A Belated Happy Father's Day

The kids and I love all these men just for who they are, but they sure do help us (me) out a lot, too!

Here's Pa, fixer of stuff, builder of fences, who has 2 big inflatable waterslides at his house: (I don't have a recent picture of Tommy. So I went old school. That's Kellen's first Christmas.)

And Granddad, who always seems to be the unfortunate victim of our crazy life. He has helped us out more times than I can count with childcare arrangements, even having to travel a long distance. Thanks, Dad.

And of course, here's Josh, doing what he does best.

Love y'all!

In the car on the way to day camp today:

Bonnie: My seatbelt is bothering me!
Kellen(sympathetically): Is it asking you for too many things?

I have absolutely no idea where he got the idea that it might bother someone if you ask them for too many things.

This and That

A couple of months ago I had this blog printed out in book form. It was so fun to read through some of the entries about stuff I had totally forgotten about. So I'm going to try to post more just for the record and because I apparently have a bad memory.

Josh and I "celebrated" our 9th anniversary 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately he was in Liberty and I was up here, but he sent me a beautiful flower arrangement. I saved the card and just found it again while going through stuff: "Thanks for 9 great years. Let's do at least 9 more. Or at least as many as you can stand." We're still perfect for each other. One sarcastic turn deserves another.

We've had all sorts of visitors since we've moved to Weatherford. For one thing, my mom's house is like Grand Central Station between all the house-building calls, the yard crew, the patio-pouring crew, and the 3 loudest kids on earth. The Starrs came to visit us on Saturday night. The kids tore the house apart and had a great time. Can't wait to see more of y'all!

Noelle has turned 10 months old. She's a hoot. She's crawling fast but not quite pulling up yet. She's added "mamamama" and "babababa" to her vocabulary (for "Mama" and "banana"). Her best move is the pivot. On the hard floor she can use her legs to pivot quite quickly on her bottom so she has the best view of where the action is.

Favorite foods right now are grilled cheese and fruit (especially nectarines, grapes, and plums). She still only plays with a sippy cup so I just give her drinks out of a real cup. And she always has to have her leg flung up on the high chair while she eats.

One quick Kellen conversation:

Kellen: Mom, it's gross to kiss on the mouth.

Me: How do you know that?

Kellen (very seriously): I just know.

OK, you've got me there.

We got home tonight from church and Kellen asked for a snack before bed. I told him we were done eating for the day and he looked at me with just the most hurt face and said in his sweet little voice, "But why, Mom? I know we have food."

He got his snack. I'm a sucker.

Where to Start?

We got moved. My dad took the big kids for a couple of fun days in San Antonio, and Josh and I drove up here on Friday, May 29. The next morning, the truck was unloaded and we spent that day trying to get organized. On Sunday the 31st Josh flew back to Houston, because he had to teach last week. I met my dad and got Kellen and Bonnie back. Last week was spent unpacking. My mom, of course, has been a huge help with the kids. Her stuff is mostly packed away, so we've been able to make it feel like our house. I've ordered a new camcorder and I want to take a video of our setup. If I can make it work I'll post it. The big kids are in day camp/VBS on Tuesdays and Thursdays in June. Josh has already gotten to work with baskeball camp and going to summer league games. He told me it's a relief to be coaching again. He was a lame duck for a couple of months in Liberty and didn't get to do much coaching.


So, here are a few pictures. The first one is Noelle playing music with the AC return air vent at the old house. I guess I'd packed all the toys by then. Why do we even buy toys anyway? And here we are having fun at the new house:

This past weekend Josh's best friend since the 2nd grade Justin got married. And by the authority vested in him by the state of Texas and the Universal Life Church (yeah, he rushed through that part), Josh performed the ceremony. Here is the little chapel near Buda where they got married.

And last but not least, we found the long-lost dress-up box!