Our House

A few of you have asked to see pics of where we live, so here ya go! We have already made changes to several of the rooms since I took these pics in July but you will get the general idea. I've just realized that I didn't get a current pic of the outside from the front but our camera is currently broken so you will just have to use your imagination! You will notice that we have a guest room...YOUR room when you come to see us! =)

July

Hello, all! Back again...I'm sure one day I will catch you all up on what's happening! So...

Carly took swimming lessons at the local YMCA the first two weeks of July. She did so well! She has always loved the water and has been swimming alone with floaties since last year.  The first week she became more comfortable holding onto the wall (with no float) and jumping, swimming with assistance, holding her breath longer so she could go under the water for longer. By the second week, she could jump in and swim a few feet to the swim teacher, go under the water in the kiddie pool to grab a diving stick, swim with a kick board, with a pool noodle for support and more.  And, of course, being Carly, she really enjoyed the social aspect of it all! Carly's lessons were at 5pm and it was about 105F (40.5C) and humid every day. It rained through one of her lessons, one was rained out and apparently the pool motor caught on fire another day...it was an eventful 8 days. Kate was a trooper through the heat.

We had Carly's team tball presentation ceremony at church. After a slide show, they announced each child's name and they all got to go up on stage in their uniform and with trophy in hand.  Carly thought it was pretty cool!

Our friends the Troyers celebrated Brinkley's 6th birthday and we joined in the fun. They played dress up and pictionary and ate cupcakes. One and all had a great time.  There was tons of stuff happening in July but those are a few of the highlights that go with the pics...enjoy!

Kansas City, the Museum and randomness

Hi, folks! Here is it...the shortest blog I have ever written...
Here are some pics of our trip to Kansas City, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with our little friend Hudson and a few random pics of the girls at home- all from late June/the first few days of July. Enjoy! We love you!

Installment #2

Hello again, folks! I'm trying to catch up with the backlog of photos and videos but there are just so many photo-worthy moments that I kind of just keep building them up! So here is installment 2 of the great library! In this episode:

The girls playing around the house and with friends. Carly and Kate really do play nicely with each other (most of the time). They make each other laugh and even cheer each other up sometimes. Today Carly had been crying and a few minutes later she said, "Kate made me happy!" And when Carly has been put in time out or is hurt and crying, it really makes Kate mad when I keep her away from Carly because all she wants to do is go give her a hug. Carly is such an encourager and tells Kate "good job, Kate!" all the time. A couple of weeks ago, she let Kate play with something of hers (I can't remember what...crayon?) and after about 10 seconds Carly said, "Good job not eating it, Kate!" Ha ha.

Our little friend Emma then Hannah, Brinkley and Allie. Our friends Val (the Mom) and Emma came over a few weeks ago to hang out. She and Carly were playing back to back at one point. It was pretty cute. Carly loves Emma but Kate LOVES Emma. In fact, she asks about her every day...at least 4 times. Until a few days ago she called her "Mama" with a different inflection that she uses to call me. But recently she worked out how to say "Emma" and I have to say, she was pretty pleased with herself. They are only about 4 months apart so it will be fun to see their friendship grow as they get older. Emma is very laid back while Kate is...not. So that will be very entertaining!  Hannah, Brinkley and Allie came over one day and the girls were playing upstairs when Stephanie (their mom) and I realized that it had gotten very quiet upstairs.  I went upstairs, looked in each room and didn't find them. I finally went to my room and into our bathroom when I started hearing conversation coming from my closet...I retreated to get my camera then opened the door and took some pics of the slumber party they had created.

Our niece, Ariel, graduated last month! Yay, Ariel! We headed over to Dallas two weekends in a row- one for her graduation ceremony and one for her party. It was great to celebrate with Ariel and share time with family too. She plans to go to community college for a couple of years before moving on to a larger university and she is going to study teaching (brave, I say)!

The Parletts, American friends we made in Australia, stayed with us for a night while on a trek to move from California to Virginia. Alec and Dolores lived next door to us in the townhouse before we had Carly and moved to the house. We had great fun with them and celebrated the birth of their first child, Jennifer, while in Australia. They moved back about 5 years ago and we have not seen them since then so it was really great to catch up with them and meet their younger daughter, Megan, age three. In Brian's absence, Natalie brought Jake over and we had a little party, enjoying catching up!  The girls really had fun playing and probably could have enjoyed many more hours together. But we had to send them off on their long journey cross country!  Maybe one day we'll make it over East...

Carly finished up T-Ball well and received the "Best Attitude" award for the season.  She really enjoyed playing and being with her friends but, because she gets to see those kids at Sunday school, I don't think that she really minds it being finished. And those last few games were H-O-T so Daniel, Kate and I don't mind them being over either!  Because Carly is so extroverted and social, I think that she will enjoy many things as long as she gets to be with friends.

Our friends, Jason and Leah Lewis, had a birthday party for Brandt who just turned 2.  We went along to the splash park and had a great time.  Brandt was not so sure about getting in (they later found out that he had an ear infection!) but Carly and Kate were right in there from the moment we arrived and let them loose!

