Even though we had a brief bout of vomiting today (whaddya expect, we're planning to go out of town?) we're hopeful that we'll be able to make it out of town tomorrow. I'll update when we get back, but until then, Let The Summer Begin!

While the girls watched mermaids and had their toes painted, the boys hit the lake.

My boys aren't babies anymore.

Soon they'll be taller than their daddy.

Sigh.
I don't know that I'd want to live on Caddo, but if I was into alligators and mosquitos...this would be the cutest river cottage you ever laid eyes on. It's SCrEaMiNg for a makeover!

Never a dull moment with this one. Deep thoughts...

I'm not sure what attraction this holds for so many. All I think is...c.r.e.e.p.y.

Ginormous beaver dam. The boys were so crazy excited about all the wildlife they saw on the lake.

My young men.

Take time to remember today.....

what it means to be able to wave this flag.

Soph and friend Annaclaire saw The Little Mermaid today with Peter Pan Players. Sophy wouldn't rest until she had her photo taken with King Triton. Uhm, yeah. He was shirtless. And white.

The whole crew + about 10 attended an End of Year Swim Party last night. There was enough pizza, splashing and horseplaying to last AT LEAST until the Back to School Swim Party commences. Our poor, poor high school has trouble headed it's way in 2016.
After the play, we took a detour to the Toe Store and then we filled up on pancakes for supper. Yes, it was a very, very lovely day! The best of days!

This dive doesn't look like it ended on a good note, but I promise no trip to the ER was necessary after the pool party!

While we Little Mermaid'ed and Toe'd and Pancake'd, DaddyP and the boys spent the day taking a paddle boat tour of Caddo Lake (which they LOVED) and having lunch at the #1 dive grill in Uncertain, Texas. Pics to follow tomorrow--or as soon as DaddyP gives them to me!

The Day in Pics Again

We saved a seat (or two) for you.
We set up our new patio furniture today! I love, love, love this set. I've ordered a chandalier that hangs off the umbrella that holds citronella candles, and I can't wait to get it in.

We spent the afternoon swimming with friends Kameron, Ky, and Kennedy. Our evening involved 3 extremely tired kiddos.

Jack and I are back to school tomorrow, and Sam & Soph are out for summer. Lucky dogs!

Random Photos

Brushing up on the diving skills!

Class ice cream party! Sophy and friend, Lilly.
Sam again, brushing up on freestyle! Such a dedicated swimmer!

Is there anything better than a bowl of gardenia blooms? Aahhhh...

We took the kids out for an end of year supper-celebration! We are ready for summer!

This girl absolutely adores this boy.

Sophy and her teacher. We are sooo going to miss her.

Awards Ceremony

Dallas Pics

Click here to view these pictures larger

We had a super, wonderful time in Dallas this weekend. It was slam-packed with fun, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Here we are at the Aboretum.
I did a double-take when I read this...I thought, "Poor Big Toothed Mable..." But then, well...I reread it......

Sorry, no pics from Six Flags, but oh we had a blast there. I think we're all in agreement that we may or may not ever set foot in Superman's Tower of Power,...again...ever. Ha!

Fast Facts (We're on a roll, so let's stick with it...)

1. No repeats of today, please and thank you.

2. One uterus for sale FREE!

3. Sophy's "cavity" turned out to be ZERO cavities (whew)....but loads of impacted teeth deep under gum pushing on each other and the teeth that are preventing them from being where they're supposed to be. Poor baby girl.

4. Field trip tomorrow! Oh yes! Can not wait!

5. Did I mention you can have my uterus. For free. I'll even let you hack it out.

6. Ovaries are negotiable.

7. One more full week of school for all of our TAKS passers! Wheee!

8. Pool parties, end of school get-togethers, and BBQ invitations are coming in, and we're stoked! SUMMER IS HERE!

9. W0w, #9 already!

10. Chocolate cupcakes are my friend. They can be your friend too. They will not; however, be the friend of your bathing suit/saddle bags. BUT WHO CARES?

