More engagement pictures of Amanda and Geoffrey!

Congratulations again Geoffrey and Mandy! Were so excited for you both! Here are some pictures from the big engagement day!
Love Michelle

Really going back in time to catch up -

Last year the we had the boys both get tubes in their ears, and Evan had his adenoids taken out. The surgery started at 7:00 am and was real quick. Both of the boys did amazing! They were themselves by noon! Here are some pictures from the day at the hospital. The tubes made a huge difference neither of the boys have had an ear infection since they received their tubes.

Canode family at the lake!

Trying to catch up...
So we bought a new boat this year since Ray sold our Cobalt after the Fourth of July last year. It took us several months to decide what type of boat we wanted, but after many months of researching and pricing out boats we finally both decided on a Master Craft 45. This allowed for more room for the kids, more seating for friends and family, and of course the major thing was that it had to have an in board motor and a large enough boat to make a wave for Ray to surf on. We ordered it in February and received the boat in March. We have already put 50 hours on the boat - and if you don't know much about boats - it takes some people many years to put 50 hours on a boat and we have done it in half of a summer! I guess you could say that's a very good sign that we like our purchase and use it as much as possible. The kids love the boat, and the swimming aspects of the lake. I love watching how fearless Evan is jumping off the back of the boat and Parker following right behind him. I swear they would stay in the water all day if we let them. I have to make Ray take turns with Evan surfing and then taking a break to let Evan swim. We have a great time, and have been so fortunate that both of the kids enjoy the lake and the boat. They both have their places where they like to sit (usually daddy's lap) and know exactly where their snacks and drinks are... it's so funny to watch them make themselves comfortable! Here are some pictures from the beginning of the summer of us all on the boat at the lake. As you will see Evan even gets to take advantage of the surfing and rides the board with Ray, Parker does it as well I just haven't downloaded those pictures yet. I hope you enjoy these pictures. I will continue to catch up on the blog throughout the weekend and next week! So stay tuned for more!
All the best, and God Bless,
Michelle Canode

Happy Fourth of July!!

Wow - I can't believe the weekend is over! We made the most of every minute of it! On Friday my Ray and the boys were surprised by a day out on the lake (just guys) to surf and do whatever they like to do on the lake... we had gone down to the boat early that morning and loaded it with food, beer, alcohol and anything else they might need during the day! They had a great time, unfortunately Ray was called in for a trauma case and had to leave early but still they had a great time! While Ray was down in Fort Smith covering the case (till 9:00 am the next morning) I took the boys with my parents to the Naturals baseball game. The boys had a blast - below is a picture from the game of both of the boys sitting on their papas lap. Most of the game was spent in the kids area bouncing on the bouncing castle and slide but still they had a great time. After the game they had an amazing firework show, we stayed for that and headed home - we didn't get home till around 10:30 and of course my children were still up!! Finally by the time we got them into their pj's and ready for bed Parker feel asleep and Evan was close behind. I didn't sleep at all since Ray was still at the case... I guess in the back of my mind I kept worrying over him driving home in the middle of the night. When I woke up around 5:00 am to find him still not in the bed I started to worry. After sending a few text I found out he should be home around 9:30 - 10:00 am. We all were waiting for him as he rolled in the next morning - we sent him to bed and headed for the pool. We stayed at the pool as long as we could to let Ray get some sleep and went back to the house around 1:30. Evan ran in and woke him up wanting to head to the lake. After packing up everything and allowing Ray to kinda wake-up we headed to the lake.We ended up spending the entire day out at the lake until the firework show. There is nothing like watching fireworks on the water, and riding a boat at night. After the fireworks show was over we cleaned up the boat and got home around 11:00. Both kids feel asleep on the way home, and I think all of us were just as worn out. Sunday morning everyone slept in late, after we all got up and around we packed up for a long day at the lake. We spent the entire day riding the boat and letting the guys surf. Ray has become obsessed and surprisingly the kids really like to watch. Between each surf session we take a 10-30 minute pit stop for Evan as he calls it "pee time" which is code word for him that he wants to jump in and go swimming. He is a fish!!! He loves the water - we have to literally peel him out of the water and place him in the boat every time. We left the lake that night around 9:00, mom and dad ended up leaving a little early to try and get the kids home to eat something, and on their way home they found out about a firework show at the cross church and stopped at to watch it. It was amazing - we didn't get to see the entire show but what we did see we were totally amazed! We could hear the music and see the fireworks from our house! Monday we all woke up to breakfast and decorating of the golf cart! The neighborhood has a fourth of July parade and this year I wanted Ray to take the kids in it, so we decorated it all up and crossed our fingers for good weather. We were so lucky - the weather let up right around the same time as the start of the parade. We had a blast in the parade and the kids were so cute! I'll put some photos as soon as I can download them! The parade finished up at the swimming pool - so of course we spent the entire day at the pool! We left around 5:00 and went back to the house to clean up real quick and head to the Hatfield home to watch more fireworks! It has become a tradition to got over their and have dinner and watch fireworks with them! Chad's mom lives close enough to the Bentonville firework show which allows you to watch the fireworks from her front yard! We have such great friends to allow us to be such a special part of their family tradition! The kids really enjoy it because they get to play with all of the other kids! We arrived back home around 9:30 and put the kids immediately to bed - ourselves as well! Like I said... we made the most of it! I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July! God Bless America and our freedom!!
God Bless,
Michelle
I'll post more pictures - but here is one off of my phone at the Naturals game of the boys on papas lap!!

