Splash Park

No one loves a splash park more than my kids. The first available morning we had last week, we were there. We got there before it was crazy hot and it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. Josie was slow to warm up the water but after a couple of run throughs with her sister (O-la-la, as she is pronouncing it these days) she was ready to be let loose. After the water the girls played on the playground equipment. They both loved the tire swing and swung there for so long that by the time we left, they were both dry. Momma loves a free, entertaining kid activity....

Anniversary weekend

Our wedding anniversary was July 15th and we did our usual weekend in Dallas with no kiddos to celebrate. We had a great time just being together. Not one time did I have to change a diaper or help anyone into a carseat or cut up bites of food or watch the Wonder Pets. Friday night we went to IKEA, which is an event all by itself and then had great sushi at a place called RA. Saturday we shopped and ate all day. We had the best burgers and watermelon tea at Twisted Root Burger Co. I had the avocado cheddar chipotle burger with sweet potato fries. This place gives you a celebrity name as an order number--Kevin was Morgan Freeman. I had never noticed their uncanny resemblance. Shopped some more, ate some more. Sunday we had breakfast pool side and a swim before heading back home. It was nice to get home and see my ladies....

Kevin~I love you!

Jo Jo Does Groceries

Josie prefers to do her own shopping these days. All she needs is a basket and a candy aisle to make her day. On this particular venture, Skittles were all she required. After the cashier rang them up Josie held them up and proclaimed to the store, "I bought them". And she promptly ate them for dinner.

Sleeping Beauty

Liv's BFF, Ryleigh, is a Peter Pan Players and in Sleeping Beauty she was a jester. Liv and I had a big girl date to go see the show. We both really loved it, and Ry did great. Of course, Liv wants to join and with her flair for the dramatic I'm pretty sure she would excel. Anyway, she had a great time and got all the autographs of her fave characters. After the theater cleared out Liv got to go on stage and check out all the behind the scenes action. We wrapped up the evening with dinner at McDonald's. Liv and I don't often get to do big girl stuff together, so when we do I just love it. I can't believe she is almost 7!!

Fourth of July

Our 4th of July this year was great--we spent the whole day together as a family and got to play with lots of our friends. We swam in the morning with Alan, Teddy, Kris, and John. Later in the afternoon our family went with Teddy and Alan out to the Rhynards house for a night of food, fireworks and Rock Band. Liv spent the night playing with Ry and Logan and has completely gotten over her fear of fireworks. Josie likes to see the fireworks as long as she doesn't have to hear them, so she and I watched from inside. Rock Band was super fun, who knew we were such a talented group....and for the record I really rocked it as the lead singer for an all girl band. Beau and Kingsley played drums together. My husband and Mr. Rhynard were in charge of firework lighting and I manned the S'more station. Fun with friends=perfect day!

Glitter Toes

I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I got it from another mommy blog I read--Tatertots and Jello. Liv and I made a trip to Wal-Mart and found glitter and nail polish in the brightest colors possible. We were really hoping for green, but apparently it is a hot color this summer. Liv opted for red and blue, apropos for the 4th of July weekend. It was really quick and easy: nail polish, glitter, clear top coat. I love how her toes still have that pudgy baby look...sweet. And she loves that she has the sparkliest toes ever! I;m sure this will now be a regular request here at the Denler Estate!

Grandma and the Green Machine

Grandma and Pop got Livi her newest mode of transport--the Green Machine. My mom delivered it over the weekend and was more than happy to give Liv a demo of how to ride it. You pedal and the levers are used to turn. Liv loves it and Josie can't wait until her legs are just a little bit longer. We've taken it out for a spin or two and Liv is getting pretty good at maneuvering around corners--not to mention she is the coolest kid on the block! Thanks, Grandma and Pop!

Kid City=Fun

Shreveport Community Church spent close to 2 trillion dollars to build Kid City. Source of info=my back pocket. I mean this place is nice. There's a coffee shop with really cute furniture that proudly brews Starbucks coffee, an awesome kids auditorium, movie theater, arcade and this 40 foot tall indoor playground climby thing. There so many different ways to go in this thing--it's like a create your own adventure book, never the same story twice. I took my kids and Robyn took hers on Wednesday. Robyn and I played with the babies for a while and went all through this thing--it really is fun! After that, we got coffee and the big kids helped the little kids. The best part you ask? It's inside and open twelve hours a day and it's free. We will definitely g back--it's a perfect way to play and avoid the heat! I wish I had more pictures, but I couldn't get the kids to be still for long enough...

Allow me to introduce you to my daughter, the swimmer

Liv's swim lessons started this week. She went into them with trepidation but now, four lessons later she is feeling like a fish. She has learned to go under water and not hold her nose, doggy paddle, floating, and two swim strokes. Poor Josie has had to watch her swim all week, she entertains herself during the class but as soon as Liv is out of the pool she assumes it is her turn to get in. We have one more week of classes, so over the weekend I will have Josie in the pool as often as possible, and it'll give Liv a chance to show off her new skills....

Liv says goodbye to first grade

Not sure how we got here, but I am officially the mother of a second grader. Actually got Liv's end of year report card in the mail today from the school board that has alerted me to her passage. This was a big year and I think that if I even tried to recap it this blog would turn into quite the novella. So, I won't. For my die hard blog readers, I started this blog last August right when Liv started school, so you could just dig through the archive. We had a great year-- learned to read, lost some teeth, loved our teacher like crazy, played a frog in the school play, and rocked the Honor Roll all year long. On the last day of school Liv had an awards ceremony, Red, White, and Blue Day, and her class party. I got to be really involved with her class this year without a pesky job in my way. Josie was the unofficial class mascot. I'm sure when I was in elementary school I had teachers that were also young and hip, but none that rewarded the classes accomplishments with things like headstands and cartwheels. Liv's teacher was even named Teacher of the Year. Anyway, I am so glad Liv got to spend a year with Ms. Phillips--she was the perfect choice for Liv.

Mrs. Greer--we'll see you in August for second grade!!

Birthday Time with Kris and Teddy

I'm a little late with this post, but I've been busy. I had the last week of first grade with Liv and then this week has been crazy with both girls at home all day. We've been swimming, and librarying, and Gymboreeing, and crafting--and this is only Thursday.

But, I digress. Kris and Teddy's birthdays are close enough that we always do combo celebration. This year the ladies chose L'Italiano for dining location--excellent choice. Significant others were also included and I got to wear a shiny dress and drink two glasses of wine. Successful evening all the way around. Teddy's actual birthday was Monday, so she and Alan came over and I made dinner. Teddy even got to eat off the coveted Happy Birthday plate. I'm pretty sure that was the best gift she got...