Such CUTIES!!

I am so blessed with photogenic children and with my love of taking pictures....it is just SO much fun to put the camera in front of them! I just want to kiss all over those sweet faces!

I believe Zeke has grown at least 3 inches since the summer started. He looks completely different from his picture from the first day of Kindergarten. He just looks like a BIG boy now...that's all there is to it.

1st Day of Kindergarten; August 2009


July 2010

 

 

Fun with New Friends

Today Kaelyn & I had a playdate with some new friends, The Shugharts. Sarah, Anna, William, Kaelyn and I went to the Houstonian this morning to go swimming. It was so fun to be outside today...great weather for swimming. Then we had a poolside picnic, and then went back to Sarah's house to chat while the kids played. I love days like today...just spending time with friends....relaxing for an entire day. It was such fun. God continues to bless my family with amazing relationships. He daily blesses me beyond my imagination.

Bathing Beauties

The Living Lantana

You are probably looking at this picture, asking yourself, why did Jenny post a picture of her mailbox? Well...I am just so excited about the 2 living plants in the planter boxes on both sides of my mailbox. In the 5 years that we have lived in this house we have NEVER had plants that were able to survive in the beds. I don't know if it is because the beds are so shallow, or if they don't drain well, or if the bricks make the beds too hot....I have no idea. But, our record for plant survival in that area has never been more than six weeks. I am proud to announce today. that the Lantana plants have now been living in those beds for almost 2 and a half months (you can reference my May 13th posting for proof).

Yeah for living plants! I love flowers...they make me happy! :)

Cousins Visit

At the end of last week we were blessed by a visit from Krista, Kendall, Gena, Ryan and Reagan. We had a slumber party at the Hanna's on Wednesday night, then we took a trip to Splashtown on Thursday, Friday we hung out at 3402 Park Dale to swim and spend time together. It was such a fun visit...we really enjoyed seeing them! However, I give myself an F in picture documentation for the visit...I did not take many pictures. I'll have to do a better job next time.

Mmmmm....I LOVE peaches!

My sweet neighbor Alicia gave me some FABULOUS peaches last week so I decided to try something that I have never done before....I attempted to make my very 1st pie. I was so proud of it I had to take a picture of it...of course. And, I can say it was actually pretty good...yeah!

I took these...

And made one of this...YUM!


And, at the end of last week I was pleasantly surprised to find that my peach tree (which has never fruited before) had created some very yummy peaches for me! YEAH! They are a bit small but quite tasty. I am going to have to read up on peach tree care and maintainence so that I can do a better job with next year's crop. SO EXCITED that it is bearing fruit...YIPPEE!

The Boys

On Saturday morning, Zeke saw that Uncle Matt was wearing his Texans shirt so Zeke immediately went to his luggage and pulled out his matching shirt to wear so "they could be twins."

Callie's 7th Birthday Party

On Saturday afternoon we had the opportunity to attend Callie's 7th birthday party at Callegari Horse Stables in Spring. My kids were so excited to get to ride horses. I was amazed at how much time the staff allowed each child to ride. They taught the kids how to care for the horses, they walked around the ring and showed them how to work with them and they each got a chance to go on a short "trail ride." It was really a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday Cal! We love you sweet girl!









I just love this picture of these two...wow they look SO big!



A picture of the kids "cooling off" in the car at the end...waiting while everyone packed up their vehicles to head home. Whew...it was hot...check out the sweat pouring off Zeke's head!

