"The Church Lady" and some of our friends' kids. Aren't they so cute? 

Stu's birthday bash. He invited a few friends over for a swim. 

Funny in so many ways. Samuel is playing some sort of ear plugging game with Uncle Jon, and Evan is licking the frosting bowl. Sally is on her way over to climb on Uncle Jon's back for a "horsie ride", which all three kids then did at the same time. Good stuff. Why are they under the table? Because it's fun.

The grandparents and their grandsons. Sally is probably underwater. That's where she was most of the weekend. 

Josh, the swashbuckling pirate. 

My Blog Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to me! I wrote my first post one year ago today. It's been so much fun to write here, and I appreciate so much the folks who read me and who comment to me. So, just for fun, leave me a comment and let me know who you are, how you found me (if you aren't a regular or family), and your blog address or website. Come on, lurkers! Here's your chance to come out of the shadows.

Family Circus - so cute. 

Quote for the Day

Whether our work is a success or a failure has nothing to do with us. Our call is not to successful service, but to faithfulness.
~ Oswald Chambers

It happened tonight at Chuck E. Cheese - the tooth that had been dangling for about a week fell out and bounced right across the table! It was a thrilling night. That's lost tooth #3. Sally is here with Grandpa Dave. 

Evan, Sally, Josh, and Samuel. Evan and Josh are my sister's boys, here for the week. They are having a ball. 

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Yeah, right.

The Weekend In Pictures

Looking through the pictures from this weekend, they are all of Sally, Samuel, or people's feet (Samuel got ahold of the camera and went on a little shooting spree). I guess that's the way it goes - it's all about the kids these days. We had a great time with Stu's family. Happy Birthday, TaiTai!

Sleeping Samuel. 

Sleeping Sally. 

Waiting to ride horses at GrandBaa's and Grandma El's ranch. 

Sally holds her newest cousin, baby Matthew. She has one more cousin on the way, due in August. So far, Sally is the only girl. And she's the oldest. The little mother. 

Uncle Giff shows the kids his fish. I was happy that Samuel didn't fall into the pond or the pool. Miracles never cease. 

A little bocce ball, with a kiss for Auntie Jen. 

Sally and Samuel play with a remote toy boat while Auntie Jen makes sure nobody falls in the pool. This is at Stu's uncle's house, where the birthday party was held. 

The family. 

Breakfast with Grandma Tina and Grandpa Ken. Bagels and cream cheese - yum! 

What do you think?

As we were driving home, we got to thinking about the Krabby Patty. (That's the sandwich that SpongeBob makes at the Krusty Krab. I know; we're pretty sad sometimes.) We think that it is not made with crab, since Mr. Krabs is the owner of the restaurant, and he's a crab. Also, probably not beef, even though it looks just like a hamburger. They are at the bottom of the ocean - not alot of cows around. I'm thinking it's a round fish sandwich, maybe with a special secret something in the mix. It's served with tartar sauce - that's why I'm thinking fish. Anyway, I got an inspired idea in the car - for Samuel's second birthday party, I'm considering doing a whole SpongeBob theme, and serving Krabby Patties for lunch. So . . . . any ideas? How should I make them?

Filled but not Finished

In the end, it took 14 hours to fill up the pool and spa. Not too bad. We won't be swimming for a few more days, though. The kind of plaster we got has 3-M color crystals in it (blue green blend) and it takes two gallons of acid to finish it properly. That acid went in on Friday morning. Then, on Tuesday, someone comes out to turn on the pump, the filter, test the lights, that sort of stuff. Then the city has to give its final thumbs up, and we're good to go. However, we can't fire up the heater until Thursday (why it can't be turned on for a week is a mystery to me, but it can't), so I'm thinking Friday or Saturday will be the first swim day. The end is near, and we're beyond excited.

I'll post later about our fun busy weekend - we went up to Northern California for Stu's grandma's eighty-fifth birthday party. She's an amazing woman. I'm happy to report that the trip up and back were uneventful (read "no puke") and we got home just in time for Desparate Housewives (what a shocking episode!) My posting might be sparse this week, because my folks are scheduled to arrive tomorrow (!) with my two nephews, and they'll be here about a week. And our family room is a mess of traveling gear and laundry (both clean and dirty) and I need to go fetch our dog from the kennel. But first I need to eat some breakfast and look at the pool. :)

9:15. This will be my last picture, as it's just too dark. We are going to figure out what time we have to wake up in the night to turn off the hoses. What an experience!!! 

8:15. It sure got dark fast. 

7:15 pm. We moved one of the hoses to fill up the spa while we ate dinner outside - beautiful night! It took about 2 hours to fill the spa. 

6:15 pm 

5:15 pm 

4:15 pm 

3:15 pm