Fun Friday Night

Had a blast at a spontaneous Busch Gardens night w/ Jackson & family. My favorite part? Ms Kendra likes alllll those rides that make me dizzy, so she was the official ride taker. Soooo... a great night was had by all. Had such fun, we stayed way later than planned...luckily leading to sleeping in today!

Happy Fourth

Had a nice fourth of July...

Friday night Lil and I "camped" on the porch. The weather was freakishly wonderful, so I figured if we were ever going to try it...that was the night. We had an air mattress, sleeping bags, a candle for a camp fire and smores made in the oven. Great baby steps towards getting us actually camping. She fell asleep quickly once I convinced her there were no lions or tigers. And...lets face it...we were on a screened in porch...mosquitos were the most viscious prey we faced. She LOVED it and was ready to do it again immediately. Mama however, was thrilled to be back in her own bed on Saturday!

Sunday was the 4th...we started with a walking 5k at Yorktown (Kendra & I walked while Coop kept the kids entertained in the battlefields). Then Lil & I headed to IHOP for breakfast, which was fun. She was covered in strawberry syrup in about 10 minutes...but at least it fit in with the color theme of the day.

Then home to decorate the trike for the neighborhood parade...a quick nap... and then the family came in time to enjoy the parade. Lilly won the blue ribbon / 1st place for bike decorating. She couldn't have cared less, but I enjoyed it. Actually...I handed her the ribbon and explained she won, and she asked "what's the prize?" She seemed disappointed when I explained the blue ribbon was the prize. Guess we'll work on that achievement for the sake of achievement concept....

Lil and I stayed up and watched the fireworks on tv that night. We watched the fireworks from the capitol, and I told her it was in DC. She said "Oh, where Maren lives! Which window is her apartment?" (meaning of the capitol building). Too cute. Anyway...enjoy the pictures!

Tee 90th B Day and other catch ups

This weekend was not only Father's Day - but it was also my mom's bday (today) and yesterday we had THE party for my grandmother's 90th birthday (which is actually this coming Thursday). We had family coming from all over. Even family I had never met. We - of course - had the obligatory family pictures that no one wanted to be in and everyone is glad we did. I told Lilly she couldn't have any dessert until after the pictures. Good decision as you can see here...Lilly vs Chocolate Fountain...I guess its a draw:
This is all on the heels of Lilly having a wicked bug late this week. No puking or anything, just wicked high fevers. She was hitting 103+ for 4 days. Ugh. But, she was feeling better Saturday, and after motrin, a forced nap, A LOT of sugar at the party, she was a whole new woman and ready to party. SO, we headed to my mom's late last night to hang with my cousins at the unofficial after party. She arrived in PJs and loved it. It also allowed us to hang out today and have a nice casual day. We hung out at the pool in my folks' neighborhood and Maren cooked a great dinner. Very nice weekend.

Tomorrow is Lil's first day of "Summer Camp" at her old daycare. Montessorri has a summer program, but it is 1) too expensive, 2) worse hours than the regular year and 3) not the crazy fun summer I want for her. So, I went back and enrolled her at her old place for their "Pre K" summer camp. I have heard great things in the past...about 3 field trips a week and swim lessons. Sounds fun. Most fun? Hanging w/ Jackson and Carleton all summer.

And...lastly.... me and my great Dad circa 1976. I can't give Lilly a Dad...but she has a great Grandaddy, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Fun Summer Friday Night

We had a classic, fun, summer Friday tonight. It was waaaay above 90 today, and VERY humid. But, our Buddy Carleton had a T Ball game, so Jackson's family & our family grabbed a quick bite after work and headed to the local ball field to watch him play. Only problem...the other team never showed. So, they eventually called the game off. But, teh concession stand was set up, there were parents & kids hanging around - so Lilly & Jackson joined in batting practice & running the bases. And I mean RUNNING. My little sweaty girl...her hair was just soaked & plastered to her head. As Jackson's dad put it...not a single hair on her head could move. After our "game" we headed to the park next to the ball field...and after teh kids were completely run into the ground, we headed to the local ice cream dive "Monty's Penguin" (for you old Mt Toppers....very similar feel to Mac's!) for a cool treat. Very fun. Hot night, baseball, playground, good friends, ice cream. It doesn't get much better than that.

Oh...and in the past 10 days or so you could say that my house is where (litterally) the shit hit the fan. Or the AC anyway. Had to replace the main sewer line after having raw sewage back up in teh side yard (lovely). While the front yard was still dug up for the sewer line and surrounded in yellow caution tape, the ac died...requiring an entirely new system. Ouch. But, I am thrilled to say that I can flush the toilets in confidence, and it is nice and cool in my house despite it being over 90 outside. The money will work out at some point. Despite my summers of roughing it at Mountain TOP, flushing toilets and working AC are no longer optional in my life.

Fast Weekend of Florida Fun!

Lilly and I headed down to Florida for a long weekend of fun with my dear old friend Farzana, and I finally got to meet thew newest addition to her family - baby Dani!

Lilly fit right in with the three boys (Zaki - age 6 1/2, Adam, not quite 2, and Dani 10 months) and had a blast. Unfortunately she did a face plant on the sidewalk the first night we were there, so all of the pictures show her lovely nose scar. She's fine...it will just take a while for the scab to clear.

