An Apple a day.......

This is video of Kevin eating an apple. Not a big deal to most people! Let me tell you a little secret... Kevin has NEVER EVER, had a full bite of fruit or vegetables. He is almost 4 years old, and has struggled with eating issues his whole life. Luckily, in the last couple months, we can coerce him to take 3 peas or 3 kernels of corn, although not bites. One of us always needs to hold his jaw shut to accomplish getting it down the hatch. The holding jaw thing isn't something he hates. He actually takes my hand to his chin for me to hold it shut. It is the only way he can get it down.

Soooo, today was literally the first time he has EVER taken a bite of fruit, and he did it by stealing the apple from his big sister. A big day in this house! Hopefully one day soon we can get him to eat fresh meats, and hopefully many more fruits and veggies.

A wee bit hairy

Hair, no hair, goofy hair, long hair, short hair, and everything in between.

Juilana and her new do... taken yesterday. She decided to go short, but grow out her ever growing bangs. She is growing up!

I love these faces.

I love these faces. Even though these days are so long ago.

Sunday at it's best!

Yesterday was a fantastic day! I started off by meeting my mom at my Granny's "house". We were there for about an hour or so, although not the whole time with Granny. The visit with Granny was nice. Words really do not do it justice, but hopefully my memories will always be there. My favorite part of the day was when I gave her a picture that Juliana made for her. SHE LOVED IT! She noticed every heart, star, the cane, and that Juliana was almost as tall as her in the photo. She even wanted it hung up in her hospital room. Yayy, that made me so happy! It was hard to give her a kiss goodbye.

After seeing Granny, I met Jason and the kids to go to Great America. Great America is a Cedar Point property. We had a great time going on rides, drinking ICEE's, and eating too. We didn't try the deep fried hot dogs, but we certainly had everything else in the park. :) Haaa, I wish. We didn't really. So, that was our day.

ENJOY THE PICTURES.

This is the picture that Juliana drew for GG. (This picture is really special to me, because without realizing what I was doing, I captured a picture of my Uncle Allan, Uncle Patrick, and my Gramps in the photo too. All of whom earned their angel wings.)

Happenings

The happenings of our crew...

Juliana at a birthday party last sunday. One of the MANY this summer! (July 19)

At the beach going to meet Daddy and Kevin while Kevin was at a birthday party on the beach. (July 19)

Watching "Kung Fu P@nda" in the FREE outside movie. They are eating "sticky bars"... their favorite snack. (July 24)

The USS Hornet. The ship that picked up the first moon mission crew. (July 25)

ACTUAL capsule that went on the first moon mission. Buzz Aldrin was on board the ship, but we never got to see him. Long story, but seeing everyone and everything else was worth it.

Top of the USS Hornet.

Another birthday party. (July 25)

So, today is our 13th dating anniversary. Let's get a collective, oooooooo, ahhhhhh.... thanks. I remembered about an hour ago to say, "Happy 13th anniversary" and Jason responded, "for what? putting up with my sh**?" That wasn't the most mature statement, or the most polite statement, but we both laughed hysterically. Not exactly a Hallmark statement, but it was followed with laughter and a big hug, kiss, smile, and a wee apology for saying it too. I'll take it.

Nearly, 20000 hits on my blog.... right now it is 19997! Neato! Ok, many people get that in an hour, but let me have my glory... haaaa!

Our Special Day

I know this weekend will get ahead of me, so I wanted to do this post a wee bit early. July 25th is what I call, "Our Special Day". It is a random day we picked in 1996 as our, "dating anniversary". Haaaaaa, it is a bit funny that we chose an arbitrary summer day, but hey, back in the dating days it was important. Apparently it is still important to me.

Soooo, this saturday, July 25th, will be 13 years since we have been "together". We've had 8 1/2 years of marriage, 1 daughter, 1 son, 1 doggie, and 4 houses in two time zones.

The picture above was take in February 1997 at a college dance. Ughh, the beard... hmmm yeah, no more beard. And I was a size 7. Oh how times have changed! I got that dress at 579 and was so darn proud of myself. Maybe I should attach it to our fridge.