Our niece Whitney stayed with us for a few days while her parents were counselors at a church camp.  As I told Summer (Daniel's sister), having another child around is sometimes a gift because then Carly is happy and occupied too.  Don't get me wrong, there were a few moments of chaos but, in general, it was just a little more busy.  We really enjoyed the extra time with Whitney though- time to get to know her in a different way than we have with her parents around. Great fun!

Kate got her first haircut! Now, Carly has never had a hair cut. But Kate's hair grew in kind of a funky way with the front LOTS longer than the back, so Kate's hair cut was very needed!  I took her to Adina, the lady I have gone to a few times, and she did such a great job, despite Kate's ability to wriggle out of my arms, climb everywhere and turn her head every which way in the middle of the cut. Thankfully, all of the hair we wanted to keep, as well as her ears and nose, are still in tact!

Enjoy the photos!  After the 290 pics from installment #1, I decided to go easy on you...only 88!  Thanks for keeping up with us. We love you!

Easter was a few months ago...

...so here are some photos of our Easter egg hunt at Brian, Natalie and "baby Jake's" house.  Brian's brother Kris (who Daniel also works with) took some beautiful photos.  We meant to share them before now but, ya know, life happens! Another blog coming soon...
P.S. You will see a 'boo boo' on Kate's head in some photos but not in others- Kris touched up some of the better photos!

Installments...

Hello, all! Mom here! I know that, once again, it has been a while. I have been madly going through photos and about the time I get some uploaded to the blog, I get about 200 more from the camera and it starts all over! So, you will be receiving installments...

Installment #1...
These are pics from April 27 through May 23. The big event during this time was our friend Carolyn from Australia coming to visit! She arrived May 3 and left May 23. It was really great to see her, get to spend time with her and play around town too. We did all sorts of stuff while she was here and now we have a good list of touristy things to do when people come to visit. So, who is coming next??

While Carolyn was here, we did lots of playing around the house and Carly played 'dress up Carolyn' quite a few times as well. Carolyn is such a good sport! You will see pics of when we went to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Trinity Park, the Fort Worth Zoo, Daniel's Apex Carnival, the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, the Fort Worth Stock Yards, Log Cabin Village, the Science and History Museum and a Texas Rangers baseball game! Daniel and I went out on a date while Carolyn watched the girls and then Carolyn and I also went out on a 'chick date' to Simply Fondue. We had a great time with all of it!!

Carolyn was here for three weeks but it went by quickly and we would take her back any time! She is getting married to Tim in October so he will come with her next time. That's good because Carly developed a fascination with Tim and even talked with him on the phone. She tells me that Carolyn and Tim are coming to our house. I remind her that it will be a while. Carolyn brought us all sorts of goodies from Australia to remind us of our other 'home' and she definitely dragged some goodies home to share with folks there. We certainly miss Australia so it was nice to have a bit of an Aussie dose in Carolyn too!

Carly has been playing 3s and 4s tball with a team from church in the YMCA league. She has practice on Tuesdays and game on Fridays or Saturdays and she really enjoys it! At first she was more interested in socializing (surprise, surprise) but now she really goes for the ball! We admit it's pretty entertaining for the parents to watch sometimes 8 little kids (all at the same time) scurry for the ball in the infield. But she really likes it and she's learning about following directions and teamwork so it's not all just for our entertainment!

Take a look at pics here! Grab a drink, sit down and make yourselves comfortable... there are 290! Happy Father's Day to all of you Dads out there. Love from us!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms and Mums out there! You work hard, love much and deserve many thank yous! Remember that you are loved even when your kids forget to tell you!


Last Thursday at Carly's Mother's Day Out ('school') they did a special Mother's Day party. They invited the Moms to come and have some tasty treats, spend a bit of time with our kids and receive some special gifts made for us by our kids. Carly was very excited to show me the picture her teacher's had taken of her holding a 'Happy Mother's Day' sign as well as a 'Mom' sign with a picture of her face in the 'O' and a bag of potpourri with a poem on it. The director of the school read aloud these 'interviews' they had done with each child. They asked the child to sort of fill in the blank- I have put in bold the answers that Carly gave.

My mom's name is Jenn
She has black hair and blue eyes
She is 2 feet tall and weighs 1,2,3 pounds
She is 48 years old
She loves to eat fruit, apples and pop
Her favorite thing to do is see the sunshine
She smiles when I she does something to me
I love her because she spins me around a lot

First of all...I'm 48...that explains why I have graying hair and don't feel 30! All of the other kids' parents were '2' or '3', with the next oldest to me being '10'! I love how I am 2 feet tall and weigh 1,2,3 pounds- and no, I don't think that she thinks I weigh 123 pounds...I think she was just being Carly. Carly later explained the the 'pop' she was referring to was actually rice crispies cereal, which she calls 'pops' but her teachers didn't understand that part. But I'm thinking she must have been hungry or thinking about her breakfast that morning 'cause I never eat 'pops'! I definitely smile when I tickle her...and I really feel a bit nauseous when I spin her around but it makes her happy so sometimes I just do it!

This time with Carly is certainly precious. It's really a privilege watching her learn and grow into the person God created her to be. I am certainly very blessed to have two beautiful, intelligent, healthy girls (and the most amazing husband ever). Thank you, God!

Happy Mother's Day, ladies! Mom