At the Car Wash, yeah.

That's right! Scrub that tailpipe!A couple of Saturdays ago we went for a morning bike ride and then washed both our cars. The kids were awesome helpers.

We blasted music, sprayed ourselves once in a while to stay cool, and quickly worked.

Cole looks like a trucker to me in this outfit. 10-4.

In the Summertime...

...we got sprinklers, we got sprinklers on our mind.

Lesson learned: If I want to turn on the sprinklers when the kids are outside with me, they will run straight into them. Can't say I blame them.

We invited friends over on another evening to play in the sprinklers. It's the only way to be outside and comfortable AND I can water my lawn at the same time.

Fourth of July

The morning of the fourth, we headed over to what had to be the busiest church flag raising/pancake breakfast I've ever been to. And, no I didn't make it to the first five minutes of the event, which means I'm pretty sure I've never been to the most important part of these events. Jake was back in the kitchen helping to flip pancakes like a mad man.

We attending a fantastic BBQ with friends that afternoon. That evening the four of us found a grassy area to join some other randoms who had parked and set up a place to watch the city fireworks. We brought treats and water with us to beat the heat and waited for it to get dark --while we listened to the parked ice cream man's van play "Pop Goes the Weasel" for an hour. Everybody cheered when he finally left.
The fireworks were fantastic. Tessa shouted out as they started, "This is the best day ever!" The people next to us gave the kids a couple of glow toys since we must have looked like the only sad family not to have bought any. :) We were treated to some great dancing light shows from both kids prior to the fireworks.

It was a wonderfully festive (and hot, of course) day.

iPhone April - July Photo Dump

Courtesy of Jake's phone:The following is what happens when Mom isn't around and Dad is left to his own hair combing ideas.....

Fishing in Utah! This was from our May trip. And can I tell you that we had some seriously yummy onion rings for lunch on the way back? I love small town hamburger joints.

Back to the fishing... Tessa caught her first fish! She ended up catching three on the fantastic Dora the Explorer pole. Cole caught one too. The weather was cold, slightly rainy, and windy, but we were done in about half an hour. Hungry fish, I guess.





I can't seem to get the video at the end of the post moved up, but it obviously goes with this picture, which makes me smile. It's very "my dad".
My paternal grandparents and family:
Grandma R and Tessa touring the high school/work:
While staying with my mom, we bought a couple of foam swords at King's and had a blast beating each other up with them.
Dad's doing, unsurprisingly:
At the cabin/mountain villa:
Check that place out!!!
Playing with Mama (we make quite the totem):
Erica came to town! We met for dinner and went for a stroll in Grapevine:

Fourth of July --waiting for the sun to go down:

So I Don't Forget

Instead of a "yes" or "no", Cole's responses are "I doooooooo" and "no way".
Every time.
It won't last, but I sure love it.

The Cello

Before I even had a kid, I'd decided that if I had a daughter, I'd really like her to play the cello. I love that instrument. I've met a few teen girls in my life who rocked the cello, and I have admired them all. Now, I understand that Tessa may not take to it; she may want to play the maracas for all I know. And I'll support her fully in her choice. (I can't even play an instrument --do you like how I'm already pushing one on my kid?)
But a mom can dream, right?
Below is a music video from the Provo based band Book on Tape Worm. The cellist is the daughter of a good friend of mine. When she breaks out the bow for the end of the song..... I'm telling you --I love the cello.

Some Utah Pics.

Apparently I was a little one sided when I pulled out my camera, and I have no pictures of my side of the family! I believe Jake has some more pictures on his phone, though, so we'll get those and post 'em later.

We travelled to Utah at the end of May before Jake's parents took off the next week on their mission. The schedule was jam packed, and we certainly made the most of those family visits.

Here are a few photos of the park where we had the farewell luncheon (after Gma and Gpa M's talks and the family singing in church for the congregation --yes, me too. The things we do for family.) Also, it was actually sunny. Cousins playing:

Chatting with extended family and friends after downing some YUMMY food.
In between we spent a couple of days at my dad's and then at my mom's and had lovely visits with the parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces, and nephews. I will not let the pictures fall by the wayside next time.

We had a couple of days at a cabin with Jake's side of the family. I called it a villa instead of a cabin, it was that amazing. No phones or computers --I loved it. We had such a good time.




I needed this trip so badly to step away and clear my mind. I came home refreshed so I could keep on keepin' on with Jubilee.

Our whole family needed it, even if it was freezing cold.

Highlights besides the general visits: the kids catching their first fish, movie night, Dutch the creepy full service gas station attendant, long quality chats, games, fry sauce, cousins and grands taking care of the kids, walks, Memorial Day in the rain, BBQ's, curling up on a chair to read in a cabin in the mountains.