"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" ~Picasso

One of my plans for the summer was to take the kids to a couple of the phenomenal art museums in Fort Worth. I wanted to encourage Beth's love of art and take Jacob along for the exposure. My cousin, Tessa, lives close to Dallas, and we don't take enough chances to get together. Well, wouldn't you know it, they're moving to Houston at the end of the month. We planned to get together before they left, so I invited her to the Kimball Art Museum with us. Oh, Tessa just happens to be an elementary art teacher, too.

Tessa talked about the art with the kids, asking them if a statue was a boy or girl, what colors they saw, the tools they used, etc. It was great for Beth, who wanted to read every description for Tessa.

The front desk had some great things for the kids to make the museum more interesting. Jacob had a ring of laminated photos of various art in the museum. His job was to look for them. He was so proud to find them. I tried to use the back of the card to ask him some of the questions about the art, but he wouldn't go for that. Beth got a hand-held device. Some art descriptions had a family picture and code number for her to punch into the device to hear some fun facts about the art. What seemed most interesting to her was when an artist would paint a family in clothes and surrounding that weren't their reality because the family wanted to appear wealthy.

When we got home, the kiddos were busy wanting to do artwork. Jacob drew a picture of our family and proudly showed it off,

Beth first drew a self-portrait, wearing clothes different that her own. Then, she made this colorful artwork (on the left) and signed the back. She said it was ancient, and one day, when she was dead, somebody might come to our house and see her picture and know that it was famous. Too funny!

My how they've grown

WAY back when, we lived in another city, just the two of us. When we were expecting Beth, we attended good ol' Lamaze classes. In that class were lots of other first time mommies. After the babies were born, a bunch of us started a playgroup. Even when the kids couldn't really play with each other, we moms sure needed it. The comraderie, being able to talk openly about the struggles of this first time mom thing, developing friendships. It was fantastic! Eventually, the kids started playing by each other and then together. Our first gathering was when the babies were 4-6 weeks old. We got together about every other week for a couple years, including Daddies for special events.

June 2005- They were around 1 year old

Over the years, as the kids have grown and headed off to school, as some moms went back to working, as some moved away, as families added 2nd (and even 3rd) babies, we have stayed in touch. We have encouraged each other through job losses, big moves, job changes, loss of parents and miscariages. Recently, an extended stay with my folks provided an opportunity to get together with our old playgroup. The kids jumped right into playing together while we moms sat and reminsced about the early days and the treasure of our friendships.

Beth may not remember them, and Jacob certainly doesn't have a connection, but they will always be precious treasures in our life.

Surprise!

Our kiddos have been growing by leaps and bounds. Did you notice the pictures of them riding bikes- nearly eating their knees. Well, we were planning on bikes for Christmas, but then we decided to surprise the kids early. They had absolutely no idea. It was priceless! Kevin got home from a work trip, ran to pick up Beth's bike. I had picked up Jacob's about a week earlier. Kevin got them ready and set in the garage, then we had the kids go out to see "something strange". Beth was first out of the door, and she was speechless. Let me tell you, that's really saying something. Then Jacob saw his and couldn't get his shoes on fast enough. He was beside himself that it was just what he wanted. He'd tried one out at the store just a couple days before.

We tried them out in the garage, adjusting seats and handles a little. We taught Beth how to use the kickstand and Jacob how to "ding" his bell. Jacob learned that pedaling backwards is a brake. Beth had to learn how to get on the bike safely. She was so tall for her other one that she easily swung her leg over- this one, not so much. After all that, we headed over to the park where the parking lot is flat and big enough to practice.

It was a tough start, getting used to the size and weight of the new bikes, but it didn't take long. Jacob wanted to make sure I took a picture of his bike seat. He's super proud of his Lightning McQueen "Kachow Kick-a-pow" bike. Beth is pretty proud of her not-pink (it's purple), bigger bike. I'm proud of her for riding a two-wheeler.

After we were back home, cooling off, Jacob said he couldn't believe it that they got new bikes. Beth was still grinning, then asking for dinner. They were both very thankful and appreciative. I'm thankful we were able to surprise them.

What a day!

Today, Kevin and I are celebrating 11 years of married adventures.