(Almost) Wordless- Because Heaven is near

(Photo taken in 1920. Pictured, my Granny at 3 years old, and her mother. An elegant toddler, and still an elegant woman, even in the sunset of her life.)

GOOD NIGHT

Kevin now has a real big boy bed! He is very excited to be a big kid! He went to bed about 20 minutes ago, and no complaints. Yayyy!

The bed came from my Granny. It is in perfect condition, so Kevin inherited it. My Granny is not doing well, and gave up her living space. She is in a hospital setting for the rest of her days, weeks, or months (I keep hoping for years). It is really hard for me to talk about, so that's all. Ughhh.....

Beauty-FULL

Our lives have been very quiet this week. Well, let's put it this way, our lives have been quiet as far as blogging material.

Since I have an itch to do some pointless blogging, I thought I'd share my new love. I have this new love of photographing flowers in our area. We have a cruddy camera, although if I spend enough time on it, I can get a decent photograph.

ENJOY OUR NEIGHBORHOOD! These photos were all taken over the last couple weeks.

(Almost) Wordless- Bit o' smooches

Kissing baby Sadie.

Kevin gets kisses from Auntie Steph.

Uncle Patrick kissin' Kevin.

Dee Dee smooches... YAY!

Shadow protecting baby Kev on the grass.

How do you drink your ice cream?

I like doing posts like this now... in photos. I am not much of a writer these days. Not that I have ever been good at it.

Kevin's ice cream melted, soooo WHY NOT USE A STRAW?!

After going to see GG (Great-Granny), we went to Stanford University just for fun (?). Not sure how much fun it was, but it made me feel good. Granny would have been proud if she knew we went there after seeing her. Granny is 92 years old, and slowing down. She is no longer living in her own quarters. It was really hard to see her in a hospital bed without a dress and nylons to complete her outfit. She had quite a bit of spunk for me and the kids, but was exhausted after a 10 minute visit. Gosh, I love that woman! This world is a better place because of her.

Visiting my friend Colleen. She is 7 1/2 months pregnant with her first baby. Colleen and I first met at camp when we were in middle school. We had not seen each other since we went to Mexico together in 1991. Our Mexico trip was not a resort vacation. We went to build houses for the homeless, build a sunday school, and great stuff like that. Let me tell you, mixing cement by hand, nailing walls together, and building your own potty out of wood is not my idea of a Mexican vacation, but it taught me a lot about the world, that's for sure.

Swimming at Kelsey's house. Well, I guess you could say, at my "sister" Emiley's house.

Whoaaa, it rained for about 20 minutes... and LOOK WHAT WE SAW! Pictures do not do justice. It was a gorgeous sight!

A park we found that is made for children with special needs. The flooring is rubber, there is a music section, tunnels, slides at all heights, and soooo much more. It was a fascinating park!

The kids first drive-in movie experience. We saw ICE AGE 3 and UP. FUUUUNNNN!

Sleepy at the drive-in.

Playing at the park while Mommy's car is getting an oil change.

Some Cookies, some games....

This week has been somewhat unique. Kevin is in summer camp all week (just in the mornings), and Juliana and I have been spending time together. We've done a lot of nothing, if that makes sense. We've gone shopping, we've baked cookies, we have gone to the park, and we have played HOURS and HOURS of Uno Spin, Trouble, Operation, and X-Box too. When Kevin comes home, we play hours of Candyland DVD, go to parks, etc. You get the idea. So, here is our week so far.

Baking yummy for our tummy chocolate chip cookies.

In the pool. The kids love the water, but can not swim yet. Cooling off is still fun to do!

At the park.

Candyland DVD... soooo much fun!

Juliana took this picture today. Just for fun! Kevin took some pictures too, but they were less than flattering, and thankfully, fuzzy too.

Fairs, Baseball, and Fireworks

What we've been up to in the last couple days...

Juliana playing on the rocks with some friends.

At the fair. I did not take many pics that day because my hands were gross from touching the animals.

Juliana milking a cow... well, learning how to milk a cow at the fair.

Juliana and Sonia at the 4th of July parade.

We were VIP's (haaaa) at the baseball game. Yes we really were, but it makes me laugh.

Daddy and Kevin at the baseball game.

As Juliana said all day long... HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!