrated this little guys 5th birthday. Each year we throw a really big party, and after attending other birthday parties at places designed for parties, we thought we would give it a try also. This year for Derek's party we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese, and it didn't disappoint. All I had to do was make a few phone calls and most everything was set up and ready for us, and you know what, the kids had just as much fun, and we weren't stressed out. Here's to our 5-year-old- Happy Birthday, Derek: Since we bought the Nintendo  Switch, we have been playing the Legend of Zelda, and Derek has become obsessed with Link, so as his big present we bought him "Link clothes." He is over the moon, although you can't tell from this picture, as "Link doesn't smile." He was "in character." We have a whole episode with the unavailing of the shield, by opening a treasure box and pulling out the Master S

Working at a University is tough, and the summer is extra tough, that is why I have not been able to blog like I have wanted to. With Dylan turning 10 months old today, I felt like it would be best to combine the two months. Crib Sleeping: Dylan sleeps really well in his crib now. We are able to do our nightly routine and lay him in his crib and he will fall asleep. It has been a great accomplishment. Of course, there are those nights where he cries a little bit, but within ten minutes he falls asleep. He has been really good about sleeping all night as well, which has been a blessing. Teething: Over the last 2 months, Dylan has cut his top 2 teeth, and he has had a lot of trouble with them. You could tell he was teething really bad because he stopped sleeping through the night and puts everything in his mouth. They have finally cut through and for a short minute, he is happy. We also got him a haircut at 9 months old. It was well overdue and he looks really cute now. I should