Everyday Summer

These pics really just capture what the Gilmores have been up to.

June certainly has flown by.

We were pretty nonstop.

Jackson finished up his baseball season early in the month.
We went to Chimes Restaurant after a game for dinner.
He was being super goofy with his sister :) 

My little baseball player.
He is so grown up! 

Hey look!  I finally got in a picture with one of my children!
ha.
I tend to be the one behind the camera...i should work on that ;) 

My crazy haired breakfast buddy showing me her blueberry! 

slip n slide fun...
they went at it for hours...... 

on our way to somewhere..
Jackson thought Georgia's doll needed a safety belt too! 

S'mores!
Yes, it was 90 degrees outside!
Yes, James built the boys a fire because they asked him to!
Yes, Charlie is wearing flannel pants standing in front of a live fire in 90 degree weather.
Kids are crazy!! 

Georgia Mae turned 10 months old on May 25...
She is such a happy girl and always smiling! 

James was the best man in his friend, Josh's wedding.
That was a fun weekend in the city! 

A sweet friend gave this kitchen to Georgia.
She LOVES it!
Have caught all three of the kids cookin' in the kitchen :) 

Swimming at Nonna's... 

My three children :) 

taking a bottle break poolside! 

We went to WaterColor one day while my mom was at the gym and walked around.
5 minutes into our stroll, the bottom dropped out and it came a fierce thunderstorm. 

The nearest escape was Wine World!
How very wonderful!
We ate lunch and this mamma might have had a glass or two of cab :)) 

She conked out on the couch.
Amid her brothers running around and playing.
That's one sleepy lady! 

While we were visiting my mom, she was having a dock built out in her back yard.
The guys finished up one evening and we immediately took up residence on it that evening.
Adirondack chairs are a must! 

My current favorite photo!
Father's Day 2012

Stripes!

When I feel the urge to change things up a bit in my house, [which is quite often!  Hey, I come by it honest!]
I paint!
It's a relatively inexpensive way to bring a new look and update without breaking the bank.
My house is beige.
I don't hate beige.
It just gets blah looking.
I am trying to change that....
in come stripes!
 

I saw a cute post on Remodelholic.com about a girl that did this to her foyer and I was instantly like, "Oh, I am so doing that!" 

My foyer was the perfect place to spruce up in one afternoon! 

Fat cat decided to plant it right in the middle of my project...
dandruff anyone? 

So here are all of the befores... 

of course, I enlisted the help of my sister!
We came home from church one Sunday and I put Georgia down for her nap.
Lana and I got started taping up the wall.
I found a formula online for how to calculate how wide I wanted my stripes to be considering my ceiling height.
We cleared out the room and got to work! 

Here is the "after"
It took Lana and I about 3 hours to complete.
It wasn't hard at all!!
 

I am very pleased with the results! 

It really brings a new dimension to the room.
and I no longer have to stare at just beige walls! 

I just need to find some cute roman shades for my front doors.
[insert inexpensive.... and cute]. 

I painted the mirror that hangs above the console table the same color as the ivory stripes and hung it back up.

Original wall color:  Behr Castle Path
stripe:  Behr White Clay

hmmmmm...what's next!?

Jackson's First Triathlon!

So, after going to many, many of his Daddy's triathlons over the years, Jackson decided he wanted to do one of his own!
Of course, James was thrilled....
The closest one we could find was in Houma. [2 hours away]

Since the grandmas weren't going to miss this event, we decided to make a weekend out of it in New Orleans!
Jo Ann and my mom came down and we got rooms at the Windsor Court.
We had a yummy dinner the night before in The Grill Room and called it a night....well, the Gilmores did, anyway ;)

This is the transition area.
We got up at 5 am and drove the remaining 1 1/2 hours south of New Orleans to here....
This triathlon began at age 3 up to 14.
There were tiny little bikes out there...
it was so cute!

We raced in the gates because we thought we were going to be late...but the race started a little late anyways, so that was to our advantage. 

My boys right before the swim portion of the race.
Jackson was cool as a cucumber.
He didn't act nervous at all.
At this point, I had already teared up! 

TONS of kids packed around the pool. 

Jackson swimming!
He's the one with his head popped up looking at me..haha.
His age group had to swim 3 laps in this pool.
It was a challenge for him, and he was worn out after it, but did a great job! 

Here's a video of his swim :)

the sun beat me out on this shot...
Jackson coming out of the pool and running to transition area to mount up on his bike. 

Jackson is straight out ahead putting his shirt on. 

Parents weren't allowed in the transition area but they had volunteers  helping the kids out.
He's about to roll out! 

There he goes on his 2 mile bike! 

He did great on the bike and came back in to transition and dropped off his bike, stripped his shirt off and started his 3/4 mile run!
James jumped in with him.
Water works happening right here, people.
and not just by me...
There were two grandma's in the crowd with me who I caught choking up :)

He had a smile on his face the whole time!
He loved hearing all of us cheering him on. 

James fell back and let him run into the finish line by himself.
 

There's my little triathlete!
He was super sweaty, super tired, and super hungry! 

Nonna, Charlie and Jackson postrace. 

Grandma, Charlie and Jackson. 

The Gilmores! 

ooops!
We forgot one!
There.  That's better
:) 

Aunt Lana and Jackson showing off their guns! 

Jackson requested IHOP after he was done!
So we found one in Houma, after driving all over the place!

Way to go, Jackson!
We are so proud of you!
I think Charlie has caught the fever and we'll have two participants next year :)

What a great, fun environment for kids to be in!
We all had a lot of fun this weekend.