July Pictures

I'm a month behind, but here are pictures from July. Didn't realize I had so many!


The boys doing an afternoon paint project.

Look Mom, no hands!

Notice my younger son still insists on eating the paint.

Calvin did an "Itty Bitty" sports clinic at the YMCA this summer. It was six Saturday mornings and they spent two sessions each on baseball, soccer, and basketball. It wasn't the most organized thing, but he enjoyed it. Here is his last day of basketball.

An unforgettable moment: the praying mantis I found in my salad from the grocery store. I screamed when I realized the piece of brown lettuce I was plucking out of the package actually had eyes and legs... Luke thought the bug bit me and neither one could get over it. Luke still mentions the praying mantis from time to time. (I don't buy this salad anymore after finding a ladybug in one package, this, and then a multitude of little aphids in another).

While up in Austin for my grandmother's birthday/family get together, we went on a Duck Tour, which was alot of fun (although VERY hot). If you've never heard of this, its a bus tour that takes you through downtown, and then drives right into the water and floats around like a boat.

The duck "quackers" we got, with which we would randomly quack at people as we drove by.

My family took up half the bus. These are aunts, uncles, and cousins from my dad's side of the family. What a bunch of "quacks"! (HA! I think we had too much fun with those quackers).

My brother and his baby.

Luke showing off his "hawk" (as he called it). "Mommy, you give me a hawk??"

At the children's museum in New Braunfels, TX.

Calvin was excited to see R2-D2.

And of course, the space area was a big hit.

This is my nephew, Gunner. What a cutie! He reminds us of Calvin in many ways.

A jet Calvin made with his Tinker Toys, that he could actually get in and fly around.

A trip to the Ringling Brothers Circus. I had not been to the circus in years and it was quite a show!

With older cousins Kathryn, Collin, and Grady.

I love these two pictures. The kids got all dressed up - Cady even let Calvin borrow her "soccer" shorts. Then they found shin guards and socks to wear and went out back and played soccer together. (Luke's shinguards are actually a pair of pink princess knee pads)

Best cousins. I think it won't be too much longer before Calvin is bigger than Cady though!

Wow, I guess we had a busy July. Now I have to get on to those August pictures. But my blog is driving me crazy - I used to be able to click and drag the pictures, and now I can't. I can move them a little bit, but not past any other picture. The pics on this post just had to stay in the order that I uploaded them. Any ideas on how to move them around? Help me!

Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth of July at my sister's house again this year. She has the perfect location because they shoot off fireworks at a park that is right across from her neighborhood, so we can watch them from her front yard. We decided to check out the parade this year, which was alot of fun. It had the feel of a small town parade, kind of reminded me of Oak Harbor, and they threw LOTS of candy, so the kids were thrilled. Here are the boys, ready to head to the parade.


We found a great place to take pictures in downtown Round Rock.

Waiting for the parade to start. We had great seats right by the road, but in the shade so we didn't sweat to death.

A rare family picture.

My mom bought the boys sets of matching shirts.

After the parade we went back to my sister's house and hung out for awhile. That evening my aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandmother came over. We had a cookout and went on the slip 'n slide (even me - it was fun!). We had a big whiffle ball game and the kids had a pinata to break open. Around 9:30 we went and sat in the front yard and watched the fireworks. The kids all got glow sticks, so they were a little distracted by those. I think Luke was the only one who actually sat there the whole time and watched the fireworks. He sat in my cousin, Karen's, lap the whole time and would say "Look at that" and "There it is".

It was a great day. I love being able to watch the fireworks, then go inside and put the kids to bed. No traffic to deal with, no waiting for hours in the heat, no port-a-potties. Definately the way to go and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Lessons from a Four Year Old

I was in the kitchen, having just got off the phone with my mom, when I hear Calvin say from the bathroom, and I quote, "Mom, I just pointed my thing up and the pee came out."

To which I replied, in that absentminded way that moms can, "Oh, that's nice."

Wait...

What?

"Calvin, where did the pee go?"

