June 19

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Fathers in my life! Special wishes to MY dad, who is so special and loving!

Dad + Elliot 2009

Great Grandpa Clayton (wearing his pocket talker so he could hear G & E)

Grandpa Stan, on his farm.

The Dad to my babies!

Dad + Gabby, 2009. Look how little G is, and how HAPPY my dad is with her! loved looking back at pictures, especially the ones of my Dad's 2 special trips to VA alone (in addition to last summer's trip with my Mom)- once to help us when E was born (he missed it by a day, early E.) and then again right before Christmas 20009. Thank You Dad for everything you do for us, with us and because of us, and always supporting your 3 girls (and Mom too!) Love you.

june 18

We just had a wedding, it happens quite frequently since we have lived in the South. It's also okay to marry your Brother here, which is usually the case. The bride is pretty particular when it comes to the details... actually I just realized tonight was the rehearsal- the real thing is tomorrow evening (be ready for a melt down if we are busy or forget!) The colors of the wedding are yellow, black and orange. A CHUCK toy truck is going to be the centerpiece. We used this lovely yellow scrap of fabric (I cut it off a table cloth I bought bc it was way too long) as the aisle runner.

The Groom/Astronaut tried to steal the bride's thunder by walking down the aisle... mistake. Yes, the groom is wearing a shining helmet by KitchenAid (which is why I always have to wash dishes before baking and after!!!)
In the words of the father, whom performed the ceremony " I know pronounce you princess and astronaut!"

What else can you do when it is 98* out?

june 17

Today made the 4th day out of the past 7 that we were at the beach. Funny how 82* doesn't feel hot anymore. This week has wore us all out, each time I look over at Clay sitting down on the couch in the past 2 days he has fallen asleep. Hope tonight brings us all some much needed rest, and that it lasts past 6am.

How many Elliot's do you see?

Jets fly by, and are so much closer than the picture portrays.

G's sandy heart.

time to put E to sleep, he keeps trying to bring his little basketball to bed- and use it as a pillow! G is sound asleep and Clay is getting ready for Friday night softball, which means I will watch wedding shows and the like that he would rather not!

June 16

because eating watermelon on its own isn't messy enough, E insists on squeezing the last bit of juice out of the rind. notice the first mosquito bite of the year- smack dab on the forehead.

this is what happens when I ask them to get ready for the sprinkler. they did this all on their own, and said they were playing winter.

E has a new wake up time of 5:45am, and G follows at 6:30am which is way too early for both of them. How do I get them to go back to sleep, E especially??? Finally Friday, I thought the past two nights were Friday!

June 15

This classy princess showed up during nap time. I was the fairy godmother, I may need to work on my hairdressing magic.

june 14

A day late, no pictures. Yesterday was a fantastic day! Instead of going with my plans for the kids and I to head to the zoo and try out the story time there, a friend called and said she would be at "our base" going to the beach. We agreed to be there at 10am, but both got there 15 minutes early. We walked out onto a gorgeous beach, with G yelling "look at the sparkling blue water!" How right she was. Being so early, during the week and only in the mid 70's there were only 3 other people on the beach! G, E and their buddy ran and played, climbed on the lifeguard chair (that said no climbing) and played chicken with the waves. My friend and I stood there in awe of the life our kids (and us) are living right now. Yes, her husband has been gone for 5 months, and Clay worked a 16 hour day yesterday (leaving hours before we were awake and getting home hours after the kids were asleep, and now he has left again before the kids were up- and they got up before 6:30am today) yet still this life we live is grand.

We played WITH our kids yesterday, and strangers kids who came over to us because we were having so much fun (while their parents sat in lawn chairs soaking in sun). We dug wading pools and used bucket after bucket of water to fill them up since the tide was going out! We built sand castles, stomped sand castles, did bubbles, played swords, ate sandy apples and carrots, talked, jumped and punched waves!

Our car seats are full of dry sand, as are bathtubs and toilets. I have a sunburn on my shoulders (I guess I get more concerned with the harder to reach parts of my back) with a few little kid finger marks from G and E helping to rub in my sunscreen. The house was a mess with dishes and clean laundry (laundry is still waiting to be folded 24 hrs later). I did mow the front and back lawns tho!

Being present and choosing to be active in what life hands you is so amazing. On to today!

June 13

cowpokes at the park

we had a really lazy Monday, not sure if we all just had a case of the Mondays- or run down from the heat last week and 2 days in a row at the beach. Whatever it was we just hung out, played in the toy room, read books (I just finished the newest Emily Griffin) lounged in the yard, finally went to the park (dressed as cowboy/girl complete with stick ponies), made carne asada and awaited Clay's return from a 12hr + workday. hope tomorrow we find our spunk.