11. Soph and I are meeting friends at The Little Mermaid next weekend, and I think I'm more excited than Sophy!

12. There is no #12.

Fast Facts Part Deux

1. I love this new app. It turns all of your iPhone photos into Polaroids. Totally cute.

2. Sam has officially signed up for football this Fall! Fire it up!
3. Pool bath is coming along. Flamingos have been banished.
4. Is it Friday yet?

Fast Facts

1. Pretty sure Sophy has a cavity. Off to the dentist we go this week.
2. Worker's Comp. OMG. What in the world!! Not sure which is worse Doctorhood, Governmenthood, or the Peoplewhoallowithood. Think I'll stick with my injured ankle.
3. Jack is about to be 12. He proved it this weekend. Pray for his parents.
4. Big changes all over. Lots of choices. Ug. I'm not good with change. So not good with change.
5. Sam is wearing a size 7 shoe.
6. I have to go to a workshop tomorrow. Be jealous. Or not.
7. Thursday I get to take 20 SUPER kids on the most amazing field trip of the year! We get to spend the morning at Barnes and Noble followed by lunch at the Olive Garden. Siiigggh! Can't wait! Oh, and I get to enjoy this field trip this year with my #1 son. How cool is that?
8. Headed out to Dallas this weekend for a whirlwind trip! Of course, Mr. Weather Dude is calling for rain. We ain't skeered.
9. I wish adults had recess.
10. Is today only Monday?

Sunscreen has been slathered, suits have been donned, goggles have been located........

The Pool is Open!

Tonight was a gym night. Soph's coach moved her from the regular tramp to the one with less bounce to work on her back handspring. There is a lot less bounce than what she is used to, but she's adjusting fine. Next step will be on the big track which has ZERO bounce. After gym, we came home to a dinner of chicken tetrazinni, sauteed squash and zuccini, rolls and ceasar salad. Oh, and fresh, sliced garden 'maters. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. T'was good!

Thought I'd update from gymnastics before signing off!

Ya know, sometimes....I think the sign speaks for itself.

Truly.

We spent a quick afternoon with PMac and PCuzzins and PFil. We intended to stay longer, but I was feeling a little woozie and had to head on home. We're looking forward to our time at the beach though and some good summer visits right around the corner.
PS
Mimi is home!

Projects Galore

Seems like this time of year we always have so much going on with swim team starting up, the end of school, testing, etc. Throw in some unexpected hurdles to our typical To Do list, and you got a recipe for CRAZINESS!

Project #1: Pool Bath

I'll post Before/After photos when the throne is finished. We aren't making the Taj of pool bathrooms. It is; afterall, an outdoor restroom. Our goal is; however, to transform it from your typical gas station grade restroom. ICK! So far, we've replaced the exterior water/weather damage. We've changed the outer fixtures and door, and I've picked out my colors and shutters. I can't WAIT to see what the exterior looks like when it's finished. We have a pretty basic interior mojo in mind, and we plan to get that going as soon as the outside is finished...hopefully this month.

Project #2: Outdoor Kitchen

This is DaddyP's project. We had originally planned for DaddyP to do the work, haha. Yeah. After looking a plans and what we want the set-up to include, DaddyP decided to call for help. We've seen the drawing, we've picked the rock and brick. DaddyP has picked the grill, etc. Now, we're waiting our guy to get started. I'm curious to see how it turns out, and I'm looking forward to pool entertaining with a little more convenience outside. Plus, if we ever sell our house, we think this would be an added feature for a potential buyer.

Project #3: Pool Conversion/Hot Tub

Late breaking news, our pool pump burned up. We're taking this opportunity to replace the entire kit and kaboodle from a chlorine system to a saltwater. It's a bit of a cost to get switched over, but all of our friends have a saltwater system and say that it will quickly pay for itself.

Now, if we could just get all these little projects completed before summer officially starts, I'd be a happy gal!

Top 10 of Tuesday

1. Our sprinkler system has officially been turned on for the '10 watering season. Please Lord, let it be as rainy as it was last summer! We only used it once last year! Of course, we all know the odds. But hey, it IS East Texas we're talking about!