Today was the last day of swimming lessons. We have swimmers! Big progress in the two weeks! They can both swim unassisted!

This morning, while I went to exercise, Kevin took the kids to practice bikes at the park. After a little lesson and encouragement, Beth is riding two wheels with confidence! She's grown a lot and will need a new bike soon, but it worked great for today! Jacob, of course, is Jacob. I got to see all the fun for myself this afternoon (when it was 99* outside!)

Kevin is currently grilling steak and potatoes. We're looking forward to a great evening as a family, celebrating our life!

Just keep swimming

The last two weeks, we've had the kids in swim lessons. They're having a blast and are worn out come bedtime. It's been great! We signed up for group lessons and ended up with private lessons. Pretty cool for the kiddos!

Beth is learning swim strokes and leg moves. She's so much braver than she was last summer. I guess it's because she's 7. She does really well with the back stroke. While she's doing better, she still need some self-confidence that she knows what to do. Her instructor had us get goggles, thinking it would help with the under water stuff, so Beth wouldn't be so worried about where she was going. It helped a little today.

Jacob is such a nut! From the minute he gets in the water, he's grinning. He wouldn't swallow so much water if he'd close his mouth! He doesn't like to go under water, but he's learning to handle it. The teacher makes him go under water a few times before he gets the noodle he's anxiously wanting to play with. He can swim a little on his own, doggie paddle style, but he "whines" the whole time. He's learning some moves with his legs. His favorite arm move is "chicken-airplane-rocket".

Hopefully we'll get lots more water time this summer, building their confidence and practicing skills.

Real camping

Since we'd had our trial run at home, we opted for our first real camping trip with the kids to be one night, close to home- you know, JUST in case. We made the reservations a while back, and boy, it came fast. I made lists of things to make sure to pack, groceries to pick up, camping extras to make sure came along too. It took me a few hours to get all the stuff together and make sure nothing important was left behind. Man, getting ready is a lot of work!

Jacob woke up ready to go that morning. The minute he saw me, he told me he was ready to get dressed to go. I had some chores and errands, Kevin had a few work things, but we were finally out the door. Thank goodness we didn't have far to go- you would have thought the drive was sheer torture for the kids. Little did they know the work required once we got there....

The kiddos were good helpers, for a few minutes anyway. We got the tent set up, the chairs out, and exlored a little around our site. They were looking so forward to all the adventures we would have! Up first- swimming in the lake. Thanks to the heat and bit of humidty, we were all kinds of sweaty after setting up camp. Swimming would be a great way to cool off and get our adventure started.

The water was nice and cool. But, the bottom was mostly rocks and not fun to stand on. Closer to the shore, it was "ooey gooey"(J said), so they were happy to play at the edge while Kevin and I watched from the rocky-sandy beach. The kids quickly made friends with some other kids cooling off in the lake. They all played with the sand and water together until it was dinner time.

Back at camp, we enjoyed simple moments of camping- tossing the football, reading, listening to ipod, playing games, drawing and coloring, blowing bubbles... I made simple hot dogs (no chili or cheese) on the propane stove. You know, there's something about hot dogs when you're camping, they just taste better.

We often refer to Jacob as being like the dog on the Pixar movie "Up". He is easily distracted from something he's doing or even saying, like when the dog says "squirrel" in the movie. Lo and behold, Jacob got distracted by a real squirrel and proceeded to chase that poor squirrel around and around the tree. It was too funny! Eventually we discovered that it was a brave squrirrel, and Jacob was able to feed it some bread.

After dinner, to help the waiting for dark (for the fire and s'mores), we headed to the park. With the sun going down, we were hoping the slides wouldn't burn their legs. We knew Beth was competitive, but we could really see it coming out in Jacob too. If he was climbing up a ladder/rock wall by himself, he paid attention and was careful, but if Beth were there at the same time, he would rush up to beat her. A few gasping moments for me, but he figured it out after he fell from one of the rocking horse kind of toys. Silly boy!

Finally, it was time for a fire. Man, those old fence boards Kevin took down at home really came in handy! I got all the s'more stuff ready. What's a camping trip without s'mores?! Jacob didn't bother with cooking his- he just ate the ingredients. Kevin just like his marshmellows roasted- as in caught on fire and blown out quickly. Beth like her marshmellows just a little squishy, but she did want the full-blown s'more. I like my marshmellows just to the point of showing any roasting on the "skin", warm enough to melt the chocolate on the s'more. Yummy!