Thursday we saw Zaki's school show (200 kindergarteners...200!...and all their parents, extended families, video recorders, etc....and each kid had a line! and LOTS of songs...and no AC...ouch). We got there really, really early (partly a mistake...we only meant to be really early to get a good seat, but had the time wrong, hence the really, really....) But, they enjoyed playing around in the school and on the stage. After an hour in the heat we saw Zaki do his line with great gusto, and then Lilly and I escaped out to the fresh air for the rest of the show. Friday we played at a splash park during the day and headed to Downtown Disney that evening, which was a blast! It was just walking around and looking at all the over the top restaurants, crazy stores, etc. There was a great Lego store that had all these bins where you could build cars and race them. And, we got to "dig for dinosaur" fossils, which was a big hit. Saturday Lil and I headed to Sea World in the morning, where Farz, Zaki & Adam joined us in the afternoon after Zaki's soccer game. It was great.

Lilly has developed a "collection" of sorts. She has started collecting those cheesy penny souveneirs (where you pay 50 cents to squish a penny and stamp it with a picture of whatever place you just were). At first I thought it was lame. But, she has gotten into it, and has them from several different places. And... it occurred to me...what else could she collect that would 1) only cost me 51 cents, and 2) fit into my change purse? So...suddenly I was a fan of cheesy pennies instead of stuffed animals, movies, figurines, etc. Here she is adding to her collection at two different spots....

Wanna guess Lil's favorite parts of the trip?

Wearing matching shirts with her mom. (Not my favorite to be matchy matchy...but she loves it soooo much when we match, so its worth it)

Riding in Zaki's booster seat instead of her car seat back home. Visiting the cockpit on the airplane (sorry - no pic - I didn't get to go !)

Lego car race at Downtown Disney ...

Finding a giant lego dog that looks exactly like her stuffed animal "labradog" that she named Jackson

Playing with Zaki and all the boys! Sea World's roller coaster! No pics either....I had hoped she could ride w/ Zaki (and I thought what a cute pic it would be as I waited with them in line). But, alas, she is still under the magical 42 inches, so I had to ride with her....ugh...(I am not a fan of roller coasters....come one 42 inches!)

My favorite part?

Spending time with my best friend of almost 20 years, watching all of our children play together, truly enjoy each other, and having Farz & I enjoy the general chaos of this phase of our lives.

Pirate Paaaarrrrty!!!

Ahoy Everyone! We had Lilly's 4th B Day party yesterday...and it was a blast. A pirate's cannon blast! Her little buddies, and a big buddy (my friend Rhonda that Lilly still considers a kid), and their families all came...and we had a great time. The weather was PERFECT, so we were able to be outside most of the time. Enjoy all the pictures.

We made pirate ships out of uhaul boxes, and they were a big hit. They especially loved walkin the plank between the two ships.

This was Lilly's take on Tee ball...I guess it is sword ball, or pirate ball or something.....

And of course...Happy Mother's Day. Mother's Day is one of those holidays with so many layers to it. And, in the end it is about sacrificial love. We give thanks to and for our moms. As a mom, my little one gives me a hand made necklace and a hug. And as a mom, I give thanks for getting to be a mom. It is so amazing, and I am so glad to be having this experience. And, I give thanks for the other important mothers in her life - her birthmom and her foster mom, who gave her life, love, and taught her what mothers were, and how families loved.

So - Happy Mother's Day...to all who are moms, to mom's who have made adoption plans, to moms who have fostered, to single dads who play both roles, to women who act as mothers to others, and women wanting and waiting to be mothers. Its a day for all of us....c

Still Here...

Just haven't had a minute to upload the pics from our busy busy spring. Lilly had a great spring break...including a lot of fun at Busch Gardens. We are loving being on the PIRATES soccer team. We "won" our first game. The second two games were inside on a basketball court due to rain...and lets just say we are most assuredly NOT an indoor team. But - the kids have figured out which direction they are supposed to run. Its funny. Lilly does pretty well practicing...she can dribble really well, and she can kick the ball to a target more or less. But, at practice every kid has a ball. Where Lilly struggles is when there is only 1 ball, 2 teams (12 kids), and everyone mushed together trying to get the ball. She hasn't quite mastered the agression tactic. But, she gets the quite the work out running up and down the field / court, and enjoys teh idea of being on a team. And even more enjoys the idea of hanging out with Jackson & Mr. Coop all in matching outfits.

Speaking of Mr. Jackson....he turned the big 0-4 yesterday. We had a blast at his birthday party, appropriately decked out in sports attire for the event. Lilly - of course - came in her soccer jersey (she doesn't have the same plethora of sports jerseys that some of her friends have). I remember Jackson's 1st birthday...I went alone, as Lilly wasn't home yet. Amazing how much can change so fast.

Happy Easter

Had a great Easter weekend. Got up Saturday and dyed the eggs. Then we went to a giant Easter party on Saturday....massive egg hunt, bouncy house, totally wonderfully over the top. Abby & her mom came over early and we went together. The girls loved it. We met up with Carleton there...and all three enjoyed there time!

Saturday night after Lilly went to bed, the Easter Bunny unfortunately discovered that the plastic eggs and grass she thought she had were nowhere to be found. But, a quick call to a neighbor pleading for one of the teenage boys to come sit at the house while the Easter Bunny ran to Rite Aid. An absolute Easter miracle! SO..after the momentary panic, the Easter basket was a lovely hit. She loved it.

That afternoon, family and friends came to dinner, and we had a great time.

Lilly's school is closed this week for spring break. I took today off, and the two of us had a truly lovely day....playing all morning, playing at the park, outside picnic, long walk, great nap, playing in the backyard....all good stuff. Tomorrow she gets allergy testing in the morning...ugh. But, she gets to spend the rest of the day & night at her grandparents house. Should be a fun week...some days with them, some with me...including a day at Busch Gardens! And the weather is INCREDIBLE.

Easter night Lilly was channeling her inner pirate (which is also the name of her new soccer team - coached by Mr. Coop...more to follow!)