2. Anyone out there ever been to Colonial Williamsburg with good info? If so, email me.

3. Sam took his first ever TAKS test today. In true family fashion, he slammed his hand in the truck door and ended up arriving 10 minutes late. You do NOT show up late on TAKS day, or despite the mantra, your child MIGHT get left behind! Sam's teacher gave him a pep talk about being a hero and working through it, and that is exactly what he did. Now if we can just get the finger to unswell and turn back to it's original color. Wonder what we'll do tomorrow morning before TAKS Part II? Lord, why did I ask? His teacher says he worked super hard and gave it his best. Lets hope he made a dent.

4. Meem is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. Those of you reading that know Meem, please say a prayer. She'll be in the hospital for about 4 days and will have a longer recovery than her past surgeries. Hopefully it'll all go smoothly.

5. Sophy had a super night at tumbling. Getting her backhandspring down has really caused her to turn a corner and put a fire in her belly. At first, she just enjoyed getting to bounce around and have fun in class. These days she looks forward to class and lays out her plan of attack before we go into the gym. Her latest skills to work on have been her round off back handspring on the hard floor and a cartwheel into a back walk-over. Very proud of her hard work!

6. Speaking of Sophy, she recently started a Yoga class (of her own choosing) and is LOVING it. I was pretty unsure if she knew what she was asking for, but she absolutely loves it...and is very good at it.

7. If you haven't tried the new Chocolate Cheerios, you should. They're worth a chew.

8. And speaking of lessons, Jack has expressed an interest in guitar lessons. I'm super stoked about this because my boy has such a good voice and has such a good ear for music. I think this would be a very positive experience for him and a good outlet for him. We're starting with 2 avenues of contacts we've been given, and hopefully we'll find a teacher to start lessons this summer! Isn't that exciting? We think so!

9. We're looking forward to a quickie get-away to Dallas in a few weeks. We're hitting Six Flags and the Dallas arboretum. The boys are crazy excited that we're planning a behind-the-scenes tour at Texas Motorspeedway, and I think they may rupture before we actually get to do the tour! If time permits, we're going to stop in New York, Texas on the way home to do the East Texas Zip Line! Our friends had a blast there, and we hope to have time to get in during our trip.

10. There is no #10.

More Bloomin' Flowers

I promise I'll stop posting garden pics, but it's all so bloomin' pretty!

Not really sure where these irises came from, but oh how pretty! All of the irises that I have were lifted from somewhere or other. This one didn't bloom last year, but still...you'd think I'd remember where something like this came from.

Again, I'll stop with the bird photos also, but I just had to share. This isn't the best photo as it was taken through our bedroom door/screen. That ginormous bird there (compare to other teensy bird on the feeder) is a red-bellied woodpecker! The name is a tad misleading and makes you think it's underbelly is actually red, but it's actually it's head that is the red. He's returned a few times, so maybe I'll get a better shot of him.

2010 Defenders of Liberty Air Show

Isn't he getting big? Sam and J have spent most days together since they were about 6 weeks old. Sometimes their closeness is frightening. As we entered the gates to the AFB, J made sure that Sam was protected from the sun! I just had to take a pic of the moment. I assure you. They were not posing for this photo. Sam didn't want to put on sunscreen, so J took the tube away from him and started applying it himself. Now THAT says a lot when a 9 year old boy puts sunscreen on his friend.

Thunderbirds
About to board a chopper.

B52

This looks like the B52 met with a bad end, but it actually just dropped a "wall of fire." The boys thought it was the coolest thing since individually wrapped cheese singles.

Pop and Sam waiting for the Thunderbirds to hit the sky.

I love this pic of my baby.

Oh yes. If you've never been to an air show, you should go!

But just so ya know...if you wanna snap a photo, you've got to be quick! The plane was in the center of my viewfinder when I snapped the pic.

It's hard to believe that this boy will be 12 in a few months.

TWELVE!

As in, the number before thirTEEN.

As in, he'll have a driver's license in about 4 years.

Maybe I should stop before I hyperventilate.