25 June 2010

1. As mentioned in last week's five, Father's Day has now come and gone. It was the first time in 14 years we weren't sitting in the Bird Island gym watching K & K tap...kind of strange! Instead we did all of E's favorite things.

{top left} Our celebration technically started Saturday night when E set up the tent and camped out with the kids in the backyard. I didn't think ANY of them would make it through the night, but the first I heard from them was when I heard little feet pitter pattering across the deck at 7 AM to excitedly tell me they had ALL made it ALL night long!

{top right} We then moved inside to give E his gifts...which was quite the escapade because the kids and I had gone to a lot of trouble planning something fun by boxing and stacking E's gifts and making it into a robot...but when I went to wrap the gifts I couldn't remember where I hid two of them! I eventually found them in my rockin' hiding place and the robot was assembled... the kids were so proud!

{lower left} E then made his normal weekend big breakfast...on the menu this week was french toast and bacon. Here he is sporting his new "the grill daddy" apron we had made for him as one of his presents.

{lower right} Then at about 9:30 we hit the lake for the rest of the day...boating, swimming, building sand castles...there were even a few naps on the boat. I have quite the burn on my legs to show for our 7 hour boat ride. OUCH.

We rounded out the night with swimming lessons. Overall such an awesome day!

2. I have been playing around with my camera and reading lots about how to shoot in manual settings. I have no training in photography, so this is purely trial and error. I have good luck shooting in manual when I am photographing things for my business that don't move...but when it comes to moving kids it is a different story. I can never get the exposure, shutter speed, and aperture all right at the same time. When the kids were playing on the beach Sunday afternoon I figured it was the perfect opportunity to practice a bit. I asked the two older kids to jump for me...which they had a ball doing. Beckett was not at all interested {he was way too into his sand castle}, so E jumped in his place. Nice air, Newmie!

3. After the awesome weekend, we were back to reality. And by reality, I mean two more trips to the dentist. I have extreme mother's guilt about this. At our appointment last week, they told me Tate had one cavity. I was not surprised, because they were watching one spot 6 months ago when we were there. But then there is Miss Aves. The last time we were there, they told me her teeth looked great. I don't know how that is even possible when just a short 6 months later they tell me she needs six fillings. SIX. What?!?! I actually wanted to say something much worse than that to them, but I will keep this clean. They tell me it is probably weak teeth to begin with combined with the fact that until about two months ago we had to hold her down to brush. If we're at your house and I ask you to not give my kids juice or fruit snacks, please don't look at me like I'm a drag! =) In a month {and about $450 out of pocket later} Avery will look like the tin man inside her mouth. I am afraid she won't make it through airport security when we go to Florida next year. Eek.

4. Wednesday was our 9th wedding anniversary. I can't believe its been that long. It seems like yesterday. I have so many awesome memories of that day...and if you're reading this more than one of them probably involved you. So thanks! My sister made a reference on her blog {which just got a facelift that is A.DOR.A.BLE} to her being 15 when we got together. Looking back at the past 14! years that we have been together even WE look like babies!

{okay...its late...the scanner hates me...you'll have to check back next week for these HAWT pics of E and I!}

We celebrated by going to Stella's Fish Cafe in Uptown {GREAT food...you should try it!}. While there we had a "deep" discussion about how lucky we are to still be as 100% sure that marrying each other was the right decision as the day we got engaged. =) Next year's a biggie. E's planning a mystery trip. Lucky for me he's horrible at keeping secrets from me!

5. Bye bye glasses! I'm getting Lasik today...please pray they don't screw it up and make me permanently blind. They should NEVER make you read all that crap...er...I mean... "informational literature"...before you have surgery. WAAAAY more info than I needed to know. I'll let you know if I can read the screen without glasses on next week's five! Wish me luck!

18 June 2010

1. I know, you're probably skeptical. How will starting a new blog make it any more likely that I will do it? Part of the FAIL of the other blog was that it was kind of like my scrapbooks...I get behind wanting to give the story of our lives the attention it deserves (and in the order it happens!)...then it gets a bit overwhelming. I am hoping this new format will lend itself to quick, simple posts that include what is going in our lives without feeling the need to be a scrapbook in perfect chronological order. I want to keep our friends and family in the loop since every time I get on the phone it seems one kid needs a drink, another needs a band aid, the other needs a diaper change, supper is burning on the stove, the dog needs to be let out...you get the picture. I also want to be able to look at these years when I feel like whole years just fly by and remember what we did and how we were feeling during it all.

2. So why the friday five? When I was trying to decide how I'd like to reinvent how I did this, I was on a blog I read regularly and was reading her "10 on Tuesday". Jenn posts something almost every day, but she posts 10 somewhat random thoughts every Tuesday to keep people up to speed on her personal life. I loved that concept and decided it might work here...but I decided to do 5 and have them be the ONLY things I post (setting the bar low here!)...plus there are 5 of us so we can technically BE the friday five. Make sense?

3. Schoooooooool's out for summer...da da. My last day of school was Monday. We are all adjusting....I forgot that it takes a little while to get in a groove even when we don't want to much of a groove! But we've already taken care of dentist appointments, been to swimming lessons, two nights of baseball, story time at the library, and to our favorite fountain park...we are well on our way!

4. This would technically be from last week's five, but since this blog didn't exist last week I have to include it this week. Tate had his Kindergarten graduation. They were all so adorable, sang the cutest songs, and as they read each name they included what each student wanted to be when they grew up. Tate said a policeman. He insisted on wearing a tie to his graduation and now has us calling him "Tater, Tater, first grader." =) He's also recently lost a tooth...just growing up waaaay to fast for his mother.

5. Since Father's Day is Sunday, it seems only right to give a shout out to the two men I love most on this earth. They are two of the best dads a daughter and wife could hope for. I love you!