Summer Snippets

It's only taken me all summer -- with me thinking about it at least once a week, and then putting it off again -- to get back to blogging. I could blame it on a temporarily lost camera, but that was pretty temporary. We've had a pretty low-key (and HOT!) summer, but it's been fun to be together. Here are some highlights:

10 Years!

Mark and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary!! Yes, ten years! We had a wonderful get-away, sans kids, to the Texas hill country. It was so, so wonderful to be together and relax! I'm so lucky to be married to such a loving, dedicated, optimistic, grounded, geniune -- not to mention devilishly handsome -- man!

The Texas Hill Country (I can't take credit for the picture and I'm not sure we saw these particular hills, but it is the prettiest part of Texas I've seen so far)

Sharing some homemade blackberry cobbler with Mexican vanilla ice cream at a farm along the road.

Fun with Friends (including sisters)

Playing with friends at the beach in Galvaston.

Doing makeovers with Mommy on a particularly stifling day

Taking in another drive-in movie

Starting Music Lessons

The older girls started music lessons -- something I've been wanting to do for awhile, but have been psyching myself up for (lots of practice hours to come!). They are really enjoying it so far (for the most part, let's hope the excitement continues!)

Having Visitors

We loved having a visit from Mom, Dad, and Dave before heading up to Dallas with them for a family reunion:

The girls and Dave taking in a birds-eye view of Houston from the top of the Chase Tower.

Enjoying a pre-Father's Day dinner before heading up to Dallas.

Family Reunion

We had a wonderful family reunion with the Ward side of the family at my sister Jennifer's house in Dallas! It was the first time in two years that we were all together (my youngest sister having just returned from her mission) and it was heaven! It was so nice of Jennifer and Matt to pack their house full of 21 people, but we had so much fun being together, listening to Dad play all of our favorite Debussy pieces on the piano, playing in the pool, getting Bobbi Brown makeovers (just the girls, of course), celebrating Mom's birthday, going through the temple with my sister Katie for the first time! (so special to be there with my parents and each of their seven children -- such a milestone!), eating yummy food -- especially Sprinkles cupcakes and a specially-imported (on Dad's lap) Smith Island layer cake, going dirt-biking, playing with Jennifer, Matt W. and Sara in a string quartet in sacrament meeting, having special Family Home Evenings, driving tours of the most opulent Dallas homes, going shopping, playing the Wii, getting pedicures from Auntie Em, having an impromtu baby shower for Matt's and Sara's baby boy, the girls playing with cousins, talking, talking, talking . . . Enough said. Can't wait for next time!

Family picture

Millie and Josh working on a project

Millie and Emma

Getting pedicures from Aunti Em -- much better than at the spa!

Picking up some decadent Sprinkles cupcakes after getting Bobbi Brown makeovers

Millie having some down time with Aunt Katie

Jane had so much fun with her cousin Jake and he was such a great sport to play with her.

Grammie and Grandpa with the grandkids (minus Lucy who was in bed)

Celebrating Mom's birthday.

Girl cousins

Ready for dirt-biking

Grandpa in the pool

Millie and David

Jane and Daddy

Grandpa playing pieces from the Debussy book Auntie Em gave him for Father's Day -- some of our favorites since he would practice them while we were going to sleep at night when we were young

The kids doing Gollywog's cakewalk to see who got the first piece of Grammie's birthday cake

Swimteam

Millie swam for our neighborhood swimteam the Tidalwaves and had a great season -- especially since she couldn't even swim a full lap when they began. We were so proud of her pluck and determination. She ended up with four fairly strong strokes, a lot of fun friends, and an assortment of different colored ribbons (a good thing that she didn't care a bit about the placement, merely the color :)) Her favorite stroke: backstroke. Her finest moment: when, during the first relay of the first meet, she swam her third position lap, turned around and swam the fourth lap behind the fourth position swimmer. No one had fully explained to her exactly what a relay was and what her part was (to swim one leg and then hop out of the pool), but she finished both laps, exausted, but having finished!

Swimming friends

Goodbye First Grade!

Millie said good-bye to First Grade with a special end-of-school picnic

Whew! Hopefully it won't take me as long to post next time!