What a long and adventurous day! The kids were actually asking to go to bed. So, one last trip to the bathroom, brush teeth and into bed. It was hot still, at 10pm. I had only made the beds with sheets. At some point I woke up freezing cold, wishing I'd put the blankets on the beds too. But, I didn't dare move in case I woke up the kids. They were out cold. A bird was chirping at 6am, the sun was coming up, but I managed to get back to sleep. About 7, I woke up again, snapped a sweet pic of the kids, still sound asleep.

After breakfast of yummy bacon and eggs, we got ready for fishing. The kids brought their Disney poles, Kevin brought his tackle box and a tub of worms. Exciting stuff!

Since fall doesn't officially start yet

We're doing what we can to tolerate the 100+ degrees temperature days of August. It was quite hot, still at 100 degrees come 6 in the evening. In August, we had 21 days that crossed 100 degrees, and 5 more days that were 97-99 degress. Talk about HOT!

Good things to do when it's hot:

1) Wash your tractor

2) Drive tractor/4 wheeler in the rain....

...that Daddy makes

3) Race to see who can get across the hot, crunchy-dry grass to the pool first

4) And just lounge around in the pool

Now that we're getting rain again and cool evenings/mornings, I think these pictures are officially the last swim of summer. While I do love the sun and fun of summer, I'm looking forward to the cooler temps in fall, opening the windows to freshen the house, decorating with pumpkins and such, and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells that fall brings.

Birthday Party Circuit

It seems like we've had a birthday party to attend every weekend! But it sure has been fun celebrating in lots of different ways with lots of friends and family!

Tatum's 6th birthday- All the girls got dress up wings, crowns and dresses. Plus, there were pony rides! Talk about fun!

Marissa's 3rd birthday- at Chuck E Cheese. You can't go wrong with games and pizza!

Popi's 59th birthday cookout

Mallory's 2nd birthday- An ADORABLE ice cream shoppe theme. The buffet of ice cream toppings, the cupcakes that looked like ice cream cones and pink everywhere!

Ryan's 5th birthday at McDonalds- happy meals, cake and playland time. What more could they ask for? (I purposely left my camera at home so I could enjoy visiting with adults while the kids played)

Jacob's 3rd birthday- Toy Story themed (and more details coming later)

Coming this weekend- Cody's 9th birthday at the fire station!

I love summer!

The other day, we decided to take the kids to the neighborhood pool for the first time this season. We've been enjoying the little pool in the yard and goodness knows I can't take both kids to the big pool by myself while Kevin's working.

Jacob has a floating suit thing, but he tumps over. I finally found him some floaties, and he was quite pleased (they have sharks on them). Jacob took to the pool like a fish to water. No fear and wanted to do it all by himself. At first, he giggled so much, open-mouthed that he kept swallowing and gagging on the pool water. Eventually, he figured out how to catch and spit it out instead. At bath time that night, he asked for his floaties and told me how much fun he had at the pool. Good stuff!

Beth takes a little longer to warm up to the idea of swimming. I wish we'd gotten out here earlier, but oh well. She swam around with floaties some, then we worked on her real swimming. Oh, the drama! After a while, though, she was getting the hang of it again. Don't worry, we'll get some more practice in.

Then, home for little pool and playing in the yard time. My little water bugs sure had fun! Like our redneck-i-fied pool?

The other day, I was shopping at Target (like that's a surprise), and I found these smaller hula-hoops ("hoop-a-loops" to Jacob) for $1.50 on clearance. OK! It's been fun to watch them try to use them then come up with other games to play with them instead.

Jacob discovered that the water hose is a great microphone. Quite a concert he gave! B-I-B-L-E that all the neighbors must have heard, Zaccheus, Jesus loves me.... Then, Kevin played that age old water hose trick. Jacob didn't get flustered at all and thought it was so funny he asked Kevin to do it again. Silly boy!

Meanwhile, Kevin grilled burgers while we hung out together outside. I think we've had burgers every night for a week since we've been hanging out outside every evening. I love summer!