Weekend Adventures

Last weekend the kids and I went to Uncle Matt's to spend Friday and Saturday nights. We hung out Friday evening, talking, laughing, having dinner, and watched the boys play video games. On Saturday I got to get up and go for a run (I LOVE running in the Heights because there are so many people out exercising, there is so much to look at and the neighborhood is filled with giant trees so you are covered in shade most of the time...it is WoNDeRfUl!! Later that morning the boys went out to play on their own while the girls went to Allie's baby shower. Kaelyn got to play with a new, sweet friend named Anna. We were there helping Aunt Reecie host for about 4 hours and the girls played beautifully the entire time...it was so nice. :)

Sneaking into Mommy's Bed

I woke up with a start last night at 3am. I was laying on my side and realized that there was a sleeping 3-year-old firmly planted against my back. I have no idea how she got there or how long she had been sleeping beside me. Either I am becoming a much deeper sleeper or Kaelyn has found some pretty stealthy moves in her ability to get into my bed without waking me up!

Handy Mommy

On Tuesday evening I decided to tackle a freezer toleration that had been bugging me for a month. The ice maker had jammed and wasn't dispensing ice any longer (and somehow the water dispenser wasn't working either). So, I spent literally 2 hours working on this project. I removed all the ice and then proceeded to use a hairdryer to try to melt the built up ice that had frozen the "easily-removable" (HA!)ice bucket to the door. I thought I would never get that thing off but I continued despite my mounting frustration. Once the bucket (finally) defrosted enough to release from the door...I then spent another 30 minutes getting all the frozen ice out of the crushing mechanism inside the bucket.

I am proud to say that after those 2 hours I did FINALLY have a working ice AND water dispenser! YeAh for ME!!!! Zeke walked into the kitchen as I was completing the project, looked up at me, and said, "Wow Mommy...you fixed the freezer...I think you are handier than Papa!" While I appreciated the compliment, I quickly told him, "no, no...that certainly isn't true and even if you ever think that...let's keep that idea to yourself....we don't want to look overly self-sufficient around here...Papa might stop coming over to help us!" :)

"Doing what is asked of you....and then some"

On Sunday evening the kids and I were saying prayers after a very fun-filled evening of 4th festivities and fireworks. Being the exhausted mommy that I was, just before their heads hit the pillows, I gave firm instructions to Kaelyn and Zeke. I told them that it was after 11pm which was VERY LATE and I expected them to stay in bed until at least 7:30 in the morning. I went on to say that anyone who got up earlier than 7:30 would immediately be sent back to their bed.

On Monday morning I woke up suddenly. By the light coming into my room I could tell that I had slept in. I looked over at the clock to realize that it was after 8:30! (my children NEVER sleep past 8....ever....they rarely sleep past 7). At 9:00 I heard them stirring. When I walked into Zeke's room to tell him "Good Morning" he turned to me and said,

Zeke: We did good didn't we Mommy?
Me: Yes, Zeke....I cannot believe that you and sister slept all the way until 9!
Zeke: I know Mommy....we wanted to let you sleep. It is like my teacher talked about in Bible class on Sunday. She said if your parents ask you to do something, you should do it and then some. Like if they ask you to clean your room. You should clean your room and then your sister's. So when you told us to sleep til 7:30, we slept a whole lot longer than that. Was that good?
Me: Yes, Zeke...that is REALLY good!

Happy 4th Everyone!

Pictures from MeMe Camp

Ok, this first picture really makes me laugh....do you think they are a little tired of smiling for the camera. I've never seen so many fake smiles in one place....ha!




Happy 7th birthday Callie & Happy 6 1/2 Birthday Zeke!

Zeke's Half-Birthday

The Saturday following Camp Breakaway ended up being the best time to host Zeke's half-birthday party. The weather turned out to be unbelievably hot, so it was perfect for a swim party. Zeke was so excited this year to have an opportunity to invite friends from his class at school. The night before his party he said a special prayer, telling God that he really hoped his teacher, Ms. Petty would attend. I thought it said so much about his attachment to her that he would want her to come so much. It was so sweet.

Birthdays & parties are always bitter sweet because they remind me so much of Brad. His love for celebration and birthdays were unmatched by anthing I have ever seen. He was always just as excited as Zeke during those times....it was always fun to see.

Thanks to everyone who came and to those who helped! We love you and appreciate you!