Fourth of July

I was reading a friend's blog about how the 4th of July snuck up on her this year, and I have to say it was the same for us. It came out of nowhere! But nonetheless, we scrambled together some plans last minute and ended up having a great day.

In the morning, we headed out to Kemah to watch the parade with some friends. The big boys were definitely not thrilled about being there, until they started throwing candy---that changed their minds pretty quickly. Jake, however, never quite got his spirits up.

Afterwards, we headed out to the League City Citizen Appreciation Day that they throw every year.  Free hot dogs, cotton candy, face-painting, bounce houses and even pony rides!  I love this town. 

 

After cooling off a bit at home (and cooling off tempers---Jake's and Mommy's especially), we decided to go watch the fireworks in Nassau Bay.  Since we moved here four years ago, this was by far the best fireworks experience we've had.  Plenty of space, not over-crowded at all and a beautiful view of the fireworks over the water.  The weather had even cooled down to the high 80s! 

My Yankee Doodle Sweethearts

I spent a good part of the evening convince the boys not to jump off the rocks into the water.

Bubby and Sissy

All my babies lying on the blanket waiting for the fireworks to begin.

My super-cute husband being goofy with me.

Some nice little kids came up and offered us some glow necklaces.  The boys were thrilled!

All-in-all, not too shabby of a Fourth.  I think we'll probably repeat all these activities again next year (though Steven had the excellent idea to bring delicious foodstuffs to the fireworks.  Brilliant!  Why didn't I think of that?) 

Grace's Blessing Day

Grace's Blessing Day was on Sunday, June 10th. She looked beautiful (of course).



Peek-a-boo!



My dad was able to drive up to be part of the circle. Other members of the blessing circle included Kody Allred, Russell Rasmussen, Jed Greenfield and Ben Hewett. I was really moved by some of the blessings she received, such as compassion for others and pure knowledge. I'm grateful that Steven was able to give her such a beautiful blessing.

FunFest Run by the Bay 2012

Since the baby was born 3 months ago, I've been working really hard to get into shape. I have a wonderful gym buddy (Karen) who works out with me daily, and I've been eating better too. So far I've lost 20 lbs and I'm feeling pretty good about my progress! (Though I have about a billion more lbs to go...)

One of the little goals we set for ourselves is to run a 5K. I'd done one before and had a wonderful time, and this time was no different! There's something about running in a group of people that really gets your adrenaline pumping. It doesn't matter that I can see actual turtles passing me as I run---when someone claps for you and says, "Way to go! You can do it!", you seriously believe it! It felt awesome!



It was surprisingly cool that day and the run was really relaxing and beautiful.



Karen and I made these ridiculous shirts because seriously, why were we?



Tiffany T. made the trek with us and was fantastic. I think running together really helped us stay pumped.

Am I insane for saying that I'm really looking forward to doing this again? The Dirty Girl Mud Run is in October...

10 Years

From this (May 31, 2002 - one guy, one girl, a toyota corrolla and a hundred musical instruments):





To this (May 31, 2012 - one guy, one girl, 4 babies, 1 house, a minivan and ten years of hilarity):



We believe in happy endings
Never breaking, always bending
We believe in happy endings
You and I

Here's to 50 more.

Last Day of School

Stevie received the "Stellar Speller" award for his class, as well as a Gold Certificate for cleaning up without being asked. It made his day.



He loved having Mrs. Rushlow as a teacher. She's really helped him develop his math skills this year.



David's Kinder Graduation Celebration was very cute. We were so lucky to get Mrs. Travis two years in a row.



David hammed it up during the song performances (of course). Mrs. Travis went on and on about how much she was going to miss her "Lil' Firecracker."







I can't believe my little fellas are growing up so fast! They're so amazing, and I'm so proud of them every day!

Have I Mentioned Grace Is Cute?

Little Bug


Hippie Chick

Mother's Day 2012

Here's a picture of me with all my beautiful babies around me.



I love them so much! They're the best Mother's Day present a gal could have.

Steve's Birthday

Happy 39th, Baby!



To be clear, Steve's birthday was actually on May 11th---I'm just that behind. (And I'm so glad David thought it would be funny to pick his nose in this picture.)

So his cake might even have been uglier than last year's, if that's possible. David had the idea of making it orange. Stevie had the idea of putting 3 candles on top and 9 candles on bottom. Jake had the idea of grabbing a big handful and shoving it in his face (the picture is pre-Jake).

Finally!

Since we moved into this house 3 years ago, we've been meaning to paint the small bedroom. The reason being:





We let it slide when Jakie was born, reasoning that since he was a baby it didn't really matter (even though a talented friend of mine had offered to redecorate it for me). But when Grace was born, we realized that Stevie and David would need to move into that room so that we could have the bigger room for Gracie and Jake to share. And while a playful fluorescent green with polka-dots might be alright for a little baby, it was definitely not alright for two VERY BOYISH little boys. So changes were made:





We found the wall color on the "oops" aisle at Home Depot for a cool $7. We found some little wall lamps and a great sun-shaped ceiling lamp at IKEA. Add on the glow-in-the-dark stick-on stars and planets we had from our last house and voila--we created a fun little solar-system on the ceiling.



I'd still need to get some new bedspreads for their beds, and maybe a monogram and a fabric bookshelf to hold all their books for night reading. At least it's (mostly) done now.

Beautiful Grace

Well, the prettiest little girl in Texas is now 2 months old.

Weight: 11 lbs 11.5 oz (69th percentile)
Length: 24.25 inches (96th percentile -- she's gonna be tall like her brother Jake!)
Head: 40.5 cm (85th percentile)



She's so perfect. Such an easy-going, happy little baby. Laziest eater of ALL the children, if you can believe it. She's trying her darndest to hold up that little head of hers. She loves to listen to daddy play the guitar. She likes to hang out in the family room while her brothers are all flocking around her.



I love her. No, I adore her. I stare at her all the time. And when I'm not staring at her I'm thinking about her cute little toes. If I let myself, I get overwhelmed by the enormity of everything I want to teach her and tell her about my own life experience---and about all the things I want her to know so she can have all the information she needs to be happy and good. But most of the time, I just step back and focus on how much I love her tiny, slobbery face. I can't wait to get to know her better.



(I mean, just look at the personality on that face. Who wouldn't want to know her?)