out of the mouths of precious kiddos..

After school Taggert & Riley were playing with Taelyn outside.. they were running all over the driveway & in the garage, and having lots of little discussions.. I was reading & not really paying attention, so I didn't catch anything they were saying..
a little later Taggert talked back & I asked him to go inside.. at which point, Riley turned to Taelyn & said "so.. Daddy's out of town.." turns out, they were playing house- Taggert was Daddy, Taelyn was Mommy & Riley told me he was the "older son".. I had to laugh at how quickly Riley was able to improvise..

What was that?...

I'm sitting next to Troy just now when a commercial for the new season for Dancing With The Stars comes on, showing the new roster of dancers.. Excitedly he says, "hey, it's going to be a good season!".. what?!?

The first day of school..

Today was Taggert's first day of 2nd grade, with Riley beginning a new preschool year at Primrose... Everyone was up early this morning, with Taggert bouncing around & singing some song about being a second grader.. when I picked him up & asked how it went on the first day, he said "awesome".. I'm grateful that they still get excited about going to school.. let's hope it lasts..

Last day before school starts...

We wanted to find a way to celebrate the last day of summer vacation.. Carol & I had read about Hey Cupcake in Austin, a cute little airstream trailer parked on South Congress that only serves cupcakes.. it sounded like the perfect place for little celebrations..
so, after I was done with work, we gathered the troops & headed south.. as you can see from the photo, we were met with a "sold out" sign when we got there.. which left us with some upset little boys..
Luckily, just down the street from Hey Cupcake, is another Austin original, Amy's Ice Cream.. We activated Plan B, and started telling the boys that cupcakes are overrated (so they wouldn't get too upset about it).. Everyone got their choice (how about dark chocolate with gummy bears??) & we took a stroll up Congress... this lasted about 4 minutes until a crazy rainstorm hit.. you would think this would be bad, but with 5 little boys eating ice cream in the Texas heat, a little water comes in handy for all those sticky faces & fingers..

It's finally open...

It seems so long ago when many of the families on our street and around the block were attending evening school board meetings in our Teravista t-shirts, united in getting a new elementary built in our neighborhood.. Two years later, it's finally ready to open, just in time for Taggert's 2nd grade year.. it's so exciting to see the hard work pay off with the opening of Teravista Elementary..
On Friday night we went up to the school to meet his new teacher & drop off his school supplies.. what a special surprise to find Taggert's friend (and sometime "girlfriend" since kindergarten) Hannah will be in his class again this year.. not sure if I'm ready for the love notes again so soon..
I'm excited that all of us are involved with the school once again- this time as active committee chairs on the PTA. no doubt we will make it a special year for our kiddos..

Nate the Great!

Happy birthday Nathan Sippel! So hard to believe you are TEN YEARS OLD! I'm really going to need the kiddos on this street to stop growing up so fast!!

A sick day...

I worked from home today to stay with my little guys & their upset tummies.. with just the three of us here, I noticed a couple of consistent traits throughout the day..
Taggert is my little pleaser.. to keep them busy while I worked, I asked them to draw me some pictures.. Riley drew whatever he wanted, no matter what I asked for.. but Taggert wanted to draw exactly what he thought I might want, asking clarifying questions to be sure.. he's been that way since he was very small.. he has an independent spirit, but always checks to make sure it's acceptable..
And then there's Riley.. my little loverboy... Taggert is right on the bubble where extra hugs & kisses may be just a little too much.. but not Riley.. anytime any two people are hugging in our house, Riley shouts out "group hug!" and comes running over at full steam, as if he might be missing out.. then he squeezes with all his might, not letting go until he gets a kiss.. and pleaser Taggert reluctantly holds on until Riley feels he's gotten enough hugs..
there's no doubt these little traits won't last, but until then I'll try and soak up every moment..

Olympics..

Does anyone else's face hurt from watching too much Olympic coverage?.. if I sit down for too long to watch the games, after a while, I notice my face hurting from clenching my jaw as if some how my being more focused will help the athletes.. thank you Michael Phelps for winning your final race last night so I was at least able to sleep easily.. watching the Olympics is stressful!!.. ha ; )

Taggert wasn't feeling well...

.... after dinner tonight, and thought he might have to throw up.. so I sat him on the couch with a glass of water and a bucket.. when I went back in the living room to check on him a little while later, I found him like this....

guess he's feeling a little better..

Saturday..

no bugs in this pool, except for the little snuggle bugs we brought with us
Adyson showing us her new school shoes
caught in the act: Riley helping Austin escape to the golf course
Our plan Saturday was to get up & head to the neighborhood pool... unfortunately, the pool has been invaded by some crazy parasites & has been shut down for massive chlorinating.. Luckily, Jamie & Joel called to invite us to their pool (with no parasites).. Joel took some awesome pictures of the kiddos with his underwater camera which I'll post when he sends them..

After lounging around the pool for awhile, Mike & Mandy had us over for dinner.. the boys hit golf balls at dusk while the girls sat on the back porch and sang at the top of our lungs to 80's songs from Mike's ipod... my apologies to anyone who might have heard us.. clearly, we aren't professionals.. ; )

this week....

...was too long... I spent 5 days downtown, helping with a convention for work.. Troy left for El Paso Wednesday morning, and I was back that afternoon (thank you Carol for closing the small parenting gap for us!).. The boys joined me at my hotel downtown one night for dinner & a movie as we all cuddled up in the bed.. Riley has said before he would like to live in a hotel, so this worked out well for him.. by Thursday night everyone was back home & settled in.. looking forward to a quiet weekend..

Love to share..

I love to share neat things I come across.. a friend I haven't talked to in a while sent this to me the other day, and I just got around to watching it.. being the cynic that I am, I checked it out, and it looks like it's legitimate... for sure, it's a compelling story, but also a touching video to share with a friend you haven't talked to in awhile..

The rest of the weekend..

the kiddos enjoying Jungle Java
the boys earning their keep at the Jungle Java
using the hot tub jets & pool noodles as giant water guns
enjoying the 104 degree heat in style
serious focus during Guitar Hero
intense game of bolo golf

We stayed on the run this weekend.. Saturday morning after the sleepover, we loaded up with the Sippels and introduced Jackson & Jordan to the Jungle Java.. they, too were quickly sucked in- running around sweaty & red-faced. After they left, we headed over the Joel & Jamie's to enjoy their beautiful pool & great cooking (new favorite grilled meat: tri-tip).. a couple of folks ended up in the pool unexpectedly which means someone had to buy a new camera for someone else this morning, but all was good..

Sunday meant errands for me (including a stop at the nail salon with Mandy) while the boys hung out by the pool, then over to Mike & Mandy's for even more good food, a serious Guitar Hero contest & a not so serious game of bolo golf.. we are all just going to have to go back to work to relax! here's hoping your weekend was equally rewarding!

Friday night..

Trying new appetizers & cocktails with the neighbors (Carol's jalapenos go from hottest to pure fire..) & a slumber party with the boys & our God children.. we've been so busy lately, this was the perfect end to a busy month..