Holcomb style

We did a Holcomb style family reunion at the beach last week and the kids had a blast together! The girls haven't seen Gabriel since we went to Iowa 2 years ago but they picked up right where they left off. It was so fun to see them together.

Chasing Sea gulls

I think Grammy enjoyed her time with her Grandkids :)

The Wilson's

I said my goal was to get family pictures and a picture of the cousins together. In Iowa I tried but it wasn't really happening. Bria was crying for some unknown reason and Reese wouldn't look at the camera, it was a disaster. So this year the kids are older and it's going to be great right?
Hahahahahha.
No.

Bria's pouting, Reese doesn't want to sit down, and Gabriel's like, "Chill girls."

 Let's look back 2 years at my attempt:

How about this year, let's try that again:

Gabriel's ready!

And last time...

This is the best one I ended up getting:

 I guess it'll do.

My love

 Aside from my attempts at taking pictures, I succeeded in making sure my kids had fun by going down to the beach as much as possible. The house they rented was literally right on the beach, just a few steps down and there it was. All 3 kids wanted to live down there so we spent a lot of time watching them chase waves and play in the sand. Bria is proving to be quite the daredevil as she gets older. She loved getting as deep in the waves as possible and dared the water to get her. Seriously child?! We had some major talking to her about the dangers of water, ugh! Reese was pretty cautious and preferred the sand over the water, she also insisted on holding our hand if she went in the water, safety first, I love it.

My love (he had to work a little while there, hence the bluetooth)

Grammy, Bria, and Gabriel

Me and my girls!

My little model

Feet in the sand

Reese no pants!

We also took the kids to the Aquarium and they really enjoyed that.

Mean muggin' Grammy with her boyz

We love the aquarium!

Puzzling with Grammy

The girls got some great bonding time in with Grammy, she spent time with them and enjoyed their company.

I got to catch up with Sara and we had fun relaxing and laughing as our kids played and ran around like crazy.

Cheers!

Cousins are the best

There was also a park nearby that we took the kids to one morning, they were like little monkeys all over the place. Between the park and the beach we were doing a good job of tiring them out.

So I still had to get a family picture and I prepped the girls, thinking that would help.

Bria's got it down, but Reese is throwing a fit.

 

Brian is trying to talk sense into Reese, I'm doing calming breaths and Bria is sneezing

This is my favorite, Reese in full on tantrum mode, I'm about ready to cry, Bria is like, "whatever'" and Brian is laughing

This one is decent, Bria isn't looking and Reese isn't smiling...I look unnatural but whatever. 

Watching my kids with their cousins is always such a joy, it reminds me of all my incredible cousins whom I love so much and still keep in contact with. It's a special bond and I cherish all my memories with them, now my kids will too.

Let Freedom Ring!

This year for the 4th we went down to the Jensen's for a family BBQ/Jax's 3rd birthday party. The girls could not wait to go down and asked everyday leading up to it when we were going. They LOVE their cousins and it makes me so incredibly happy to watch them play with them. It has been scorching hot here, we aren't use to these high temps. It was near 100 on the 4th so we were very happy to use the Jensen's above ground pool.

The guys

Bria, Reese, and Jax in a choo choo train 

My favoritest guy ever

Sweet Ames with his cousin, Kailey

He loves his mama

Seriously, that smile is beyond precious

Reese hitchin' a ride

Grandma Anna and Ames

Now, we all knew that the next day Jenny would be induced. The family did not know her name though...except me :) Which I had kept a secret because if they knew I knew, they would hassle me. How did I know? Years and years ago I gave Jenny some truth serum (aka, alcohol) and plucked her names out of her brain. 

So the family finds out I know and man oh man it was on. They would not let up, especially Lance. He was determined to find out. After quite a while he finally guessed the letter...Z. Once he got it he went on his phone to figure it out. Then loudly shouted...ZOEY! It's ZOEY!!! 

I haven't seen him that excited in a long time, he was ecstatic and so was the whole family. It was such a fun way to find out the name and of course we all love it. 

The girls couldn't wait for the fireworks to come out. We kept busy with swimming and rousing game of baseball. Then finally it was dark enough for glow sticks and fireworks...

The headphones were perfect for our girls who have an aversion to loud noises.

Nice photo bomb Schuyler!

After a long day of fun and even longer evening, the girls crashed hard...

Beach trip

In true Reese fashion she chose not to be photographed

 I track the weather closely, and when I see a good day at the beach I jump on it. I told Amanda our plans and her and the boys were in!

 It was a gorgeous day and the kids played in the water, dug a hole, built sand castles, and snacked.

 Very grateful we live so close to the beach, in an hour and a half we can get to the Pacific Coast.

 After the kids were good and tired we walked to get some lunch and then go for a carousel ride.

 Before leaving we had to get ice cream, just had too...

Love our days at the beach. I hope the girls always remember them, I know I will.

First things first, meet my niece!

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on, but first I have to introduce to the newest Armstrong granddaughter,  my sweet little niece...

Zoey Rae Tegner

Born: July 5, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Weight: 6 lbs 8 oz
Height: 19 in

Her birth story in one word: hilarious
If this sweet little peanut is anything like her birth story, she will be hilarious, easy going, and fun.
Jenny went in for an induction that morning, got pitocin started around 1 pm, an epidural a little later, and her water broken at 3 pm.

Yes, this is how Jenny looked throughout the whole thing, gorgeous and relaxed

Getting the epidural

Relaxing

Beauty sleep

They checked her at 5 pm and she was 4 cm.

You're complete and ready to push!

At 6:30 when they checked her again she was a 10 and the head was right there. The doctor was paged and the nurse had Jenny roll over, only as she did that we all looked down and saw sweet little Zoey's head and shoulder coming out. As Jenny looked down she started laughing and out Zoey slid, not with a push, with a laugh!

 It all happened so fast and we were all in shock. Half crying, half laughing. Did that really just happen?
Is it possible to have such an easy birth?
I guess so, because I was a witness.
Jenny was incredible, Zoey is a sweet little thing and so calm.

I cannot wait to get to know this little girl and see what God and the world have in store for her.
Welcome Zoey, you are so loved!!