Happy Birthday, Miles!

It is hard to believe that Miles is ONE already!!! Each day with him has been a blessing! Miles' current interests include the trash, toilet paper, toys, and music. He is not walking yet, but gets up and down the stairs pretty quickly. He loves Darren and Claire, and they love him. He gave up his bottles a couple weeks ago, and loves pancakes. He can say MaMa and DaDa. He also smiles and shakes his head "no" if you tell him no. He is always happy and easygoing. Today we had a fun party to celebrate Miles' birthday with a few of our friends and family. Enjoy the pictures!

Cookie Monster Cake

Our very own cookie monster.




A great picture of my mom and dad.

Miles loves his friend Parker!

The bigger kids played outside in the pool and on the slip 'n slide.
The little kids LOVED Miles' new slide!

We love our Miles!!!

Me and my MAN!!!

Twelve months later . . . . . . .
I just love my "little manipoo!!!"

Playing with Friends

This afternoon and evening I watched my good friend Laura's kids while she got things ready for a family reunion. Her three kids are all close to the same age ours, and they had a great time together! It gave me a nice break, too. The way their imaginations work when they all get together is crazy! They made a pinata by filling a Wal-Mart bag with toys and tying it to a bedpost. Then they took turns hitting it with light sabers. Good times!

Everyone was being silly at the table. This is Miles pretending like he gets the joke. Natalie (in the highchair) is giving me the evil eye because I told her no more "gocklat milk."

Both Darren and Claire are in love with Ashley.

Say cheese!

Girl's Night Out and other happenings

Thursday was girl's night out at Cheddar's. It couldn't have come at a better time, since Jerry was out of town until Sunday! I got a babysitter, and enjoyed some yummy food and great conversation with my friends. I'm so grateful that my kids are totally comfortable with babysitters. While we were partying here, Jerry was busy helping his dad in Utah finish a shed. His dad has totally remodeled his house with a lot of amazing woodwork, new bathrooms, kitchen and basement. I'm grateful that Jerry was able to help his dad growing up, and learn how to do so many things. They enjoy doing projects together, and we always appreciate the help his dad gives us when he comes to visit. This week, I'm getting ready for Miles' Birthday Party, which will be on Saturday. We were just going to have a small family party as usual, but in the past year we have attended three neighborhood 1-year old birthday parties, so the pressure is on - but I love to throw a party, so I'm looking forward to it!

For All Cheescake Lovers:

On July 30th, in honor of its 30th Anniversary, the Cheesecake Factory will be selling its cheesecake for the original price of $1.50. Just thought ya'll might want to know - so that if you live close enough, you can go with me - and if you don't, you can be jealous!

Port Aransas

Here are some pictures from our trip to Port Aransas.

It was an 8 1/2 hour drive, including stops. This is the longest roadtrip we have attempted since Darren was a baby! I drove most of the way because Jerry had to work LATE the night before. Thanks to my good friend, Laura, and her book "Happy Little Travelers," (which is in the process of being published right now,) the drive was a success!

Here we are!

Ahh . . . the lovely beaches of Texas! This is seaweed. It was also floating in the water. I was too creeped out to go in the water the first day, but the second day the water was much clearer. We have pretty much decided that next time we will drive a few hours more and go to Florida.

Darren loved surfing on his boogie board, once Jerry showed him how. He wasn't afraid, and was able to catch a lot of waves.

Miles and Claire hung out with me in the sand. Miles loved the salty shells we found!

One very sandy baby.

One very sleepy baby.

Two very tired kids!

Looking at dolphins from the boat.

At the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi.

Lots of fish in the sea.

Did everyone have fun? YES!!!

Memory Lane

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I (or Jerry) had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

I got this from my friend, Karen.

Time to Child-Proof!

Plaaaaaay Ball!!!

I was very reluctant to become a soccer mom (0r, in our case, t-ball mom,) but overall our first season of t-ball was quite fun. The weather was great, and the kids were entertaining to watch. Darren was one of the younger kids on the team. He has kind of a funny, slow shuffle when he runs, and by the end of the season everyone was cheering louder for him than the kid batting as he ran the bases! He did get a lot faster by the end.




The highlight of the season : getting a "Golden Trophy" at the end!

For our end-of-the-year party, the team went to a Ft. Worth Cats Game. Each kid got to run out with a player and have his name called, then stand with the players for the national anthem. Darren was so proud of himself because he was able to run as fast as the player. ;)
The kids' favorite part of the game was getting to meet the "Big Kitty Cat". Claire was afraid he was going to bite her, but thought it was hilarious when she realized it was just a guy wearing a costume. Their other favorite part was finding a bunch of beads in the parking lot!

Fourth of July Festivities

There was a bit of confusion as we searched for Darren's
"Uncle Jon" hat that he made in school.

(Uncle Jon)

Finally I figured out that he meant Uncle Sam.


(Uncle Sam)

We went to our ward's annual breakfast and bike parade and had a great time.

This is Miles with our favorite babysitter, Bethany.

And of course, we have a project to work on this weekend. We are painting the downstairs guest bathroom and making a magnetic chalkboard for the playroom. I'll post pictures of those later.

Last of all, here is a picture of our day lilies for Jerry's dad. Sadly, these and the lantana are the only flowers in our garden that are really thriving this summer. Happy Fourth!