At the Drive-In

As soon as I saw the release date for Toy Story3, I knew it would be the perfect drive-in movie. Our annual drive-in outing this year included, 3 other families from church and the kids brought their good friend, Layne. It looked like it could be a really hot evening but a nice breeze was in the air and it turned out to be the perfect summer night. Kids had a blast but it's still really past their bed time. They were some tired kids by the time the movie ended.

Beautiful Summer Night

Spur of the moment...

Aunt & Uncle

grilled fajitas

chips & guacamole

lots of pool play

All Heart

June was a very slow month for softball. The girls were suppose to wrap up their season but instead they had rain out after rain out. Even their post season tournament was pushed back and didn't begin until last Friday evening. After several weeks off, the girls came out and slowly found their rhythm, winning one and losing the second game by one. In sweltering heat, they played a double header each evening. On Monday night, the girls truly rocked the field with some outstanding plays. And last night, we earned our way into the finals and took second place. The girls and coaches really played with heart. You can't ask for more. Great way to end the season. Even with catcher gear, she managed to play almost every inning during the tournament with the exception of two. She was a real trooper in the heat. Her coaches love her attitude.

Father's Day Cook Out

I'm pretty sure the kids were more excited about Father's Day than Rick. They have been counting down the days until all of their cousins would arrive. When Rick and I first got married, we spent a lot of time with his family but since our move north and the fact that all of the kids are in so many activities and have their own interest, it's a rare occasion these days that we can all get together. Today, we swam, grilled and even made home made ice cream. All I can get is silly...

Jax kicking back with his dad for a little bit.

Colten and Baylor are quite the pair. It's nice to see that even with such an age difference they can get along well.

We had some technical difficulties with the ice cream maker. We ended up using the old crank and Jax was happy to lend a hand. Luckily, Uncle Clint wasn't about to give up so in the end we enjoyed some delicious vanilla ice cream.
I can remember as a kid, spending a day with my cousins, aunts, and uncles as being an all time favorite. I think my kids feel the same way. At the end of the evening, I heard my kids and Colten saying, "we should really do this more often."

a Date with DADDY

Our church hosted a father/daughter banquet. The guys were to wear suits and girls in formals. Obviously, a six year old doesn't own a formal and we didn't even have anything remotely close. On Friday, I decided to let her pick out a new dress for the occasion. As we were about to enter the store, she said, "I am not wearing anything fluffy or fancy." I told her not to worry, I didn't think she would find anything fancy at the Gap. She went for a very simplistic look, but I think she made a good choice. She enjoyed all the attention the evening had to offer.

Ice Skating

The kids good friend, Layne had his birthday at the ice rink so they got their first taste at ice skating. I've only been ice skating once and didn't fair all that well, so I didn't even attempt. We remembered to wear long pants but the kids have already requested that next time, they have gloves. When you spend a lot of time falling, I guess the ice gets really cold.

Treasures

My Grandma is preparing to sell her house and move in with my mom. Obviously, this comes with many mixed emotions. I am excited that I will get to see her more often but it's also sad to know the house that we spent many holidays, summers, and weekends in as a child will be gone. Today, Grandma invited all of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren over for a little treasure hunt. She encouraged us to take whatever we wanted. It's amazing what two simple people can accumulate over time. I've never been one to spend money on kitchen ware so my collection is pretty limited. Today, I walked away with some nice skillets, bake ware, Pyrex casserole dishes and an ice cream maker. I know I'm getting old when I am excited about kitchen stuff.

You won't find this sold in stores. One of our most beloved treasures is this marble board. We (grandchildren) spent endless hours playing many games with our grandparents but marbles was one of our favorites. This board has logged many hours of play and has even traveled across country and made its way to the lake countless times. We could be very fierce and competitive with this simple game. I immediately snatched this for my kids. I explained the rules and then Grandma supervised their play. Hopefully, she will play with them soon and they will make some memories of their own.

Nope, we didn't fly off to a tropical island, we were just in our good friends back yard for her surprise 40th birthday bash. It was somewhat tropical that evening, as the humidity was almost unbearable. What possessed me to attempt to curl my hair is beyond me? Monica and I awaiting the arrival of guests and the birthday girl.

The host, Troy planned almost everything to the last detail. It was a very memorable evening!

Relay for Life

Friday evening, Rick participated in Relay for Life in memory of Rusty. The kids and I went out to support him for a few hours. We are very proud of him and all the money he raised for cancer research.

Cheap Entertainment

Fortunate for me, the kids are still entertained by the free library entertainment. This week they had a cartoonist, who taught them how to draw Charlie Brown. He also chose one boy and one girl and did a caricature. Baylor was chosen and he is very proud of the picture he drew for him. On our way home, Frosty Bites was finally open so we enjoyed some snow cones.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

It's probably not surprising that we spent a lot of this weekend by the pool. Of course this holiday weekend wouldn't be complete without a few cookouts and lots of good food. For weeks, Jax has been asking for watermelon so he was one happy camper. The kids pretty much devoured our mini- fruit bar.

It was a wondeful weekend and best of all when it ended, I didn't have to go back to work!