Tie-Dyed Dreams

Olivia and I made these t-shirts last summer at a "Groovy Party." She got McIver dressed for bed last night and insisted that I take their picture since they "match, and I know you like it when we match."

Blue Bell Creamery - Part II

Well, we made another trip to Blue Bell today and actually were able to make the tour this time. It was worth the trip. We went with our friends, Mae and her mom, Lana, and had a great time. We saw where and how the ice cream is flavored, the ice cream being put into the containers, the lids being put on, the containers being loaded into boxes, flipped over and then sent into the Blast Freezers. We saw the packaging of ice cream sandwiches and more. All the kids enjoyed watching the process, but McIver was especially impressed with all the machines and assembly lines. He kept trying to tell the tour guide about the machines. At the end, we made our way to the Ice Cream Parlor where we each had a taste - both Olivia and McIver had Rainbow Sherbert and I had Mint Chocolate Chip (I know that's what Will would have chosen had he been there with us!). Delicious!!

Girls' Night Out

Will was kind enough to stay home with the kids while I enjoyed some R&R on our girls night out. Gay and Laura are friends from church. Emily used to go to Palmer but moved away just before we got here 2 years ago. Emily was visiting and they were nice enough to include me in their night out downtown. We had dinner at Mia Bella and then went to The Flying Saucer afterwards. It was also the night of the Beyonce concert so there was a great deal of people-watching to be done!

Laura, me, Gay & Emily

McIver, the Diving Board King

Finally ... McIver has redisovered his love for the diving board! Last year, he was jumping off by himself and swimming to the ladder with no trouble at all. He regressed a little bit since last summer because he insisted that he just wasn't big enough for the diving board yet. (He'd try jumping when he's 'big like Olivia.') After a few false starts this summer, something finally clicked last night. He finally jumped off and realized it was great fun. I asked him who told him it would be so much fun (the correct answer would have been: you, Mom) and he replied that his grandmother told him. I asked if it was Nanoo or GranGran, but he said it was his grandmother from his 'other family.'

Blue Bell Creamery, Brenham, TX

Olivia, McIver and I drove for 2 hours today to Brenham, TX to the Blue Bell Creamery. Lucky us - we got there just in time for the last tour of the day... sadly, it was full. So, we enjoyed our icecream (only $1 per scoop!) and 'toured' the gift shop. Olivia and McIver didn't mind missing the tour as much as I did. They were just impressed that I laughed at how messy they were. (The pictures really do not do justice to the stains ALL up and down their clothes!) I will not win Mommy of the Year for this field trip, but we did have a good time.

Mr. Fix-It

McIver was MIA for a little while yesterday while we were cleaning up for the party. I finally found him 'fixing the sink with my tools, just like Daddy.'

Happy 4th of July!!

All of the fellows and most of theire families joined us for a 4th of July cook-out yesterday. Despite the rain, we had a good time. Olivia asked if she could be in charge of pictures for the party so I gave her the camera. Rather than taking pictures of the guests, she took pictures of every single thing in our house, including all the rooms in her dollhouse and each princess on her lamp. We do have a few pictures from the Freedom Over Texas fireworks show downtown.

Olivia loved the fireworks, just not the noise. After a while, though, she took her hands away from her ears and seemed to enjoy herself. McIver loved looking through the fan - it made the fireworks even cooler looking!

We snapped a quick picture before loading up to come home.

Happy Birthday, America!

Episcopal Night with the Astros

Last night was Episcopal Night with the Astros (vs. the Phillies). The Bishop of Texas Don Wimberley threw out the first pitch. Olivia went with her friend Mae and her parents (and apparently liked their seats better) and then met us in the 6th inning at Sqeeze Play. McIver loved the hot dogs, of course. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave as they went into the 11th inning tied at 4-4 because we were all just getting too tired to last much longer. It ended up being a great game with the rookie Hunter Pence hitting a home run in the 13th to win the game for the Astros.

McIver in the 'dug out' on our way into Squeeze Play (get it, "Squeeze Play" at Minute Maid Park!). It had the biggest playground structure I've ever seen.

Mae and Olivia after playing in Squeeze Play.

McIver with silly hair like the kid from Meet the Robinsons.

Olivia and Will watching and hoping for a home run!

Galveston Beach

We spent yesterday afternoon in Galveston with friends from Olivia's class at school. The weather was great and the waves were big. It took a little while (and some peer pressure) but Olivia finally went out in the ocean and loved it. McIver said he loved when the waves went over his head.

Mae, Olivia & Sydney
5 kids playing together happily so the moms could

have a conversation with complete sentences!

feeding the kamikaze seagulls.

