July 24 - Evicting Tigger

I'd like to introduce you to our guest currently residing in the attic: Tigger the Squirrel*. Tigger must be an exotic tropical squirrel who likes to live in extreme heat, because no joke, it must be over 120 degrees up there. 

So, how did Tigger come to live here? Your guess is as good as mine. I heard 'something' scratching up there a few days ago during the day and JD finally discovered our furry friend yesterday morning. He found where he is coming in and has set a trap for him. As for the kids, I'm sure you can imagine they are really excited about this. This morning I was asked "How did Tigger (Julia named him) sleep last night?" "Where is Tigger?" "Is he stuck in the cage?" Let's hope he is catching and we patch up the hole fast....I'm not a fan of rodents of any kind!

*this is not an actual picture of Tigger the Squirrel, just something I found online

July 16 - Flying Meatball

Happy July dimpled munchkin fans. Can you believe we are already in the middle of July. Julia starts kindergarten in 6 weeks, I can't believe it!! Where does the time go? I keep asking her if she stay 4 years old forever, this age is just so much fun. 

This past weekend was really fun. We went to a friends house for swimming and pizza on Friday and then Hannah's 6th birthday part (swim party) on Saturday. We did a family movie night Saturday and watched the first 'Despicable Me' (it was really cute). We had a lazy Sunday at home relaxing and playing. 

Here are some videos I took Friday of Julia...look at that tuck position!! I think we may have a future diver on our hands!!

Front Flip

Back Flip

Freestyle

July 12 - The Power of Dimples

The best day of the week for Luke? Tuesday. We have a standing date at Starbucks every week while Julia is at cheer. He loves the pumpkin bread and chocolate milk. This past week, when we were ordering, he flashed his dimples at the Starbucks employee and she said "Oh my goodness, look at those dimples. He is just too cute, here, have the pumpkin bread at no charge. Enjoy it sweetie!"

As is Starbucks isn't fabulous enough, we also get frozen custard after cheer with Julia and her friends (Emma and Evey). The last 2 weeks the owner has given Luke a free dessert because he is 'just too cute with those dimples.'  

So here he is folks- the cutest little boy in Texas!

July 10 - Virginia Wedding Fun

JD and I traveled to Virginia a couple weeks ago to celebrate our friend Andrew's wedding (to the amazing Tammy). This was our first solo trip without the kids and we had a rough start to say the least. We have a 7am flight out of Houston, which means we were up very early (left the house at 4:30am). Our flight was delayed over 3.5H due to crew rest and then a mechanical problem. Delta refused to rebook us to Richmond (our tickets were into DCA Reagan) and we luckily made our connecting flight in Atlanta after literally running from gate to gate. We flew to DC and couldn't land due to weather issues, so they decided to land at the other DC airport, Dulles. We were told we could get off the plane, but they were going to refuel and fly back to Reagan. Our luggage would not be taken off at Dulles. Ahh! So we exited the plane (around 4:30pm), got a rental car and drove....1.5H from airport to airport. Keep in mind this drive was only about 20 miles!!

Friday afternoon DC traffic, fantastic, let me tell you! Well, we arrive at Reagan to find out the plane was still sitting at Dulles. Delta told us they'd call when the  plane arrived, so we went to the mall and did a little shopping. We never heard from Delta and went back at 8:30pm, our luggage had just arrived! We then drove 2H to Richmond. Yikes. Long day but we ended up having a great time. JD did call Delta and tried to get them to change our outbound tickets to leave out of Richmond, and being the customer savvy company they are....they refused! JD encourages everyone to fly Delta (hehe...NOT).

The Mill at Fine Creek - gorgeous venue outside of Richmond

The happy couple

JD and one of his best friends from Tampa, Ben

JD cooling off

Really cool grooms cake

The new couple left in an antique Bentley

Another cute one of Christine and JD

Want to see a great wedding video? Check this out! It's a flash mob!

First Dance - someone took dance lessons!

July 8 - Feeling Hot, Hot Hot!

Sorry for the lack of posts in June, it was a crazy month. A family member (I'll call them the 'FM' since they prefer to be kept anonymous on the blog) visited last month and we had a blast. We jam packed a lot of activities into a long weekend, including Julia's dress rehearsal, dance recitals (they did 2 performances), a trip to the children's museum, Luke's gymnastics, a trip to the Houston zoo (we got to see a baby elephant swimming in the water, it was awesome!!), a train ride around a park downtown, dinner at the Aquariam (really cool restaurant at the Kemah Boardwalk with a huge fishtank), Julia's cheer awards, pool time and fun at the house. The kids and FM had a blast!!! Amelia also loved having someone throw the ball for her. Unfortunately, FM had to leave but we look forward to FM's next visit. Thanks for visiting!!

