Happy 4th!

We just weren't sure if we were going to get much celebrating in this year for the 4th. Nigel had to work from 6am-4pm and then 6am again the day after. Brock was still not quite himself, but he was fever free and throw up free =) And me, I was bound and determined to make red, white, and blue cupcakes. I had been thinking about them for quite a while. So, I did it.

I just started with a white cake mix and then added some (a lot) of food coloring.....

And then I layered in the cake batter and baked. And I failed. Failed miserably. I didn't take a picture of the inside of the cupcake. Boo. But, it was beautiful. And here are some of the tops.....

After Nigel got off work, we headed out to Cascade Locks....one of our favorite places to go on the 4th. They put on an amazing fireworks show. And we always have so much fun!

We played ladderball.....

And we got crazy =)

Beautiful fireworks.....

So, so, so sick.....

My poor little Brock-monster was so sick =( He started throwing up on a Friday and didn't stop until Sunday and then had another episode on Tuesday. We actually had to take him to the emergency room on Saturday to get checked out for dehydration. He could not keep anything down and was incredibly miserable. They sent us home, after a thorough check, with some anti-nausea medication and strict instructions to come back if he wasn't getting any better within the next 24 hours. Fortunately for him, he did get better because he absolutely hated the ER. Everytime a nurse or the doctor would come in the room, he lost his mind. Cried and screamed and wanted nothing to do with them =( It seems like now we are on the mend and that he is working on getting better.....and we are just hoping that nobody else is attacked by this miserable bug.

Penny is here!!!!!

We have our first baby girl in the family! She's finally here =) And I couldn't be a more thrilled auntie! I can't get enough of her. She's amazing =)

Penelope June Lockwood

Born July 1st, 2011 at 9:03am, weighing 7lbs, 4oz, measuring 20 inches long.

Erika did amazing with no epidural!! Mama and baby are doing amazing and Penny is a fantastically wonderful baby. Mellow, sweet, and perfect!

Jude is a very proud big brother. He loves his little sister!

A very happy and proud Nanny holding her first sweet granddaughter =)

Look at those eyes!!! She was very alert at the hospital!

And of course, her precious feet...

One very happy (and relieved) mama =)

So sweet, Erika and her kids!

Bath time! Penny LOVED having her hair washed and brushed!

All clean and wrapped up in the towel.

Clean, dressed, and happily being held =)

I could stare at her all day!!!

She found her thumb! Erika is hoping that she'll keep on finding it, too =)

Jude's new Paper Jams guitar that Nanny got him as a "Congratulations-on-becoming-a-big-brother" gift.

Welcome to the world, sweet Penny! We are all so thrilled that you are here and that you are as fearfully and wonderfully made as God intended for you to be =) What an amazing blessing you are and will continue to be to all of us!

A day at the park.....and some practice with the camera.

The weather is finally starting to turn wonderfully nice out here. It has sure taken it's sweet time. So, we are really trying to get out and enjoy the lovely weather. On this particular day, we headed to a park and then were going swimming at an indoor pool. I took the camera along so I could get some more practice with it. Here are a few of my shots from the day.......

Keep in mind that Brock and Caden are HORRIBLE photography subjects. They do not want me in their faces with the camera. They are constantly fighting me and my camera.

I found some little flowers and decided to test out the close up settings on the camera. I LOVE this camera =) These little flowers are really about the size of a nickel. Tiny little flowers.

Fun.....with a new camera and some tie-dying!

So, I got a new camera. I LOVE it! I take a LOT more pictures with it because they look amazing. These pictures aren't necessarily the best that I've taken with it, but it's because it was the day after I got it and I'm still learning how to use it. But, it's fun.

Also, Erika and I have been talking for a few years about doing tie-dye. We've had a whole bunch of plain, white onesies just waiting for some rubber bands and fabric dye =) So, we picked a day and we finally did it! It was a lot of fun (and a lot of work), but it was great. I'm so glad that we did it! We got some cute little onesies out of the process, too!

Also during the process, we got 3 very dirty little boys =) We did all of our work in Erika's back yard, and the boys made sure to find all of the dirt that they could get in to. They had so much fun, though. My tub was really gross after they got cleaned in it, though!