Little Brothers Are Not Her Style.

So here's where I am - I think I saw the hearse escort for one of the Dallas Police Officers last evening. I don't know for sure, but it was on Woodall Rodgers, and based on the number of police cars and police motorcycles, it is hard to imagine it was anything else. While I was writing this I was watching coverage of a potential threat at Police HQ. I just don't even know what to say. The best I can do right now is throw out cute pictures and stupid stories of my childrens' antics. I watched a video on FB yesterday of Stephen Colbert telling the story of how he met his wife, and I have to say, it did help me. There is so much angst and sadness here right now, sometimes it just helps to hear a little bit of happiness...so here's what I've got.

This week we went to Darby's gastroenterologist. My favorite part was when we were in the waiting room.  She asked me if I wanted a magazine.  I said - no thank you - so she got one for herself.  She spent about a minute with it and then told me - "Magazines are not my style...".

When we got into the exam room, the pressure was on. I really should study up on my Advanced Anatomy before each appointment. The doctor has this great book in there and each time we go in I have to explain the intricate workings of the body until the doctor arrives. Don't be fooled by this video.  This was page one of the lesson. We got to page 5 or 6 by the time the doctor came. The pages get harder as you go on. Every time the doctor arrives my response is "Thank God - I was at my limit!" I believe we had just arrived at the Endocrine System this day...

The appointment was inconclusive (as usual), but we went for frozen yogurt afterwards (dairy-free). It was a rare treat and they took full advantage. I almost had to stop Dalton from eating the bowl. Darby serenaded us - which meant we had to sit and wait for her lonnnnng after we finished eating. We eventually had to take hers with us.

Friday we ended up at the Bridges. Eating ham and watching Gymnastics Olympic Trials - just call us party animals.

Saturday we had to be functioning way too early - and by that, keep in mind we get up every day about 5:45. Although usually we can stave off real clothes on "S-days" until at least 11.  We just made it to Dalton's soccer game.  He played well, as usual. I love the picture in the top corner.  It pretty much sums up kids sports. There are some kids who are really into it and some kids that would rather sit on the field and play with their shoes - my kids have done both. Although currently, Dalton is the former. While the play is going, he is usually laser-focussed on getting the ball. When waiting for kick-off he just wants to pick up his fellow players and say "Doodie-butt".

Afterwards, they spent some time w/ Nana while Mommy went to a play.  We were supposed to go straight from there to a birthday party at the "Rainforest". Considering the 70mph winds, lightning and rain, that kinda didn't happen...Bad behavior ensued.

Last night Darby was relegated to her room. When she complained she had been in there "forever!!!" (3 minutes) I informed her that she needed to get used to playing alone, because very soon, if she continued to treat he brother the way she had been treating him, he was going to need to get used to playing alone. Tough love little diva...

At bedtime they decided to wear the "nightshirts" Daddy got for them.

They were playing nicely again by then, but I think these pictures tell the whole story...

Goodnight little monsters...

Flags, Fireworks & a Visit from Elvis

So, after the craziness of Saturday & Sunday, we started the 4th of July off slowly.  Watching TV & slowly cleaning up our decimated house. I will spare you the 3 1/2 min. video that Darby insisted on filming where she makes up her own song & "accompanies" herself on piano.

For lunch we went over to Nana and Pa's for some good old American hot dogs. The kids have a catch phrase they like to spout during meals - I assume they heard it at school - "Less talking, more eating". Yeah, that works as more of a "do as I say, not as I do" idea for them. So lunch took a very, very, very long time...

After lunch we decided we really had to find time to get Dalton's hair cut.  On the way we passed our local fire station where they had erected a giant flag.  We did a couple of drive-bys for fun.

When we got to the haircut place, Darby insisted that she get her hair cut too.  I argued with her for a while and then thought - Why do I care? So she got her haircut too. Looks really cute. Elvis just got a bit off the sides.

Finally we made our way over to the Castle Hills Village Square where we met a bunch of our friends from school.  

Darby rode in cars with boys,

and Dalton strolled w/ his girlfriend,

We did bounce houses, sweated, ran around, played w/ 800 varieties of glow-in-the-dark items and ate a lot of junk food. Elvis seemed to enjoy himself and was sporting his own patriotic outfit. Darby even managed to find some tiny puppies to pet. I'm going to save this picture for her for when she's begging her Daddy for a puppy in a few years. Who could turn down this face?

