the zoo

Miles and I met some friends at the zoo today. It was beautiful! We had a great time.

bike/nap

My mom and I took a little bike ride with Miles in the trailer.

Twenty minutes later, he was like this. So sweet, now I know how to get rid of those mid-afternoon boredom spells!

Grateful Sunday

Audrey, Parker, Miles and Makayla (Audrey's good friend) at the movies on Friday.

This has been a good week. I have a lot to be thankful for.

• my parents are here! That's always good news. We're lucky to have them here in Texas, we love it when they come!
• we got a glimpse of Julianne via Skype today and saw video of two of my cute baby nephews. Instant smiling ensued.
• Audrey got to see her movie on Friday. She has read all 17 books from the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, and when she found out they were making a movie of the series, she about flipped. And then started counting down the days to September 24th when it was released. We went Friday evening, and it was all she hoped it would be. (Special thanks to my mom for enduring the motion sickness associated with a 3-D movie about owls flying all over the place.)
• Neal, for helping me through a little post-Primary meltdown today. I needed a moment.
• the doctor I saw this week about some heart trouble I've been experiencing lately. Although she told me to eliminate chocolate from my diet (!) and put me on some old lady medications, at least I feel a little better about the situation. Going back for more testing later this month.

things that they wanted photographed

At least a couple of times a week, somebody wants me to take a picture of something random. So I do. I thought I'd post some of the randomness today!

Neal will tell you that most people have never really eaten a "cantaloupe." What they call cantaloupe here in the US is actually Musk Melon. But this here is a true "French Cantaloupe" that Neal grew in our garden. It was yummy. And he wanted a photo of it.

The boys figured out a way to store themselves in the linen closet. They like to climb up inside with a book and their book light or their DS or something and have the door closed on them. It's also a really great way to make a mess, but it did encourage me to purge the linens. We have about half as many since I took this picture. Now all three kids can fit comfortably on their own shelf.

One silly afternoon, Miles took all the hats off the hat rack and put them on his head.

Audrey, with a block creation at the museum this summer.

The dirtiest dog ever. This is moments after we recovered Trooper after he was lost last month. It took for.ever to get him clean.

I took this photo myself of our lovely new light in the "mudroom." I've had it for months, but it required a professional to install. Said professional came last week, hooray!

Season Opener

Parker is really loving baseball this season. He's had a hit at every at-bat so far. Woohoo! Go Mets!

Grateful Sunday

Neal and the kids after their Fathers' blessings last month.

Today has been wonderful. We had our primary program, which was beautiful and went by way too fast. I was nervous that we'd be about 20 minutes short, but it worked out just fine. Phew!

I'm thankful for:

• all of the Primary teachers and parents who helped their kids get ready for today. The kids sang nice and loud, and I'm thankful for Angi and Jill for getting them ready song-wise!
• my family, for putting up with a stress-case for a mother for the past several weeks.
• books. I've had some good ones to escape into lately: These is My Words, Roman Fever, The Greenlanders and The Help.
• Neal, for standing up for something at the kids' school the past few weeks. Though it involved meeting with the principal and emails that got kind of heated, I'm proud that he was man enough to say something when something needed to be said. 
• a wonderful concert/fireside tonight by my friend's brother, Paul Cardall. He's a really wonderful pianist and survivor of unbeatable odds. We were able to share the evening with my kids' piano teacher, Ms. Ruby and her husband. They were really touched, and my kids were SO reverent. Amazing blessings!

Friends

Miles' friend, Jacquie, is moving far away to Saudi Arabia soon. We had a little get together to say goodbye to her family the other day. She's such a sweetie, we'll miss the K family! We all get along so well. Doug and Neal even have similar interests in obscure hobbies like bee keeping and chicken raising. One evening they pretty much solved all of the world's social ills whilst swimming with the kids in our pool. Side note: Miles has mentioned on multiple occasions to multiple people that Jacquie is going to be his wife one day. We're totally on board with that.

More from Weatherford

More photos of the weirdos in Weatherford.

Caroline and Parker

Such a pretty day for a baby tractor ride. Thanks, Daddy and Gail!

Grateful Sunday

Audrey and Miles on the little tractor at Daddy Jeff's house last weekend. They want one of these SO badly. Daddy Jeff's will have to do; we don't have the garage space here!

This week has been nice. As things wind down toward our Primary Program, my life will start to feel a little more normal. But for another week, craziness continues. Today, I'm grateful for:

• my kids, for just being good kids. Of course they have their moments, but overall, we got some good ones.
• the people in our primary who make it all work. Just grateful for hard working, proactive people.
• rain. Oh boy did we have some rain this week. It was a little wild for a day or so, but we are grateful for the moisture.
• a beautiful day in the temple on Thursday. I'm grateful that I have the time to go a bit now, that Elliott sent me with work to do, and that two good friends accompanied me. It was fun, productive, and uplifting. Perfect!
• the peace I find in the knowledge of the gospel. Believing in Christ and His love for me just makes everything easier. I posted my profile to Mormon.org. Have you (Mormons) done yours yet?

Grateful Sunday

Audrey and I went into Dallas for a party at a little shop on Friday night. We had fun doing girly things like eating cupcakes and trying on bracelets. Lucky me; I found the exact same lip color as Audrey's natural shade!

This has been a nice week; the kids are getting into their routines, a few new activities are starting this week (baseball, DI), so we're off and running! Today, I'm grateful for:

• Skype! We just got off calls with my mom and dad, Lincoln, Mimi, Baby David, and Julianne in Brazil. I'm just so thankful that we can talk and blow kisses and feel a little closer even though we're not. You should check out Julianne's pictures from India. That girl goes everywhere.
• beautiful weather! It dipped down into the low 80s during the day a few times this week and we had a great rainstorm one night. We need some relief, so we're happy to get it!
• fasting. Audrey tried fasting today for her first time. It was hard for her, but she is beginning to understand the idea of it, and I hope her faith will grow.
• our safety. We're so blessed to be safe and healthy, and I'm very thankful for that gift.

snooping on the kids