We've Got A Walker!

This week, Georgia decided she is a walker! It is so cute!

She does pretty well toddling around...


But still ends up in this position... a lot!

We Caught A Frog!

During the summer months we have so many little frogs around our yard. The boys LOVE it when we are able to catch one. The poor little frogs don't know what hit them when they find themselves in the care of these two! Wally told me that he and Will were going to take care of this frog, so we would be the daddy and Will would be the mommy. Unfortunately, the little guy hopped out of Wally's hands just a few minutes later and we lost him. Wally went to bed pretty upset about that. That frog doesn't know how lucky he got!

I'm Sick

Sick inside that is. You probably all remember "Baby." Wally's little stuffed elephant friend. We can't find Baby anywhere. The last sighting I remember of Baby was at the post office with Wally rubbing the poor thing all over the floor. But now, just gone, I called the post office... nothing. Wally asks about Baby a lot, but I think deep down he knows that Baby is gone. It has been a while too, I just kept hoping Baby would turn up. It feels like the end of an era. Part of me can't believe Wally let Baby out of his sights long enough to get left behind, but maybe that is a sign that it will be alright and he has out grown Baby a little. He has started to carry other animals around occasionally, but it is nothing like before. I would have liked to keep Baby at least in a box somewhere just to remember the love and comfort Wally found in the mangled elephant. Truth be told, I am more upset by it than Wally.

You won't believe this, but while I am sitting here typing Wally has just come and asked me where Baby is because he made a shirt and cape out of paper for Baby to wear. I had to tell him Baby is still lost. I think I have to go cry now. I am going to think about offering a reward. I could hang up a wanted poster at the post office. Baby, wherever you are, we love you!!!

The Luncheon

Lacey and I hosted a ladies luncheon at my house on Saturday. It was a lot of fun to get together with good friends and get to know new people better. Thanks to everyone who came and made it so much fun! I wish I had gotten more pictures of the guests. I wasn't concentrating on that at the time, so thanks Lois Jean for making us snap the few pictures we got! Thanks for all your help Lacey! You are so great, and my kitchen would have looked like a hurricane hit when the guests arrived, if not for you!

One Big Fat Lip

It is pretty rare that Wally gets hurt badly. But yesterday he had a crash and burn into the curb. I was working outside and didn't see it happen even though he was only about twenty yards away, and didn't hear anything, because when Wally does get hurt he is not much of a crier. It took Will telling me "Wally sad." to know that anything happened. When I got over to Wally there was blood all over him and on the sidewalk, and he was crying quietly. But he did tell me that it hurt really bad and to make it stop. Poor guy. He walked around the grocery store with his hand over his mouth today so the people wouldn't laugh at him. I don't know where the self consciousness comes from, but I do feel bad for our fat lipped little boy.

T-Ball

Wally started T-Ball a couple of weeks ago and has been so excited to get out there and hit the ball. The minute we arrived on the field for the first practice he ran all the bases and he has been pretty good at getting the hang of the whole thing. The only problem has been his getting bored in the outfield, but he is not the only one by a long shot. Kids are wandering or staring off into the distance all over the place out there. It is so cute to watch these little ones run the wrong direction, sit down and play in the dirt, or as one little boy did, throw the ball at the fans in the bleachers instead of to home plate. Luckily we were all good at ducking.

Wally gets hot and tired by the time the last few innings come around, so we have to give him pep talks to finish the game, and of course, we couldn't get through the game without Will running out on the field and me having to chase him down. It was so sad because then he laid his head down and kept saying, "I wanna play into the baseball game." In a few years bud!

The Astros number one player.

Batting...

Running...

The Astros number one fan.

It Is Not Fun When...

It is not fun when you lose power for days at a time. We know this because it happened two weeks ago.

It is not fun when the tornado siren goes off during your kid's nap, and you have to wake them up and carry them to the basement while thy cry because they are scared. We know this because it happened a week ago. I also learned that my kids and I would not be a quick moving group in an emergency.

It is not fun when your power goes off, (again) while a big mixture of homemade ice cream is churning away because neighbors are coming over to enjoy it. And it is not fun when you have to go tell them never mind on the ice cream and throw it down the drain because it goes bad after then power being off for almost ten hours! We know this because it happened last Sunday.

It is not fun when you are awakened in the middle of the night by a terrified baby and (again) tornado sirens, and you have to haul sleepy children to the basement where yet again, the power goes off for twelve hours! At least Del was here to help me carry them all down this time. We know this because it happened last night.

Tonight Del is staying over at Youth Conference, and we had better not be forced to learn just how "not fun" another night of this can be!

My rant on the excitement of living in tornado territory. We are ready for tornado season to end. Our flash lights are getting far too much use!

In For A Swim

My kids love nothing more than the five dollar plastic pool in the back yard. Last night we let Georgia take her first dip in the pool with the boys. This girl could not have been happier. She was so determined to get up the slide, and then shoot back down and land, usually with her head under water, only to jump back up and try again. Wally and Will think that watching her is pretty hilarious, and Del and I think that her chubby little baby body is a hoot in her pink polka dot swimming suit. We LOVE summer. We have to live it up around here! Wally found a bird's nest. He was so fascinated by it, so we had to snap a picture. My kids and water, equal hours of fun!

If You Can't Beat Em', Join Em'

I let my basement and my kids bedrooms sit for five days looking like something wild had run through them. (Something wild had run through them. Four little boys for two days of play!) I realized as I was cleaning it all up today that I had not let it drive me crazy until that moment. Something that is very unlike me. So now I must ask myself the question, "Am I becoming more, or less sane?"