What Sweet Little Boys...

One of Carter's favorite things is to play airsoft with his buddies. We are so proud... :)

These are a few of my favorite things....

Sea World

My friend Lisa and her two boys are visiting from St. Louis, Missouri. We are so excited to have them here! On Tuesday, we took the kids to Sea World to see Shamu...

During the first Shamu show (called Believe) Lisa and I sat in the "safe" zone (a.k.a. non-splash zone). The kids wanted to get soaked, so they sat right down in front. I have to say, it was pretty funny to watch the whales pummel the audience with water using their tales. We went back to see another show that evening (Shamu Rocks Texas). Lisa wanted to sit in the splash zone with the kids. So, I agreed thinking that since it was the last show of the night, they probably wouldn't splash as much. Boy was I wrong. Keep in mind that the water the whales throw at you is 52 degrees...basically it feels like ice water and it is like a tidal wave coming at you. We managed to stay relatively dry (because we used our towels as a barrier) until the show was over, or so we thought. We stood up to pack up all our stuff when I see three whales headed our way. All I could do was turn around as to not take the tidal wave in the face.

The kids took it right in the face...

Lisa's little boy Bret started crying (a part of me wanted to cry too!) Poor little fella...

It took us about 10 minutes to get him calmed down. It was a bit sad but you couldn't help but chuckle. I think it was too much for an exhausted kiddo!

We bought the "two days for the price of one" tickets so we get to go back next week!

Quick trip to Dallas

Yesterday we left Austin at 1:30 pm and headed to Dallas to see Dave's brother Andy. He is there for a conference and leaves today. It took us 3 hours to get from our house to his hotel. We picked him up and went to dinner at the Iron Cactus (pretty good if you're ever in downtown Dallas). Then we headed to his hotel and hung out and visited until about 8:30 pm. His hotel served free cookies and milk in the lobby so the kids really enjoyed that. We got home around 11:30 pm. So, it was a long day but we really enjoyed seeing him. He lives in Portland, OR with his wife and 4 kids. The only thing that would have been better is to get to see his family too! :) I wish we could have stayed the night but Taylor has been in a Math Camp this week and it is from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm every day so we had to make it a day trip instead! I forgot to bring my camera so I didn't get any pictures but here's one of Andy and his family...

Piano Lessons

Last week Carter started piano lessons. He didn't want to take them (I think he was nervous) but after his first lesson he asked if he could go every day. He's practiced on his own without being reminded every day this week! :) Hopefully he continues to like it. Taylor has been taking for a couple of years now and still likes it. She is going to do band next year in middle school and we just found out that she will be learning to play the oboe...she was thrilled! :)

Lauren really wants to take lessons too but she'll have to wait until next summer to start as their teacher likes to wait until they turn eight!

Top Ten Reasons why I LOVE my Dad!

My dad & Me

There are so many things that I love about my dad...Here are my "Top 10"...

10. He has a great sense of humor which makes him fun to be around. Not only can he "dish it
out", but he can "take it" too. He's always the life of the party.

9. He is a man of many talents and gives freely of his time, energy, & skills. My family has benefitted greatly from his woodworking skills (we love all the stuff you've made us!) Not to mention, he's a financial genius.

Swing set he built for my kids--that's him swinging!

8. He is a hard worker. He always had several "irons in the fire" so his family could have the "extras". He is an excellent teacher and coach.

7. He is a "people person". He is friendly and when you are around him you always feel like you are special. He is interested in others and what is happening in their lives. He would do anything for a friend. He is very loyal.

My Mom, brother Chad, Me & Dad

6. He gave us a wonderful life growing up. Our days were filled with boating, water skiing, vacations, fishing, camping, snowmobiling, snow skiing, & sports. He was so good at giving us undivided, individual time.

I'm the little one, my big brother John behind me, and a family friend.

5. He is a pushover and has a tender heart. He can't stand to see other people upset or hurting. Which makes it super easy for him to spoil his grand kids! :)

4. He has common sense which is hard to find these days! Well, most of the time... :)

3. He is a great example. Not only is he the most non-judgemental person you'll ever meet, he loves unconditionally. Because of this quality he has tons of friends and a great relationship with his family. He never puts people in a position where their weaknesses show.

2. He is a WONDERFUL grandpa. He loves his grand kids and they know it! As Carter would say, "he's always fun". He would do anything for them without hesitation.

1. He has always been and will always be there for his family. He is our biggest fan and takes
great care of my mom. He always makes time for us. He's a great shoulder to cry on, gives excellent advice, and there has never been one moment in my life where I didn't feel loved!

I feel extremely lucky and blessed to have such a wonderful man as my dad.

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you...

5th Grade Graduation & End of Another School Year!

Wednesday was Taylor's 5th Grade graduation...I can't believe she is officially a middle schooler now! It seems like we were just at her Kindergarten graduation. Where does the time go?

I think it goes way too fast......

Taylor at her Kindergarten Graduation... Do you think she's changed much? :)

Taylor getting her "diploma" from the principal, Mrs. Price

Taylor & her teacher, Ms. Crockett

Taylor and her way cool parents :)

Lauren brought home a book about all the things she can do now that she is 7... I wanted to share one of the pages with you as I thought it was pretty cute.

She wrote, "I can walk and talk, I can count time, I can read, I can chew" We are SO glad she learned how to chew this year! :) Kids are so funny!

So, it's official....it's SUMMER! YIPPEE!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Dave and I have spent the last couple months working on house projects. We've been busy but it's been fun. We are finished for now. We bought new furniture, bedding, and accessories for our room, put up crown molding (all by ourselves), painted, and changed all of the hardware on the doors to bronze (it was brass). We also changed out the hardware in our master bath and half bathrooms, including the light fixtures. Dave replaced both of our hot water heaters with a tank less hot water heater and built himself a work bench in the garage.

Here are some pictures of our projects...

My favorite thing about this dresser is the built in jewelry tray...isn't it cool!Master Bathroom...

Roman Shade I made and finally got up...

Half bathroom...

Garage Before...

Dave tore out the closet that the water heater was in, re-sheet rocked, and built shelves there...it more than doubled our storage space. We don't have nearly the storage that we had in our last house in Utah, so every little bit helps! Isn't he handy? :)

Garage After... (notice his workbench!)New Tank less hot water heater (it's in the attic)...

Another One Bites the Dust!

Friday night Dave and Carter were in a minor car accident. Dave was following a lady who slammed on her brakes. Dave's car doesn't have anti-lock brakes so when he slammed on his brakes, the steering wheel locked up and he couldn't steer. She was driving an SUV and Dave's car slid under her bumper. Her car did not have any damage besides her exhaust pipe being bent. So, hopefully that won't cost too much. His car on the other hand will probably cost us a couple thousand dollars (since we only cary liability on it). He said he wasn't speeding and that he wasn't too close to her but had glanced back over his shoulder to look at Carter and just didn't have quite enough time to stop. We're glad no one was hurt. What a crummy way to start the weekend! We've had an expensive couple of months. We had our upstairs toilet leak causing water damage in our ceiling, our water heater go out, our main TV go out, our weed whip broke, and now our car! Wish us better luck in the months to come!