In other news, summertime means..you guessed it, swimming! Our neighborhood pool is closed on Wednesdays but we go almost ever other day of the week for a few hours. The kids love it. I'm Julia's "swim teacher" this year and she is doing great. Her favorite thing is going off the diving board (of course) but she practices her swimming first for about 30min every day. We started off focusing on streamlining and kicking the first few weeks (she did 50 yards like this!) and now she's added her arms. She does a pretty good freestyle (still working on the breathing) and can easily do 25 yards now. She is definitely a little fish and loves the water! She is pretty good at the back float, handstands and taught herself a forward roll under the water. Diving for rings is also a prime time activity. Luke loves to jump off the side and LOVES when daddy throws him in the air. I love my water babies!!

Looking for boats and trains (from Aquarium restaurant in Kemah)

Splash pad fun at the zoo (Luke didn't want to play)

Strike a pose!

New pinwheel in the garden from FM

Throw me higher daddy!

Julia's jump 360 (she is fearless!)

 And finally-happy first day of kindergarten Victoria!!! We hope you had a fabulous first day!!

June 17 - Beautiful Ballerinas

Ladies and gentlemen! I am proud to introduce the most beautiful ballerina cousins, who both danced in their recitals the same weekend (2 weeks ago). 

Julia Elise - "Painting the Roses Red"

Victoria Grace - "eHarmony"

Dress Rehearsal "Painting the Roses Red" (Julia is the first one on the left who runs out to her spot)

June 4 - Come On Crowd Let's Hear It, Yell RED!

Come on crowd let's hear it, yell Red. 
RED!
Show us your spirit, yell Black. 
BLACK!
Now we know you feel it, yell White. 
WHITE!
Put it all together, yell Red, Black, White. 
RED! BLACK! WHITE!

The League City Sparks competed in the small team competition a few weeks ago and placed 5th. Great job Sparks!! I was a 'helper mom' which means I stayed in the back gym with the girls and kept them occupied when they weren't competing. We played a lot of intense games of duck duck goose to stay busy. We had a blast!

Lining up with all the other teams

The girls competed first and were adorable. Here they are about to go into the gym.

Team Picture (sorry, it's not the best quality. I was zooming in with my phone)

The girls with Coach Jasmine

The Competition (Julia is third from the left)

Spirit Stick! Julia was awarded this a few weeks before the showcase for her hard work and dedication (it's given out weekly). 

Last night was award night and Julia earned a green pom (3rd color level) and a trophy. She is really excited about her trophy!!

May 30 - Early Mornings

Last Tuesday....

"I stretched my arms and legs and opened my eyes. It was still dark outside but I felt rested. Another great night of sleep! I got out of bed, opened my door and decided to see what Julia was up to. I opened her door and she appeared to be sleeping. Really, sleeping at this hour? It was time for breakfast and time to play. I touched her shoulder but she didn't wake up. Hmm..how else should I wake her up? I got it! She hates loud noises, this should work. I took a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs:

"JULIA!!! WAKE UP!! LET'S GO PLAY!! JULIA!! JULIA!!"

Next thing I know, Mommy comes running into the room and picks me up quickly. She said "What are you doing? It's 2am in morning. You need to go back to sleep." I stared at her and realized she was putting me back in bed. Darnit! I told her "Please don't lock me in my room. I'll go back to sleep." She tucked me in, rubbed my head and next thing I knew, the sun was shining through my window. 

Thursday (2 days later)...

"Another great night of sleep. I stretched and decided to go wake up Mommy for breakfast. I was super hungry for my oatmeal. I looked in her room and didn't see her there. I looked in the green room (also known as our guest room) and didn't see her. Hmm. Sometimes she sits outside with Amelia late at night or in the mornings. Let me check. I walked downstairs, grabbed my little chair and looked at the back window. No Mommy and no Amelia. I decided to lock the doorknob on the back door. Hey, why not? I brought my little chair into the foyer and stood on it. I took a deep breath and started screaming: 

"MOMMY!! MOMMY!! MOMMY!! MOMMY!!" 

I knew if I kept yelling she would show up. And guess what? She came running from upstairs and asked me "What are you doing? It's 2:30am! You need to go to sleep." Hot diggity. I really thought it was morning this time. I asked her not to lock my door as I drifted back to sleep.

May 28 - Little Chefs

Julia's class dressed up as little chefs for Mother's Day and served us delicious baked goods and punch. They then surprised us with two songs and you guessed it-Julia had a blast singing and dancing!! Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!

Cutest Little Chefs 

Jules and Mommy

Homemade card

You Are My Sunshine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQdrsvAxZgY

You Don't Know You're Beautiful (She's such a performer! Singing and dancing!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEKIrtBV_w4

May 17 - Zoo

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here lately (unseasonably cool for May) so the kids and I decided to take a trip to the zoo before the heat and humidity settle in for the summer. We ate lunch next to the giraffes and saw our favorite animals: elephants, lions, tiger (there is only one), chimps and then took a train ride around Hermann Memorial Park. All around, a great day!

Lunch with the coolest view ever

Carousel fun (it's very difficult to get Luke to smile nicely for a photo these days)

Aquarium 

Kids play area - I love Julia's ballerina pose on the net

Are those groundhogs?

Elephant statue

Train Ride around Memorial Hermann Park

Mmm..orange push pop!