The "Not Me" gremlin strikes again!

Joel is quite honest when he gets caught about the mischief he has been up to. He will sometimes try to hid when he is doing the deeds, but once caught he usually confesses. He confesses for Evan, too, which is immediately met with a cry of, "No, I didn't!" by Evan.
This past week, I noticed something new about Joel's hair when I got up one morning. It had some holes in spots. Joel admitted he cut it and then added that Evan helped. Of course, Evan denied this vehemently.
Later in the morning, I noticed that there holes in the back of Joel's head of hair, too. I asked Evan how he thought Joel could have cut his hair in the back by himself, and he said sheepishly, "I don't know." Joel immediately chimed in, "Evan did the back." Evan continued to look sheepish and neither confirmed nor denied. In this case I believe silence truly was consent.
I cut the boys' hair that day to try to make it better. There are still noticeable bald spots, but it is some better. I cut Evan's as well, because he knew better than to do that. I told him that his hair would be cut as short as Joel's since he helped with the cutting. Since he hates for me to cut his hair, I am hoping that was enough of a lesson for him.

Birthday Bash at the Ballpark!

Since Evan enjoyed going to the Rangers games so much last year, I offered to take a few friends to a ballgame this year as his birthday party. He was excited about that, so off we went! It was a smaller party (kid-wise) than usual for him, because we were concerned about keeping track of too many kids. We had more adults than kids most of the time, and that ended up being a good thing. The kids were real troopers, but it was hot and a terribly long game! It was almost 100 degrees and the game lasted just over 4 hours. In fact, it was the longest game of the season so far.

We started out with some hot dogs and cake at our house before the game. I tried a new cake for the occasion - chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. It was so good! The baseball was white cake mix with red and blue sprinkles inside (for the Rangers, or course). I thought the cake was a big hit! (ba-dum-dump!)

We got to the ballpark a little later than I had hoped, but still before the game started. The kids all got jerseys when they entered the stadium. Then we found our seats which were in the full sun on very hot bleachers. Since the game was about to start, we decided to hang out and watch a little before trying out the Sportspark. The Sportspark is an area behind centerfield where the kids can play games. They played some together, but then they were interested in different games. I think they all had fun at this part. (Here was where having lots of adults came in handy.)
We made it back to the stands in time to watch a little more baseball and then see this:

After that (it had been a very long six innings) we moved to some shady seats to watch the rest of the game. Two of our party had left earlier. Another two joined another family member who was also at the game (and who they were riding with). The rest of us sat back in nice, cool, shaded seats and enjoyed some final snacks before trekking back to the van for the ride home. A long day, but Evan had a great time and I think I can safely say we will all definitely remember this party!

End of the school year

So many things going on at the end of the school year!

Evan had a field trip to the Dallas Arboretum and field day in the same week! (I got a sunburn both days, too.) Unfortunately, my camera was being repaired, so I don't have any digital pictures to share. That didn't bother Evan, of course, and he had a great time.

The next week was the last week of school. On Thursday he had his final awards day of the year. He was one of three kids in his class to have received "All E's" for the entire year. (This is the same as all A's, but doesn't get called that until second grade.) I was proud of how hard he has worked this year, and excited for him because he really does enjoy it (both school and the awards).


On Friday, the last day of school, everyone got out early. We all went to a local sprayground with some other friends from school to celebrate. We spent a good couple of hours there, and the kids had a lot of fun. It was a nice way to celebrate the beginning of summer vacation!

The peaches are ready!

As we drove back in from Granbury we were greeted with an unpleasant sight: one of the limbs on our peach tree had cracked from the weight of the peaches. This was the second limb to crack this year, even though Steve had pruned the tree and thinned out the peaches. I think we have learned to thin it out even more and maybe even earlier in the season.

The peaches were (mostly) ready to be picked anyway, so Steve picked a lot that night. There were still a lot left on the tree, so some friends came over to help pick the next day. We almost cleaned off the broken limb that morning. I finished it off that afternoon. I had lots to share and lots to eat here.




We still have some on the tree, so if you live close by and want to pick some for yourself, call me! We would love for them to find good homes (or bellies)!

Memorial Day in Granbury

Since Grandma was in town, Steve was off from work, and neither of the boys had school, Memorial Day seemed to be a perfect day to drive to Granbury. It was nice to just get away from home and all of the things to do - even if it was for just one day.

One of the highlights of the trip for the boys was going to a swimming pool with a diving board. Evan was a little nervous at first, but then we had trouble getting him off when it was time to leave. Joel tried a few times, but didn't like it as much. He wanted to cover his ears when he went off the board. Of course, after I got my camera out and ready to take pictures, he didn't want to dive anymore.





Another highlight was getting to play with all of their dad's old Lego sets. They even got to pick out some to bring home! Joel picked a big castle and Evan picked some cool cars. Since Joel likes to make his own designs, Steve has been busy at nights putting the sets back together. (We have lost a few pieces from the boys sets, and really don't want to lose any of the pieces from these.)

We also brought back the other bed so that the boys can have bunk beds. We haven't assembled them yet, but it is on the "to-do" list.

All-in-all it was a relaxing day for us. However, it's important to remember the real reason that we set aside this day as a holiday and be thankful for those men and women who have given their lives so that our country can remain free. And I was saying extra prayers that day for my nephew who is currently serving our country overseas. So, I would like to thank all of our great veterans and their families - especially those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Thank you!

Happy Birthday, Dear Evan!

I forgot to put the memory card back in my camera after I got the camera back from the repair center. So, the pictures I took of Evan's birthday breakfast and present opening didn't get saved anywhere. I did get some pictures from his afternoon present - a new bike! Now Joel can officially claim Evan's old one, which he has been riding for a while anyway.


Evan did have a nice birthday, including some quality time with Grandma who was visiting. In our family the birthday person gets to pick out the meals for the entire day. He started the day off with french toast and strawberries. After breakfast he got to open some of his presents from us and Grandma & Grandpa. He went to church for his last day with his first grade group. After church, he had macaroni & cheese and hot dogs for lunch. I stayed after church for a meeting, so on my way home I picked up his bike as an afternoon surprise. The day was topped off with a tasty dinner of frozen pizza. He seemed to really enjoy his birthday and I enjoyed reminiscing about how he has grown these past few years!

from this ...


to this in 7 short years