Lake Fun on the Fourth

For the Fourth of July we spent the weekend at the lake with Cory's family.  It was Lincoln's first boat trip experience and he definitely LOVED it.  We had to watch him extra close because if we didn't he would have just jumped in the water without any fear.  It was lots of time in the car and lots of new fun people to play with which meant he his little schedule was thrown out the window. 

On a side note and something I want to remember...Lincoln also decided to continue his little habit of biting those who do not follow his way.  He is so sweet and a pleasure most of the time but I have discovered that when he is tired then the biting occurs.  It has helped that we have learned this and hopefully we can avoid anymore biting situations in the future.  Whew, it has stressed me out but it is such a small part of his behavior that hopefully soon we can move past this phase. 

Anyways, on to pictures.  I actually only took a couple of pictures but my SIL's sister is a photographer and took over a hundred pictures of the weekend.  So, I am stealing her pictures.  (Her name is Amanda Allen and if you live it the Dallas, TX area then you should call her to take your family pictures.  She does an amazing job.  Here is her facebook page.)

Ok, now that I have plugged her here are her pictures I stole of the weekend....
 

 Me, Mady and Lincoln on the boat

 Lincoln enjoying the boat ride

  

 Lincoln and Mady

 Cory and Lincoln enjoying the water

 

Lincoln after being dunked under the water

Mady and me hanging out in the water

 The babies playing the piano at Mimi's house

On Sunday, we went to Hot Springs to walk around. 

 

 Sweet sisters.

 Mady with her new shades and Lincoln with his wild and crazy hair.

 Uncle Cory holding Mady while pushing the stroller.  She really wanted to ride on the stroller like the babies.

We enjoyed a very Happy 4th and we hope you did too!

Celebrating Strawberry Shortcake style!

We spent the weekend in El Do celebrating Mady's 3rd birthday and Lucy's 1st birthday Strawberry Shortcake style!  Before the party festivities began I caught some shots of the kiddos playing.  Dr. Mady was on call in case anyone got hurt while playing...

Lucy loves playing with her baby dolls

Lincoln is a musician at heart.  He found the piano first thing and became a little possessive of it. 
Real men play pink pianos.

Our attempt to get all three cousins to take a picture together

Mimi with the girls

Lovin' on Mimi

Let the party festivities begin....

Lucy's smash cake



We loved getting to see how big Bryce has gotten.  He still favors his sweet momma and I pray he always does. 



Close up of the sweet guy! 
It never fails that my eyes fill up with tears when I think of her.  I am so grateful God chose to leave a little piece of her here on this earth for us to enjoy. 

Lincoln checking out how the bubble machine works

Lucy could not look anymore like her daddy if she tried!

A very tired Lincoln was not a fan of the slip and slide.

Lucy enjoying her cake...

And Bryce enjoying it too! :)

On Sunday, Cody's church celebrated the graduates which included himself.

A graduate of seminary!

Congrats, Cody!

Family shot

Look Alike?

After I took and posted this picture for Valentine's Day Cory saw it and said "Wow, he really looks like Cody (his twin brother) in that picture."

This prompted me to finally scan in several baby pics of me and Cory (that has been on my to-do list since August). It has also been commented that Lincoln favors me, Cory and even my dad. One of my favorite questions to ask people is "Who do you think he looks like?" So it only fitting that put the question to the bloggers.

So, you be the judge.........................

Here is Lincoln at a year old.

Here is my dad (on the left) with his twin sister.

Here is Cody (left) and Cory (right) about 20 months of age.

Here are Cody (left) and Cory (right) again about 2 years old.

And here is me :)

You may have gotten side-tracked by all the "twin" pics. Yes, my dad is a fraternal twin and so is my husband. This also means there are not pictures of JUST my dad or JUST my husband. They always come in pairs. Anywho, back to the subject at hand. As crazy as it sounds I think Lincoln favors me and Cody (my brother-in-law)!

Do you think Lincoln gets his good looks from my dad, Cody (my BIL), Cory (my husband) or me? :)

Ostman Visit

This weekend we had a fun visit from my aunt, two cousins and each of their girls! We were able to see my aunt and one of my cousins this summer at our family reunion. However, Emily (my other cousin) was great with child during the reunion so she was unable to come. I am not sure how this happened but it has been FOUR years since I have seen Em. It's a crime for sure. We enjoyed sometime out at the park attempting to fly a kite on a not-so-windy day, eating some BWW and reminiscing about old times.

Em, Madaline and Aunt Grace

Ella taking a ride down the slide

Gigi helping Lincoln down the slide

Lincoln making sure Madaline does not tell his secrets!

Yummy celery at BWW.

Sweet boy!

The O'Dell girls with their babies.

O'Dell grandkids in Grandma and Grandpa O'Dell's chair!