Finally! What has happened?!

*Beware* some of the pics had horrible lighting so the phone pics were terrible (not happy, sorry kids)

 

Where in the world have we been?? This year has been a whirlwind and we don’t have much to really show for that whirlwind other than 3 healthy boys that have grown 2 inches, EACH, in 6 months. I guess that is what has been taking our time

I guess we will start off our blog year in July, not a better time to start! Kickin’ it off with BANG! (No pun intended)

July 4th baby girl, Stella!!! Jobe and I got to finally ‘escape’ to Nashville to celebrate my niece's 5th birthday, along with Mimi (Mama Jordan) – fun times!! New cottage house is super cute and cozy – can’t wait until next time!

   

 

 

THEN – The Young Jordan’s followed us to Atlanta for the 4th of July week and Stella Bella enjoyed all the testosterone….we think…hmmmm….

 

THEN!!!! the Annual Freeman Cookout and Fireworks full of friends, family, police officers…ahem…we won’t go there!

   

 

Smore makin’….

   

 

Poor Nick….outnumbers by kids….

   

 

Sparkler FUN!!

 

And Finally… FIREWORKS!

   

All of this led to midnight bed times, bug bites, some neighbors that hate us but others that now love us and many memories that I hope will stay with these youngsters for years to come!!! Happy Independence Day from the FREEMANS!

Jobie is TWO!!!!!

Here he is admiring his cake!!

 

…and while we were singing to him…

  

 

We headed out to ‘Tellus Science Museum’ in Cartersville for the first time (Thank you Mimi!!) and learned a lot of fun science, nerdy stuff, woohoo! Our family fit in perfectly =) We did not, however, have time to go to their planetarium – next time!! Jobe just kept screaming below “BIG TRUCKS….BIG TRUCKS”

 

  

Panned for gemstones…The boys thought they were super rich when we left!

Dug for fossils:

 

Fun Magnetics:

 

 

The yard and land were gorgeous! PERFECT for little boys to run about and act as though nobody was watching! Noah, below, was climbing up on a massive solar panel that ran the  museum’s solar house. Too cool and a great day!

 

Candy TIME!!!!!

This year was PERFECT here at the Freeman house – Jobe is finally old enough to really walk the neighborhood, say ‘trick-or-treat’ and really take in the fun; and Eli is at that age where in the next few years, he may start to become ‘too cool’ to dress up. I am trying to take it in as much as possible!!!! Had an awesome time catching up with our neighborhood friends along with road and seeing everyone’s super cool costume! Poor Paul was still in Vegas for business so we had the pleasure of having Mimi spend the night =)

Mr Lion (of course) and Wolverine Vampire-

 

Oh and last minute decision of a Black Belt Ninja…who had a BLAST!

 

And OFF WE GO!

Wanna Bet?? It’s Vegas baby…

We don't stop playing because we grow old; We grow old because we stop playing - George Bernard Shaw

…and ‘playing’ we did, indeed! I am exhausted and refreshed all at the same time. The mountains were also gorgeous! Definitely not the Appalachians -

Casinos, pools, Cirque Du Soleil, haunted houses, Treasure Island show, bull riding, Freemont Street, amazing shows, great costumes, and on and on and on…Just a few of the things we were able to squeeze in to our days of fun. OH!!! And also a sighting of ‘Bradley Cooper’ who was filming a scene for the Hangover III  out in front of Caesars Palace – yipeeeee!

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it” – Aristotle

Oh Las Vegas…such and amazing/interesting place. Sure, people were doing things that I would probably NEVER do, but that is why I LOVED it – people were living, they are different, they were expressing themselves and that’s what is so amazing. I love the ‘real world’, it teaches me who I am more than anything else around.   I have found that I have been ‘losing myself’ for the past few years. I start obsessing about things that normally wouldn’t matter, I have lost my true self that I found more than 7 years ago. Every parent HAS to have time to ‘recoup’ and I totally see that and agree with that more now than ever. I was able to let loose, play, rediscover ‘myself’, see how others live life to the fullest (which by the way, can help you sooooooo much at discovering who YOU truly are)

People come to Las Vegas from all over the world to celebrate life and have a great time. Everyone is completely different and it is so fun, such a learning experience! We saw little bitty babies and then we saw 80 year olds – all smiling and just taking it all in. Definitely a place to stop and take in! You don’t have to gamble, drink, or go crazy to enjoy it-   

  

Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, So what. That's one of my favorite things to say. So what.”
― Andy Warhol

Love that quote! Halloween was such a great time to go, so many costumes, young and old. Sure, the lady in front of me is wearing a tu-tu with a bathing suit top and with wings, and her boyfriend is dressed up as ‘Allen’ from the Hangover – So what!!! How fun is that! I would NEVER have the guts/or want to wear that out in public, but who cares what I think. She did!! ….and it was hilarious! You go girl! The best costume was a man that was dressed up as Forrest Gump when he had long hair and was running across the US – this man looked EXACTLY like him and he ran from one end of the the strip to the other, We never saw him walk.

I tried to talk Paul into getting another tattoo with me….but he said that he needed to finish planning his ‘sleeve’ soon to come =) Maybe next year! Vegas Baby!

Getting some Johnny Depp lovin’ …

Oh, can’t forget ‘Freemont Street’ – it was wild at Halloween and October Fest.The canopy towers 90 feet above the ground and spans the length of five football fields. Featuring more than 12 million LED modules and a 555,000-watt sound system – it is the world largest screen!

  

zip-lining Freemont and fun!