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Brian planted a garden while I was away in Boston. The girls and his dad helped him and they did such an awesome job. We have "harvested" peppers, squash, and tomatoes so far. Oh, and there's some basil in there too...so nice.
Kate and Taylor love going outside to water the garden and to pick vegetables when they're ready. It looks like it was Taylor's turn to pick a pepper this time around.
Thanks, Dad...We love having our garden!
We all went over to Nana and Papa's Saturday morning for their neighborhood's parade. They do a really good job of making it pretty legitimate and fun. The fire department comes with their trucks and horses and the parade is about a mile long. Nana and Papa provide the 4-wheelers and tractors for the cousins to decorate and ride on in the parade. Lauren and I sat this one out this year because of the crazy heat we've been having lately. But, the girls and their Joyner cousins had a lot of fun throwing candy to the bystanders and then running through the fire-truck hose at the end. Kate got completely soaked and loved every minute of it. Taylor was a little more tentative and may have gotten a few fingers and toes splashed. The first picture is of Sam...Kate has so much fun playing with Sam and was even lucky enough to be in his preschool class this past year.
We had a fun BBQ at the Nixons that night and watched the fireworks together afterwards. 4th of July FUN!!
Here is some Hood to Coast footage from the latest race ... I finally got around to making this year's video while Rachel and the girls were in Atlanta/ Florida (a post on that to come). As of lately, I've traded the video camera for photography ... so that means I'm actually in some of the footage ... not sure if that's a good thing. I've added several of the still shots into the video--you might recognize some.
The video is both from the race in Portland, OR as well as here in Dallas ... White Rock lake to be exact. We did some promo shots in full gear (i.e. Texas short shorts) for this ... let me know what you think. Below the video are a couple of my favorite shots from the race.
--Brian
Rebecca came into town for the weekend and we had such a fun time. The usual happened...a trip to Potbelly's, Sprinkles, the mall, the gym, Saturday morning run, lunch with her old BYU roommate and my neighbor, Sheree, and eating some more yummy food at Paciugo and Grimaldi's. It was so fun to meet Amelia, who was born 10 weeks to the day after Lauren...such a cute baby.
Brian took Kate and Taylor to get their hair cut over the weekend as well- a summer chop! The girls love their new "do's" and it sure makes bathing them a lot easier.
Taylor woke up the morning Rebecca left and cried when she realized she had already gone home! I love having Rebecca around- she is my best friend and we can just sit around and talk all day long...thanks, Christian and Oliver for letting us borrow her and Amelia for a few days!
I have a FIVE year old...crazy. I cannot believe how quickly the past five years have gone by. Kate wanted a swimming party this year with a Hello Kitty cake. The party was scheduled for her actual birthday, June 2, but we woke up that morning to pouring rain, lightning and thunder. So, with Kate's help, we decided to cancel that day and reschedule for two days later. When June 4 rolled around, she insisted that she wasn't five yet and that this year she was going to have TWO June Seconds. You can't turn five without a host of friends to make it happen in true party style, right? What a fun two days!
Funny story: This Sunday, Kate wanted to get up in church and bear her testimony. We've been talking about it at home during FHE and even practicing a little. We told her she would have to get up there and do it herself...no mom or dad whispering in her ear! Well, she got Brian to take her up to the stand and she went first. All you could see was her cute little head over the podium and she just stood there, breathing SOOO hard into the mike. I waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to say something. Finally, she turned right around and sat back down without a word. After she returned to where I was sitting...this was our conversation:
Kate: Mom, I'm just really shy up there.
Me: You were so brave to go up...I'm so proud of you
Kate: I think I'll be able to do it when I'm six.
UNTIL NEXT YEAR...
Proud Mommy Moment: Kate was presented this certificate upon completion of her last year of preschool. I'm such a sucker, but you couldn't have wiped the smile off of my face when they announced this. I sure hope this one sticks...