My sister is engaged!!

Over memorial day weekend Geoffrey Campbell asked my sister, Amanda Fawcett to marry him! He was so cute- he called all of the family before hand to ask our permission and also for help in the surprise announcement! We had it all planned for them to come up for the weekend to go to the lake and see the family- little did Mandy know on the drive up Geoffrey was going to ask her! He had arranged for us to leave some ice chest and tables down at our talegate deck in Fayetteville for them to pick up on their way to Rogers. So that morning before they left from little rock I called Mandy and asked her to pick the stuff up on the way to the lake so we would have it for the weekend. So as we sat on the lake dock awaiting the phone call from her to tell us the surprise- Geoffrey stopped at the tailgate and told her to jump out and help grab everything- as they walked to the deck Geoffrey grabbed her hand and told her they weren't their to get the stuff and instead got down on his knee to ask her hand in marriage! Of course she said yes, and cried for a few hours in shock and excitement! They showed up at the dock where we had decorated it all up with flowers, ribbons, balloons, and signs to celebrate the big news!! More surprises for Mandy!! We were all so happy for them and so excited to have Geoffrey join our family!! Thank you for making our Mandy so happy! Y'all our so blessed to have each other! God bless!!
Love,
Michelle
Here are some pictures- not the best but for now it shows the happy couple and the gorgous ring!!

Wow so sorry and so behind!!

So I am blaming my husband for not having his computer available for me to upload new pictures to update the blog... but I can take some of the responsibility to- I have been so busy getting things completed with work and getting the house ready for this new one that the last thing I think to do is update the blog! This is for my sister and mom who have continously begged me to update the blog...enjoy and there is lots more to come!!
This weekend we had Jessica Ritchie come out and take my pregnant pictures. I have done this with every child and promised myself that I would not slack on the last child. So here are a few of the pictures that Jessica took and posted on her blog! We had a wonderful time and she is so blessed at what she does! I love them all and I am so excited to see the rest! Follow the link to her blog and post some comments to let her know how good she is at her job!

http://jessicaritchiephotography.com/weblog/

Also, update on pregnancy:
So I am growing and feeling great! I can't believe how fast this 9 months has flown by. Evan is so excited that he has another baby brother on his way! We are as well... everyone keeps asking me if we are nervous or anything and I keep telling them were just really excited - which is the entire truth! All I can pray for is a happy healthy baby boy to love!! We have been so blessed with to perfect little boys and can't wait to see them all share such a special time together growing up so close! The baby room is almost completed all I am lacking are some frames and the new rocking chair which will be here next week. It was so funny since we painted the baby room Evan wanted his room so we are in the process of painting his room now. "REd" as he wanted is - really we painted it gray walls with red stripped ceiling - thanks to Casey's brilliant ideas! I hope you enjoy the pictures, I will go back over the last few months and catch up the blog but I was so excited when these were posted that I had to go to them immediately!
God Bless and be safe this Fourth of July weekend!
Michelle