"On the wall"

At which point I ran into the bathroom to see that yes indeed, when you point your thing up, the pee goes all over the wall. And all over the floor. And NOT in the toilet. So I ran to get a rag to wipe up the mess. And then I realized, well, I can mop the floor, but I don't really know how to clean pee off of a wall.

The things your kids teach you...

Conversations with a Two Year Old

This was the conversation Luke and I had the other night, as I was laying down with him before bedtime.

L: Mommy, what's that? (points to the hair tie on my wrist)

M: My hair tie.

L: Oh, your hair tie. Goes in your hair. (pats my head)

M: Yes.

L: Why?

M: To hold my hair back.

L: To hold your hair back?

M: Yes.

L: Why?

M: So it doesn't get in my face.

L: So it doesn't get in your face.

M: That's right.

L: Why?

M: Because it bothers me.

L: It bothers you?

M: Yes. (kind of like this questioning)

L: Oh. What's Calvin doing?

That was the point when I said good-night.

It amazes me how they can wear you down on minor little details and then just completely change the subject and move on. WHY??????

June Recap

Is it really July already??? I'm pretty sure the entire month of June just flew right by. I guess we have been pretty busy, since I haven't managed to type up any new blogs in a month. So this will just be one really long one about all that we've been up to the past month.

Playing in the backyard pool. Luke is crazy - going down the slide backwards and headfirst, and throwing himself over the edge of the pool into the water.

We started out the month with two weeks of swim lessons for Calvin. Every day for 45 minutes. I thought it was going to be awful because they don't offer lessons for under 4, so Luke just had to sit on the side and watch. It worked out okay though because Dave had a bunch of late flights during that time and was home in the morning to watch Luke. I actually only had to bring him three times, and he only made a mad dash for the slide once. He did really well. Calvin did great at the swim lessons and learned alot. He passed Level One and it is amazing to take him to the pool and watch what he can do, in comparison to last year. He likes diving for sticks, jumping in to the pool, and going down the little slide. A couple of weeks ago he was actually jumping into the pool, then turning and swimming back to the side all by himself. This makes going to the pool alot more fun! (and less worrisome) We have spent quite a bit of time at the pool this month. Luke likes to wear his swim vest, so I can actually sit on the side of the baby pool and talk to friends. Which is probably why we've been going to the pool alot more than last year...

This picture just makes me laugh - he has to wear his goggles, just like Calvin.

My sister was down visiting for two weeks the first part of the month. She stayed with my mom but we saw them almost every day. A rare picture of all the kids together, including my new niece.

One day we went to the aquatic center in a neighboring town. They have a shallow pool with little animals that squirt out water and a small pirate boat slide, which Luke loved. Of the two and a half hours that we were at the pool, he probably spent an hour going down the slide. A few pictures from that:

Last week Calvin attended his first Vacation Bible School at a local church. It was every day from 9-12. I'm not sure who was more excited, him or me... The first day I told him he was going to "school" he was dressed and ready to go in about 5 minutes - very excited. It wasn't quite so easy the rest of the days, but I think he had a good time. On the last day they had a pizza party for all the kids and parents, and they sang a few songs for us, which was fun. I really enjoyed having some time with just Luke. It's amazing how easy things are with just one child. This week did teach me that I do not want to do every day preschool next year - too much running around and not quite enough time to get anything major done. Two longer days would be much better.

Dave has been flying alot at night, leaving me to put the boys to bed by myself. Usually it goes pretty smoothly (although it does seem to take alot longer with just one person). However, one night last week Luke was not cooperating. I told him it was time for a bath and he ran from me, shouting "No!" He ran into Calvin's room and shut the door. Not really in the mood for this battle, I decided just to put his p.j.s on and call it a night. After getting him in pajamas, I told him to go brush his teeth while I went to check on Calvin, who was in my shower. I came back to find this:

Isn't that sweet? Apparently he changed his mind about the bath, or just decided that a mini-sized bath would be much better. Notice his toothbrush and toothpaste sitting right beside the sink - I guess he forgot about that task. I laughed (sort of), ran to get my camera (as always), and then ended up throwing him in the bath to rinse off anyways, and had to change his diaper and pajamas, which were soaked.