Olivia's Theatre Camp

Olivia has been in theatre camp for the last 2 weeks at Main Street Theatre. She loved every minute of it. Their theme was Happily Ever After so, of course, she was thrilled with the idea of being a fairy princess. Their play, which they cast and wrote themselves with some direction from Mr. Matt, was called The Fairy Princess Ball. Olivia and her friend Mae were the twin fairies, Ebony, princesses of darkness. They told the other fairies, "No Dancing." Then the other fairies convinced Ebony to learn to dance... and they all lived Happily Ever After.




Olivia's costume, including a very made-at-the-last-minute wand.

Olivia with her friends Mae, the other twin fairy Ebony, and Sydney, the Sapphire Fairy.

Olivia and Sydney with Mr. Matt, their director.

Fathers' Day 2007

Will was so looking forward to a round of golf at River Oaks CC with friends from church, but they were rained out. We did celebrate with breakfast and dinner together. And, since he couldn't actually play golf, he spent a lot of the afternoon watching it on television.

An Evening at the Pool

We have really enjoyed the new pool this year. It's closer to home and we already have lots of friends who go there, too. We spent last Friday night there - swimming and eating pizza.

McIver hasn't quite gotten up the nerve to jump off the diving board yet this year

(although he was doing it at the end of last summer).

I give him a few more weeks before he'll be jumping off like a pro.

Olivia swims like a fish - she loves to make up new jumps off the diving board.

We were glad Dad could finally join us on Friday night. We usually go during the day and then are too tired to go back after dinner.
Olivia loved having Dad there b/c he's actually strong enough to throw her far and flip her fast.
McIver loves watching the big kids play foosball... and getting an ice cream during the 10-minute breaks.

Olivia's Lost Tooth

Olivia lost her 3rd tooth (bottom left looking at this picture) this morning . . . only problem is that she really lost it. For the second time, a tooth has fallen out while she's eating. We searched high and low but couldn't find it so we're assuming that she swallowed it. She's not worried about the toothfairy not coming this time!

McIver's blessing

McIver jumps at the chance to say the blessing most nights. It's about the sweetest thing you've ever heard...

"I've got 10 little fingers
And they all belong to me.
I can make them do things,
do you want to see? (you must answer 'yes')
I can squeeze them tight,
and I can open them wide.
I can put them low,
and I can put them high.
And I can make them hide.
I can put them in a very special way (brings them together).
I think about my God and I decide to pray."

Then we all go into "God Our Father."

McIver and I were trying to figure out the difference between a 'smooth roller and a bumpy one' today as we drove past a bunch of construction on our way to camp. When I told him that I didn't know the difference, he suggested that we ask Bryant Nixon. I was impressed that he remembered that Bryant knows all things construction. Bryant - if you're out there, please let me know so that I can pass it on to my future construction worker!

Post Dinner Walk

We like to go for a walk after dinner when everyone's in a good mood (and sometimes when we're not that helps!). Olivia especially likes to ride her bike because she had to get a new helmet - princesses, of course, to match her bike. We took a few pictures just for fun.

McIver's waffle burn

Will was on call last night and the kids and I decided to have 'breakfast for supper.' McIver accidentally backed into the waffle iron and burned his arm pretty badly. He insisted that I take a picture of his bandage today. And, he also said that if I wanted to I could also take a picture of his tattoo from VBS... so I did.

You might notice that the black Power Ranger sunglasses have been replaced with Spider Man. The Power Ranger pair met an untimely demise when Mac stepped on them at the gym. Not to worry, he loves the new pair at least as much.

More Big Canoe Pictures

Andrew loved playing with the camper.

Even though the Wildcat pool is awesome, we made some time

for playing on the beach, too.

The only group picture all weekend was taken by Olivia.

Olivia's newest passion is playing Uno - she's pretty good. And, she's very cut-throat,

thanks to Aunt Dawn's lessons in being a not-so-good winner!

Cacoo & Christian helped Pop figure out the

new ice cream machine. Christian did most of the churning with a

little bit of help from on-lookers.

Big Canoe - Memorial Day Wknd 07

Olivia, McIver and I rode up to Big Canoe with Pop on Friday. They loved the pit stop for doughnuts and slushies on the way up! Once we got the car unloaded, it was time to wait for Daddy, Nanoo, Cacoo & Christian, and the YaYas to arrive. We spent the weekend just enjoying being together.

We gave Pop an early Fathers Day present - an ice cream machine.

It's particularly cool b/c you can either use the hand crank OR plug it in for easy ice cream making. We tried out two recipes - my fave is the Mexican Chocolate!

Olivia and McIver show off their new shades. Mac wore his ALL the time -

even when inside watching Cars with Andrew.

We all loved the new Wildcat pool. Everyone loved the sprinklers,

the rainbow and the buckets.

Will took a break from peeling shrimp so I could snap this shot.

He made a DELICIOUS shrimp & grits for us Saturday night!

Sadie & Julia