And finally the fireworks began. Darby's been working on her photography, so she took some fireworks pics as well. 

A great day was had all around.

Darby Loves Her Some Sparkle

Sunday started out slow - there was a lot of unpacking to do, and we had to get back in the swing of being home.  I had gotten the kids a Lego table so we had to break that bad-boy in. And Darby has taken to the frightening hobby of stacking dish towers while doing her 5 year-old task of emptying the dishwasher.


That afternoon we met Ms. Elizabeth, Ms. Jamie, Eva, Jordan & Bailey at the McDonald's playground - a necessary evil in Texas during the summertime. We did get to ride in Ms. Jamie's new mini-van. Very similar to what will soon be our new mini-van. The delusion of coolness is now officially over...


Afterwards we picked up Mr. Jeremiah and headed back to our house for an impromptu pool party. I get made fun of a lot for keeping  too much food on hand, but we ate pretty well that night out of what I had (plus Elizabeth's hot dogs). We had burgers (oval-shaped to fit the hoagie rolls), chicken, hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, chips & salsa. 

After dinner we had a fantastic sunset swim in the pool. Dalton went off the diving board about 5-6 times. Darby serenaded us, Eva showed off her swimming skills in her mermaid tail, Jordan wowed us by swimming really well after refusing 2 weeks of lessons just a week ago and Stella showed off her spot-on volleyball skills.

We capped off the evening with some sparklers I have been hoarding for the last 2 years. The kids were full of surprises - cautious Darby was first to volunteer to try them, safety conscious Jordan was second, and Eva Knievel didn't want to play (to her credit it was super late and she was tired). The rest loved them.

I love this picture. I know I'm alone. But I think it's the lover of an edgy 80's teen movie in me.

Cinnamon Rolls in Miranda Lambert's Hometown

It was a busy weekend. I have a feeling the teachers at school paid for that today. Late nights and lots of action make for unhappy children when the grind comes back into play.

* Point of interest - we had Darby's class mascot - Elvis the bear - with us this weekend. You will see him in a lot of our pictures. Usually sporting his bathing suit or his Patriotic red/white/blue outfit selected by Darby - aka his Spider-Man costume.

We had a last minute change of plans Friday night and headed out to East Texas earlier than expected. There we met up w/ Aunt Tiffani, Mr. Matt, Tiffani's sister and her family. We weren't able to get connecting rooms, so when the kids went to bed we set up a makeshift baby monitor using FaceTime and 2 cell phones, and the adults hung out in the room across the hall. It actually worked a bit better than our old baby monitor, as I had the ability to yell at them to go to sleep without having to get up. I made good use of that function.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel. Shockingly the kids did not partake in the Texas-shaped waffles, but did make short work of cinnamon rolls and a lot of juice and bacon. Elvis joined us, but knowing he was going to spend a lot of time in his form-fitting Spider-Man costume, he chose to just watch.

Afterwards we got some snazzy new life vests at the Lindale Walmart and then went on to Aunt Tiffani's parents' lake house. The kids were poorly behaved at the Walmart, so they did not get to pet the cage full of adorable puppies in the parking lot.

At the lake, Darby made a new best friend - Penelope the dog. Penelope was very forgiving when Darby dragged her around the house and used her name about 3000 times in quick succession, and then promptly forgot it an hour later.

We had a very good time swimming in the lake. Darby was hesitant at first but once we got a system in place where she wore both her life vest and a floaty ring she was good to go, and spun endless circles in the water.  For his part, Dalton and his goggles got a good look at the bottom of the lake, since he kept swimming underwater from person to person. I don't even want to think about the lake water he must have swallowed.

The best part was the conversation with Aunt Tiff's 14 (?) year old niece Jenna, who prior to this day, wanted 4 kids. Now she thinks 2 is more than enough. Side note - we are available for rent.


Eventually we hauled out the kayaks and I polished off my rusty skills to give the kids a ride. They were a bit uneasy at first but then loved it.


We finally got out of the lake, had lunch and then the bubble wars began. Someone got us a very cool bubble gun and we got some good use out of it that day. Elvis ended up fighting off most of the bubbles. Probably not a bad thing as he likely needed a bath anyway. 


That evening we went with a bunch of people for a Mexican food dinner, and then it was time to say goodbye to East Texas.


Here they are looking like a cute little family w/ Aunt Tiff and Mr. Matt. After those pictures, Aunt Tiff and Mr. Matt went blissfully back to their quiet, peaceful lives...