JUNE

June is a BIG month around here.  Dad's business weekend at the beach, birthdays, Father's Day, Gotcha Day, Vacation Bible School, Mission Serve....... there's so much packed into these 30 days!

We always begin our summer with some time at the beach.  Poor ole Dad has to work, but the rest of us have a GRAND time!  Since it's, you know, THE BEACH, I took exactly a GOZILLION photos. 

My people.

The intent was to get a few nice pictures before we headed to dinner.

Why in the WORLD did I think she was going to stay out of the water?

She's looking at me here like, ARE YOU KIDDING?  You want me to stay DRY?

Uh.  We are at the BEACH, Mom.

Quit telling me to stay out of the water.

Ain't gonna happen.

Daddy, will you walk me down to the water? 

Mom says no.

Dad:  Sure baby.  Anything for you.

I'll run from the waves, but they're probably gonna catch me!

My men.

Love them.

Squirt saw them at the water's edge and went running.

3 Men and a Little Lady

Max, Mom says I can't get wet.  You think she means it?

Oops.  Got a little wet.

Sorry, Mom.

Well, maybe not sorry.

THIS IS FUN!

These boys.

LOVE.

We're in the water.

You think Mom knows?

Got a little problem?

Help, Dad!

I'm getting a little bit wet!

Goofball.

Drenched.

And sandy.....

But VERY happy.

Pretty sure they were ready to go eat.

But she could have stood there forever.

Dad, can we stay here forever?

Whatever you want, honey.

You think there's something buried in the sand we could eat?

Just a few more minutes.....

Finally!  DINNER!

And then we rest.

Day TWO brings FUN IN THE SAND!

And more rest.....

Then Mom dresses us up and brings us back out here for MORE photos.

Can you imagine how much they LOVED this part of the trip?

I don't care. 

These pictures ARE my trip.

Bless you, Jack.

Come on, get it together.

Max, SMILE!

MAX!

WHATEVER.

This is why there aren't enough pictures of Max.

Some day he will care about that.

This was not that day.

Big smile from Jack.

Tiny one from Max.

I maybe took lots of photos.  I maybe put them all here.

The three stooges.

Such a poser.

Mom, you should know by now to quit bringing me down here in fancy clothes.

Hey, Dad...... Mom thinks I'm not gonna get dirty! 

She crazy!!!

My favorite.

Boys are losing interest in my photography efforts.

This is what you sleep like after some time at the BEACH.

 Then it was time for a week of Vacation Bible School!
These jumpy things they always get during VBS are GREAT!

Jack, I wanna do that again.

Sweaty girl.

Next came Father's Day!

Mary and Dad went to Chick-Fil-A on a Daddy/Daughter date!

June 16:  JACK POWELL TURNS SIXTEEN AND GETS HIS DRIVER'S LICENSE.

MOM CRIES.

Brilliant boy made a 100 on his driving test!

And now, bro Max can ride up front.

Mom is stuck in the back.

For Jack's 16th birthday, we threw him a surprise party with his "squad."  We hid a bunch of guys and all of Jack's favorite foods in the basement and sent Jack on an errand.  When he returned.... SURPRISE!

While Jack was being distracted by Max, Joe and I whipped up ALL of his favorite foods.  We served SAMS pizza, mac and cheese, grilled burgers, spaghetti, and goldfish.  

June 18:  MAX POWELL TURNS 13 AND IS OFFICIALLY A TEENAGER!

Mom cries.  Again.

When we asked Max what kind of party he wanted, he said he wanted two things:  he asked for a chocolate pie from Jim and Nicks and a makeover of his home gym stuff.

You got it, sweet boy.

Never got an official picture of it, but his weight room in the basement is ready for some heavy lifting!

Right after birthday week, the boys took off to Cherokee, North Carolina with their youth group for Mission Serve.  They both LOVE these mission trips and always come back with tons of stories.  And, if you're Max Powell, you always come back with GREEN paint all over your clothes.

Go serve the Lord, you precious people.

While the boys were gone, we celebrated Mary's #2 GOTCHA DAY!

So hard to believe that it's been TWO YEARS already.

Time.  STOP IT.

We also set up an AWESOME front porch pool party for that week.

Baby girl LOVED it!

We ended the month with a visit to our favorite cardiologist, Dr. Romp in Birmingham.  Mary is always SO BRAVE during these visits and talks CONSTANTLY about the tools and procedures that are all around here.  We got a great report.... a bit of a murmur and some scar tissue from her surgery in China..... but Dr. Romp says everything is normal and great.  He told me there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to worry about..... which, to this worrying Mama, was nice to hear!  

We'll see Dr. Romp again when we're FIVE!

And that was JUNE!  

Every moment seemed to be full.... but when it's full of FUN, it's a good thing!