On Labor Day, we were invited over to our friends', the Fernandez Family, home. We were fed well. Our associate Pastor prepared racks of ribs, that had been slow roasting since 5 a.m.. The meat was literally just falling off. It was scrumptious. Everyone brought a dessert or a small something to share. The kids swam and swam and swam. The dads and moms chatted away. It truly looked like a middle school dance: the guys were on the right side of the pool and the moms were on the left side of the pool. LOL!
Eventually, a game of "watermelon ball" began!
Then, the kids did a little dancing off of the diving board!
And... eventually, an arm wrestling fight ALMOST broke out!!! #scaredies
It's always nice to get together with your family in Christ. We are always thankful for friends opening up their homes. I keep saying I need to do this more often myself. Eeeek! Just the thoughts of hosting an event like that overwhelms me. Haha. BUT, I promise the desire is there.
For Christmas, I purchased Darren a Ruger Icp and a Glock 21. Well, let me rephrase that...I was supposed to purchase him a Glock, but he decided to get it for himself before Christmas. So...I purchased Darren a Ruger instead. Our friend Aaron and I planned a grown-up playdate, at his house, with 10 guys from church. Aaron supplied the "shooting range" and I supplied the food. I made (2) pots of Italian Chili and (1) pot a unique chili with Ditali pasta, cornbread, and most any chili topping you can think of. I had quite the task. Originally, I thought I was cooking for 5-10 men. It turned out being that 10+ men, their wives, and children. Ahhhh!!! I have no evidence of the final outcome. Just a quick photo of some of my store bought items.
I cannot wait to share how I presented this gift/event to Darren, but until then, PLEASE KNOW, my man was so excited. He loaded up his "gun bag", the night before, weapons, amo, and a few targets. His bag weighed about 80 pounds
I didn't want to be the annoying photographer, so I left my camera bag in the car. BUT...here is ONE video clip and ONE photo of their fun. While the men practiced shooting, the women stayed warm inside and chatted. The girls played with their American Girl Dolls.
The bear that they were trying to "KILL" was a bear that was given to me, by my father. Sadly, after 15+ years of having it, my one year old puppy decided to use it's nose as a chew toy. Ugh. We were going to throw it out, but instead, Darren brought it to Aaron's to use as Target practice. A special thanks to Thomas Chaffin for recording this intense moment of "Kill The Bear". I have to say, I feel pretty darn safe having all of these men in our church.
After some shooting fun and a hot meal, accompanied with some delicious dessert brought by Allison and possibly Lisa, the guys completed their push up contest that they had been planning on for several months. Everyone gathered around and watched 4 or 5 of the guys compete against each other.
It was very fun/funny to watch, but as you can see from the guy's face, this was no joke to them. PRIDE was at stake here. LOL! It was taken very seriously and it was a pretty fierce few minutes. The room was getting hot. Hehe.
I am proud to announce my man did the most push-ups. I believe he did 73 or 78.
Then the little boys wanted to give it a try. This was so cute. First up, little Hank.
Then, Watson!
The bigger-little boys and girls went too. Gabe, Ty, Lilah, Kate, Vivian, and Ansley!
We are always so thankful to get to spend the day with Church family. You never leave a church function thinking, "I should have never went!" Darren and I really admire both Aaron and Lisa's willingness to show hospitality. We are continuing to be a witness to it. I am hoping that it will rub off on us more and more. I have a feeling, although this was the FIRST time shooting at Aaron's it will NOT be the last. Happy New Year!
This is our "small group" or at least that's what it's called. We might have started out "small", but we are LARGE now. We consist of 6 families, 12 adults, and 14 kids, and counting. YES, we have one family BRAVE enough to conceive baby #4. We gather every other Friday, at either the Williams or Bolling home (and occasionally the Fernandez's home) to discuss the sermon from the week before. We are blessed to have childcare (although we pay so well, you'd be crazy to pass it up). The first 45 minutes we enjoy each other's company and just catch up, which is so nice. Afterwards, we dissect Pastor Nick's sermon.
Getting together in the Summer can sometimes be tricky. Last night, we decided to meet together and enjoy our neighborhood pool. I called the ice cream truck and asked if it would come around 6:45 pm, so everyone could enjoy a sweet treat.
The kids swam and ate ice cream, even the smallest of our group, Aliza!
Little Olivia hung out with us too (she is Vivian, Kate, and Hank's cousin).
Usually Aaron is popular amongst the kids, but Aliza is NOT yet a fan! LOL!
I see a hiney!
I love how ALL of the DADS take on different kids, not just their own!!! Darren throws Caleb in the water.
Zach throws Lilah in the water.
Aaron throws Lilah in the water.
The kids also enjoyed some chicken fights.
Presley swimming.
The "totem pole fail", as I call it. Aaron does this often, when we gather in the Summer. He tries to see how many people he can fit on top of him.
Hank was ALSO not a fan of his daddy during this time!
This was a game the girls played. I am not sure why we let them, haha. It's a tad unsafe.
Jody offered to buy a watermelon so the guys could play watermelon football. Afterwards, you are supposed to eat it! It was a really rough game. Too many competitive men/boys. The game ended after Zach got pounded in the head when the watermelon was tossed.
Sweet Co! Jax had a double, middle ear infections, so he was NOT supposed to go in the water.
Aliza was obsessed with these goggles.
Being a family means you are a part of something wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life. #blessed
Last night was a blast and I cherish these moments. I really do! To see every photo I captured, double click on the Picasa Web Album below.
BollingWith5 was featured on TheStir.CafeMom.com again. This is feature #7, #8, and #9. Yahoo!!! You may recall this post about Ashely's Baby Sprinkle. It took a tad longer, than I had expected, for some of my creations to be published, but here is the actual link to the what TheStir considered unique ways to celebrated a mommy who's pregnant for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time around. Three of my ideas were featured. I still pinch myself every time I get featured and when I think about how lucky I am to be able to work with TheStir, from time to time.
Feature #7 - A Baby Shower Sprinkle Invitation
Feature #8: A Fruit Salad Baby Cradle
Feature #9 - Baby Sprinkle Game: Whose Water Broke?
*A side note: 2/6 families, from our small group, are expecting little ones in September and in October. A special shout out to The Maggi Family and The Fernandez Family. The Maggi's are expecting their second child and the Fernandez Family is expecting their 4th child. I guess they will be receiving a Baby Sprinkle sometime in the near future.
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