These pictures were taken this past Friday night at her end-of-year preschool program. Her class performed a short play, "The Pied Piper of Hamlin" and Kate played the part of a RAT. I think it finally hit Kate yesterday that her preschool days were over. Sad day for her...she cried a little bit while asking me if she would ever go back to her preschool again or see her teacher, Mrs. Rosanne, anymore.
The Best Day Ever....or, not. You be the judge. First of all, we met up with the Shumways at Jason's Deli before the game. Kate forgets that she's potty-trained and wets her pants...yes, she's five and no, she's never had an accident before. Of course, we don't have a change of underwear or clothes for her. We start to drive up to the Rangers field in Arlington and I decide that baby Lauren is definitely going to need a sun-hat because I can see the sun and the temperature climbing. I ask Brian to stop at the mall so I can run in and grab something. We happen to stop by the WORST mall ever (Grapevine Mills) and I attempt to rummage through the disorganization to find a hat and if I'm lucky, a change of clothes for Kate. 40 minutes later I finally found something that would work...thats how disorganized everything in the stores were. Plus, it might have been a busy shopping day (hello!) so I waited in a long line for a portion of that time. We hit the road again and get lost on the way to the game....I have a husband who NEVER gets lost...he could find his way home in a tornado. But, we're lost...another 40 minutes gone.
By the time we got to the field, its the 6th inning and people are starting to leave since the Yankees are killing us 8-0!! We find a parking spot and walk the mile to the ball field. We get there and realize our seats are in the shade...no sun-hat needed! It is 95 degrees outside and extremely humid though so we are all sweating our body weights....no kidding. Kate is screaming for water and Lauren is hungry and scared every time the announcers come on...oh, every 5 seconds. By this time, its the 8th inning and we're down 10-0. I leave to find a place to nurse Lauren- preferably somewhere private since I'm not putting a nursing shawl over my sweaty, hot self. I find someone who is helpful enough to get me a chair, which I take to the ladies' bathroom in a handicapped stall and I commence nursing. Hot, sweaty mom and baby...no A/C in a bathroom at the Rangers Stadium. You can imagine...I wanted to cry at this point. But, it gets better. As I was finishing up, the person next to me FLOODS their toilet. The smell, oh, the smell. I lift my feet up and balance them against the door so I'm not soaking myself in a stranger's excrement and continue to nurse. Why tears didn't flow at this point, I don't know...maybe its because I had sweated any extra moisture out already . Or, because it just became funny at this point. Who knows. I finish up, peel myself out of there and jump over the puddle to safety. I sit down at a picnic table in the shade and then 2 minutes later the game ends. People are shuffling out so I'm not heading back to my seat against the flow of traffic. The shortest game in MLB history, of course.
Brian leaves us at the entrance of the park to get the car so we don't have to sweat it out on the walk back only to discover that the roads are all blocked off and he has to park even further away to walk back to us and let us know we're walking after all. While he's away, Kate decides she needs to use the restroom. We try to get back in the park and are told we cannot come back in, so we have to have an escort take us to the bathroom, for security reasons. Kate finishes, I lift her up to wash her hands and she's screaming, "Mom, you're hurting me" because her thigh is against the counter. She then has a meltdown in front of our escort and everyone else left at the park while yelling, "Mom, you hurt me, you scratched me, that really hurt" etc. etc. I march all three of the kids back outside. Luckily, Brian hitches a ride on a valet's golf cart, picks us up, and we get a free ride back to our car (best part of the day).
Head home. Its now 4:45 (started the day at 11:30 AM) and we're just chatting in the car and lo and behold, we get lost again! What should have taken us 45 minutes to get home takes us 1 1/2 hours. We finally get home at 6 PM and let me tell you, home never looked so good.
Luke had his 3rd Birthday on Saturday...Swimming + Cupcakes + Kids = PERFECT. Nana and Papa heated the pool so none of us had an excuse not to get in, except for Lauren who slept the party away. Happy Birthday Luke!
That night we went to Benihana's to celebrate Brandon's 21st birthday. It was such a fun night because it was probably the first time we've all gotten together without our kids- and adult conversation is always a plus. Happy Birthday Brandon!