Thank you Grandpa Dugi, Aunt Melissa, and Uncle Frank!!!

We just LOVE our Grandpa Dugi, our Aunt Melissa, and Uncle Frank!!!!! They really know how to love on us!!! We received a wonderful gift in the mail on Saturday from them...it was a membership to our local YMCA!!! Now I can exercise without hurting myself (b/c water exercise is the only thing that doesn't irritate my fibromyalgia), and the boys and splish and splash in the water!!! We didn't get to use it until today and since Corbin was in school, little B and I went and had such a blast!!!! Brendan is such a water bug (Corbin tolerates the water and sometimes does better than others), but B...he really just can't get enough of it!!! I was able to snap a few shots of him jumping in the water with his Spiderman inner tube...he would do it over and over and over and over and over and over (I think you get the point) while I would exercise or stretch...then we would swim laps--it was really very cool!!!...he did about 2 laps completely on his own and then we did another 5 or so (not all together, though) different ways (me pushing him, me pulling me, etc)...he would be so proud to help and would just giggle and giggle. Another thing he did was learn to kick his legs and swim...I'd back off about 5 feet from the side and he'd push off from the side and swim to me and then he'd push off from me and swim to the side...he did a lot of burping, but I think it mainly was due to swallowing air (or at least that's what he told me)... The other cool thing that he did which I thought was very brave was he held onto the side and pushed off so that he could touch the bottom...his head would only go about 4 inches under the water, but I thought that that was a pretty brave move for a 4 year old (and I repeatedly told him so!!). It was a really fun time and the best part about it was that it was a really great bonding experience for me and the little B...times have been really tough lately and so it was so good and such a blessing to have fun and giggle and play and love on each other and be the mommy that God created me to be. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Grandpa, Melissa, and Frank...your gift means more to me than you will ever know. I love you dearly. Candace

This is B about to jump off into the pool...

and off he goes!!!!

...swimming to the side...

...pulling himself out of the water...

That was so much fun!!!...Let's do it again!!!

Weeeee!!!

Ok, let's take this tube-thing off and show you how I can hold my breath...

Did you catch it, mom? (no, I wasn't quick enough...I'll try again)

I still didn't catch him under the water...so here's a hangin'-on-the-side-of-the-pool-pose...

Well, do you feel like you lived the experience with us?

Zoo with the boys, the Donaghey's and Julie Danley...

this was how the boys started the day right after we ate lunch--running around and full of energy....


caladiums are one of my favorite plants ever...it was neat to capture the water pooled on it...isn't God amazing?

the turtle startled corbin when it suddenly moved...it was kinda funny....

gail and corbin


calvin & brendan


i just love cannas...and they've bloomed so beautifully this year!!



i pretty much never see birds in the bird part and saw a bunch of birds this time--i told julie that she was my good luck charm...



look at the rattlesnake


peek-a-boo brendan

julie & corbin


a friendly turtle....


julie and the boys


this is the admiral--you'll meeet his brother in a minute....


gail asked calvin if he wanted his net-- he said "not unless i use a pressure cooker
'......i was completely unaware that carp could even be eaten b/c of all the bones, but calvin said they taste like salmon--makes me curious...


as promised, here' the admiral and his brother sir fluff head...


calvin feeding the fish and sometimes the ducks


i'm not sure what these are called, but they sure were beautimous....


this was a gorgeous scene that i'd never seen before...i guess these are water lilies...too pretty...


the ostrich was making goofy faces, but i didn't see


i think this is just a regular petunia or something like that...


i just don't think i could handle all the dirt in my eyes all the time...


julie, calvin & gail


the zebras weren't up to doing anything cool for us...


this flower actually grows on a vine...i can't remember it's name, but it's pretty


this is as exciting as the zebras got...still does nothing for me, how about you?


calvin & corbin feeding the elephants


calvin & brendan feeding the elephants


me and my boys (who DID NOT want to take a picture with me, but i wanted to get one with them to have for daddy)


the giraffes are always fun...those tongues never get old!


calvin holding corbin, brendan, and julie


there was only one friendly giraffe today...the other one wasn't interested in being fed or being social...this is the friendly one...


this is mexican petunia...it's become one of my favorite plants...it's very hardy in this part of texas and if you're lucky, it blooms these pretty purple flowers...i've planted a bunch of this stuff around my house this summer

And you think you got big????

I had lunch with Stephanie Fletcher and Summer Walters today and we were discussing how certain people tend to get bigger than others during pregnancy...Steph didn't seem to remember how large I got and so I told her I'd post the last pics I took (the night before I was induced)...Summer didn't know me at the time and so she had nothing to go by... You really can't see up close how much my nose spreads...it's horrible...and my butt and feet get huge (the nose goes back down a little, but the butt and feet never do, unlike Trish Mosley and Holly Morris). Anywho, hope you enjoy these!



Curious about Corbin's stats?...he weighed 7lb 11oz at 37 weeks!!!...he was supposed to be a 9 or 10 lb baby...thank goodness they took him out!!!


Makenna, the baby I lost at 37 weeks weighed 4lbs 14oz and Brendan weighed 5lb 3oz at 4o weeks... Corbin's always been a big kiddo and I don't think he'll ever stop...

Notice that no matter how big my tummy got, I still didn't get any boobs...not sure how that happened!