olympic break

We've been pretty busy this summer, but have been able to take in some Olympics. We went to a great opening ceremony party with themed food from all over the world. I didn't get to sample much as I woke up that morning with food poisoning. Also the reason for no pics. I barely made it to the car on the way there, but good company helped me feel better by the end of the night. The TV has been on waaaaaay more than it ever is in our house, but it's for a good reason... right? I've also gotten Elle to do a couple of Olympic crafts and activities. We did this salt/food coloring painting. Elle's didn't turn out nearly as neat, but, she loved playing with a dropper and food coloring. Then, I also had her do some toddler archery in the hallway, which I found here. I used the olympics sports page and letters she still has trouble with for Elle's target. Then I gave her a bowl of paint and an "arrow" (a pointer from school days). After a few dings in the wall I made the target bigger. (sigh) Live and learn!

Todd got into my bag and the monkeys in the meantime.

waco summer 2012 part 2

We should have called this summer the back to our roots tour. We got to reconnect with old friends on our TN/KY trip and we also got to see a lot of friends and family on the Waco trip. Thursday night we ate dinner with Josh, Carly, and Jonathan. Good friends we went to church with at Robinson. I don't have any pics because I had forgotten my SD card and hadn't had a chance to go buy one yet. Hopefully, Josh and Carly got some good ones and will send them soon. Elle and Jonathan were like two peas in a pod playing in the backyard, the house, the pool, and watching movies. We couldn't get enough of them so we met them for breakfast the next morning at Shipley's for donuts and kolaches. Elle insisted on getting this red donut!

Friday for lunch Chris' Uncle Steve, Aunt Gloria, cousin Stephen, and his daughter Mackenzie came over from Hempstead to visit. We hadn't seen them since we moved and they were so nice to come over to us. We had a great visit and lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, but I didn't get any pics of them either.

We got lucky and happened to be in town when a Philosophy Potluck was scheduled. It's a semi-monthly meal the department has at a student or faculty members' house. Chris went to one his interview weekend and it's one reason he wanted to go there. So Friday night we went around the block to the Clevelands  and got to see a lot of old friends. It was so nice to visit and of course you just feel smarter being in the room when they're all talking philosophy. It was also a little bittersweet since it will probably be the last one we go to since so many of Chris' classmates are graduating and getting jobs other places. Elle really enjoyed playing with Trinity and Nathan and some of the other kids. They even got Jessica and Angela to do a game of Mother May I.

Saturday morning we ran over to the Mayborn Museum so Elle could play. I now know to book more time the next time we're in town. Here are some shots of things Elle and Chris went to look at. Most of them are things I haven't been brave enough to go see. I'm hoping to use the pics to slowly desensitize myself like my friend Heather suggested. We'll see!

The Mayborn is a children's museum on Baylor's campus. They even have a degree program that runs out of it. Elle was having so much fun looking at everything and then when we got to the little city she was so excited to play!

Some how, the entire 3 years I lived in Waco I never went upstairs. I don't know why. Chris used to take Elle here a lot when there was bad weather and I was in class. They had been up there a lot, but I guess when he was describing it to me I didn't realize it had more playrooms. So, the upstairs was new to me and because Elle was so little before newish to her too. This tea party room was by far our favorite. I think I need one of these in our dream house. (Chris and Todd went to do boy things while we played.)

These cabinets have antique, child-sized glass tea sets and dishes that a family from Waco donated. So cute! Then they have etiquette rules written on the plates that are painted on the tables.

The giant bubble and water room was also fun. Chris waited until all the other kids left so he could play with the water table.

Saturday for lunch our friends Matt and Angela joined us at our house. They had to wait on us to talk to the new renters and then they helped us pack the car. Love them! Then on our way back to OKC my cousin Jace, his wife Randy, and they're little guy Owen met us in Ft. Worth at In-N-Out for a quick visit during dinner.

We didn't even make it to Baylor because of all the house stuff, but we'll probably go back in September for Chris' defense. It was brief, but so nice to see the people we did see!

waco, summer 2012 part 1

Finally, some pics to post! We went to Waco because our old renters were moving out and a new family was interested in renting. We decided to rent a car for this trip because we ended up taking bedding, chairs, food, entertainment, Mops, and a whole lot of other junk, plus someone needed to ride in the backseat. Chris was able to rent the car for a week at a better price so we packed the night before and got our money's worth since we were full! We got to Waco Thursday afternoon. The kids did great in the car and we only stopped twice. We had arranged with our old renters to leave the utilities on at the house a few extra days. This was in case we needed electricity to fix something, but it also meant we could stay at the house! They were so nice and left the air on so it wasn't 1000 degrees! We got right to work fixing and cleaning!

Elle was so excited about the "Texas car" and the "Texas house". We tried our best to explain the history of things to Elle, but I'm sure she was thinking "whatever!" She LOVED the house! We would have let her sleep in her room by herself, but we didn't want to run an extra air conditioner. They didn't seem to mind and slept great both nights. I'm thinking about getting a window unit for their room to help with white noise.

Elle and Mops LOVED the backyard. Chris and I felt like the worst parents several times because they were having so much fun playing in it. But, someday we'll have an even better backyard because we chose to come to OK and pay off school debt!

It amazed me how much it felt like we had never left! The same doves cooing in the trees, the neighbors sitting on their front porch in 100 degree weather, even the same smells! They hadn't even painted anything. All the memories came flooding back. The last night I lay in bed thinking being in the house felt like the past 2 years hadn't even happened, except we had another kid. It makes me wonder if the HUGSR apartment would feel the same way.

The house was in pretty good condition. It still needed a good cleaning and we had to have the washer repaired. We Chris also had to fill holes and touch up paint, edge, repair a door jamb, and few other odds and ends. But, it could have been a lot worse. The new renters showed up Saturday and liked the house enough to sign a 3 year contract. It's a guy who's starting law school at Baylor. They have a little girl who is 3 and a baby due in September. We're praying it's the blessing we think it is going to be for all of us.

UP movie watch party

Sorry, no Waco posts yet because those pictures are on a new camera card that my card reader is too old too old for! But, on Friday we watched UP at church to get ready for the Sunday night series Randy, the pulpit minister, is currently doing. We had a a small, but mighty crowd. We popped popcorn and had crafts. I found a cute UP coloring sheet could paint on. Then they made pom pom and pipe cleaner balloons and we had legos to build the house. It was a fun morning!

aunt elaine and cindy's visit

Chris' aunt Elaine lives in Germany and works for the Department of Defense as a teacher and has also done counseling. She usually comes back to the states for the summer to visit with family and friends, and take care of business. We usually only get to see her for a short time, but we are so excited because she'll be retiring after this school year and moving back to Texas (is that Bowling for Soup song going through your head yet?). Her good friend (and ours too) Cindy is so wonderful to come with her when she visits us. This year they got to meet Todd for the first time and we went to the Crystal Bridge for the first time. It was a bit warm, but not too bad. It's worth it because it's beautiful inside. We had gotten a Groupon for a membership and finally had a good chance to redeem it. We also played on the playground until we were hungry and hot. We were sad to see them go, but we can't wait until Elaine gets her Texas house then we can see her a lot more often!