July Fun

Have I ever mentioned that I can't stand August?  Dog days of summer...return to school...no more lazy days and fun...sigh.  Jason had to leave work early yesterday to help me move my furniture at school and that just makes it feel like summer is officially over (but I've already worked three days...and had to fork out $40/day to have a sitter while I sat through pointless junk to get my credit hours!!)  I am very grateful for the time off I've had, and for the time I've gotten to spend with my three year old.  He amazes me each and every day (sometimes good, sometimes bad) and I'm thankful for God's timing because had I had summer with him when he was a few months younger, I don't think it would have been nearly as much fun.  For the most part, he is so fun right now.  But meal times are like pulling teeth.  And, if it's possible, he's gotten to be an even pickier eater than he was!!  He comes up with such random things to be excited about, and he's asking millions of questions.  His current favorite is, "Mama, are you happy?"  It was cute...for about the first 10 times.  He now asks about 40 times on a typical day, usually after he's done something naughty, lol.

I realized I hadn't had any professional pictures made recently, so I found a nice Groupon for Studio One to One at Stonebriar Mall.  I can't say much for the professionalism at the studio...a few of the shots would have been SO cute, but the photographer didn't bother to fix his collar, or his pocket was sticking out, etc.  So I got my Groupon's worth and bought a few more sheets of photos.  Don't think we'll be going back.  In between the photo shoot and getting to preview the pictures, we had an hour to kill...the perfect amount of time for a carousel ride and grabbing a bite to eat.  Reid's choice of food?  Sonic.  Luckily for me, there was a Panda Express right next door, so I was happy, too.

One day my team had lunch at Chick-fil-A to catch up.  The other Stacey's daughter, Hailey, traded in her book for an ice cream cone, so of course Reid wanted to do the same.  He really doesn't like ice cream (Yet!  I'm sure that will change...) but is obsessed with ice cream cones or ice cream with "candies" (M&M's).  It was pretty entertaining to watch him try to eat an ice cream cone all by himself and I had to keep reminding him to hold it with both hands as he wanted to set it on the table and lick it.

We also caught up with our friends Violet and Lacy.  Lacy is the art teacher at my school and we have had our kids get together now and then since they were little bitty.  In fact, Violet was Reid's first playdate.  This time, we decided to take them to the "Music and Movement" class at the local library (laughably, the Gay Library...wouldn't you love that as your last name?!), then headed to our swimming pool and splash pad.

The class was for 18 months-5 years, but it seemed to be geared more toward little bitty kiddos.  Ours still had fun, though.  The cutest part was Reid and Violet randomly holding hands on the way out.  Double trouble!

We played in the pool and the splash pad, then took a snack break.  They chowed down on Chex mix and shared three cups.  But the most fun was making "eye patches" out of the pretzels.  They came up with it all on their own and it entertained them for a good 30 minutes.

We had a few days where we got some unexpected rain.  One day, it was quite a bit and made a huge puddle on our sidewalk, which dips a little more each drought-ridden summer we have.  Someday we'll have to have the city fix it and fill it in, but for now it makes a great rain catcher.

He didn't really get that you are supposed to splash around in it and jump, so I had to instruct him a little.  After about five minutes, he was done.  It kind of surprised me because last summer I put him in boots and he loved splashing around.

Steven, Aimee, Hayden, Henry, and Harrison took us out for Jason's b-day dinner.  Steven is a member of the Craig Ranch TPC, so it was very convenient for us to drive down the street to the golf club for dinner.  We stayed out way later than expected and the cousins all got a little stir crazy, but had tons of fun.  My camera didn't take a very great shot, but you get the idea.

More July fun to follow soon...