We went out for sushi the other night, which was the boys' idea. I occasionally buy sushi from the grocery store and they both really like it. After having this the other night, they both had to call Dave (out of town, of course) and leave a message asking him to take them out for sushi. It was cute. So when Dave had an early day on Monday we took advantage of half-price sushi hour and went out. All ready to go: Calvin was so excited - he had to put on his jeans (which I believe now qualify as highwaters), belt, and "handsome" shirt. Although Luke wasn't quite as interested in the restaurant sushi, he did eat some, and Calvin filled himself up. It was a fun night and a great way to end the month of June.

My Green Thumb

Disclaimer: For whatever reason, my blog is not cooperating with me and letting me move the pictures around. In the interest of keeping my sanity, the pictures are just a jumbled mess (kind of like my garden).

Okay, I guess realistically this should be titled "Dave's Green Thumb" since he has done the majority of the labor. I helped pick out the plants and am involved with simple upkeep, namely, weeding, picking and eating the food. But wanted to share and document what we have growing in our garden this year. It's so much fun to see how everything grows!

Check out this cantaloupe - it's huge!

Lots of squash growing!

This bed looks a little unorganized, but the watermelon and cantaloupe vines grow like crazy and kind of go wherever they want. We also have squash, peppers, basil, and lavender.

Here's my basil. This started out as a small plant that I got from Lowe's and has grown into this giant monster. It also keeps trying to flower so I am contstantly out there picking flowers off. I have been eating fresh caprese salads and sandwiches (tomatoes, mozarella, basil) and have made several batches of pesto with the basil.

Dave built these beds early this spring. After starting seeds in a smaller box he transplanted them. Unfortunately, south Texas winds can do a number on small plants and several things - like green peppers - didn't quite make it. Those are tomatoes on the right, all grown from seeds, and they have done awesome! We have beefsteak, roma, and cherry tomatoes that I have been picking like crazy. Unfortunately, nobody but me eats the tomatoes, so I have also been giving them away to family and friends.

We also have lime, kumquat, satsuma, and grapefruit trees, a few strawberry plants, and a pineapple guava tree. Last year we had lots of flowers on the guava, but none of the fruit stayed on. This year we had two fruits growing. One fell off this weekend, but there is one still hanging on. I really hope it gets ripe because a fresh picked guava off the tree is absolutely amazing!! (My cross country team used to pick and eat them when we ran through the botanical gardens in Hawaii - haven't found fresh ones anywhere else). That's about it for the garden. I'm hoping to be eating fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the summer, but I'm afraid this hot weather and lack of rain might put a damper on their growth.

Luke's Birthday

I am now the mother of a two and four year old. No more babies here...

We took a trip up to my cousin's house in Houston for Memorial Day weekend. The kids had a blast swimming in her pool and playing in her HUGE house. We opened presents at our house Friday morning (Luke's actual b-day) and had our "cake" (doughnuts) before driving to Houston. Then Saturday we had cake and presents for Luke with the family.

Here's birthday morning at our house:

(Luke has become obsessed with mowing and weedeating and talks about them all the time. Every time Dave mows, Luke has to watch him or worse, be held by him. Hence the weedeater.)

The kids all had a blast playing in the pool. If anyone is looking, these floaty vests are awesome. They sell them at Wal-Mart for $15 and they have several different animals. They are actually coast guard approved life vests and they worked great. The kids could jump in the pool and swim around very easily with them on.

Luke's birthday party. He is completely into cake. Whenever I asked him what he wanted for his birthday the only thing he told me was "cake". I guess we've had a lot of birthdays lately because whenever he sees a cake or something cake-like (muffins), he starts singing "Happy Birthday to you..."

I love how Luke is just smiling during the song and looking around. Now, shortly before I started taping this, I told Dave, "Go stand by Luke and make sure he doesn't burn himself". Where is Dave in this video???

NOT where he should be. Luckily Luke was prevented from doing damage to his fingers.

We took the little kids out just to play outside and somehow they both ended up in the pool???

I can't believe it's been two years already! Happy Birthday Luke!