Happy, Happy Birthday Maiya Dear...

Maiya turns FIVE on Monday

our Summer Solstice Baby...

We celebrated today with friends and...

'ice cream' cupcakes

all the kids made 'homemade' ziploc bag ice cream

water balloons

bubbles

sprinkler

Maiya's big gift was 'grown up' walkie talkies (thought if we were going to get them might as well get good ones that work and that are re-chargeable.

*those are all links if you are so inclined.

Benjamin and Kyle have spent every evening at Twilight camp this week and stayed the night last night (Benjamin's first overnighter!)

They made it home in time to help get ready for Maiya's party... Kyle went straight to bed after guests were gone - poor guy. He's a wonderful, tired, exhausted Dad. He deserves a good Daddy day tomorrow...

Here is a couple of my boy at camp:

Video Games LIVE

Words I never thought I would say: "we took the kids to the symphony" (well all but Cora)

Other words I never thought I'd say "my kids were enthralled by the symphony"

We went to Video Games live ... what is it you say:

Video Games Live™ is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras & choirs perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience!

All the folks in costume were a blast and very gracious about taking pics with my kids, the Meyerson Symphony Center is GORGEOUS, We went with the cheapest seats - and to seat five together in the popular cheap seats meant we were in the VERY LAST, tip-top ALMOST IN THE SKY seats. I had some serious vertigo just sitting there. I was gripping my girls as if I was their only lifeline, and reminding Benjamin to sit very, very still. We quickly realized the lighting gear was blocking the top of the screen to the show and Kyle being my knight in shining armour when to the box office to complain...

shortly after he called on the cellie to tell us to meet him in the orchestra seating area.

We got seats worth over $300 for the price of our cheap seats. We squeezed into our new seats just before the show started!!!

Lesson: it never hurts to ask

this is Zelda.. i think

we don't know... some japanese wii game girls

Mario - (say it in a high pitch voice in a sing song manner i.e. "its me Mario")

and Luigi

The guitar hero competition. Kyle let me down. I will work to forgive him.

ze conductor.

Princess Peach - Not a pic for boys to join in as Benjamin protested

Summertime at the table...

I love these kiddos and the chaos I experience at their service... feast your eyes upon my messy kitchen. I just decided to grab the camera and freeze a glimpse in my life at this very moment. One day I'll miss the mess and the company...

End of the year...

Ella and her WONDERFUL teacher Mrs. Harry!

Ella and her best bud.

Ella getting her award and standing next to her crush (shhhhhh....)

my dear sweet short girl.

lest you think I am partial there are more pictures of Benjamin on the camera than Ella but each one other than this exudes images of pain because he is so not good smiling for the camera.

Field Day!

Concession stand at Field day!!!

Class Party at the Park!!

secret

awesome postsecret.

It reminds me of the times people have said something really derogatory about mormons before they knew I was one.

and for the record I have frequently offered water to jehovah witnesses at my door.

cause its hot here in texas.

My first baby turns 10, oh my.

Happy Birthday baby,

sorry

I'll stop saying that...

Happy Birthday Benjamin...

I mean

Happy Birthday Ben.

I love you.

drum roll please.....

It's

a

BOY

the rainbow outside captures our emotions perfectly.

we are thrilled

and its

beautiful.

a boy.

a new brother.

a new son.

now we can't wait for his arrival.

Baby O's Gender Bender. AT THE HOUSE NOW

looks like a chance of thunderstorms... so now we'll have this shindig at our home. I'm not cancelling. I can't wait another day :)

We had our ultrasound last week.

The baby looked healthy and adorable but we didn't find out if its the girl adorable type or the boy adorable type.

The ultrasound technician wrote that answer on a 4X.5 inch of paper, If you are wondering that is the size of a fortune in a fortune cookie.

Its folded up in an envelope on my mantle and this afternoon it will be dropped into a fortune cookie.

That envelope is torturing me I tell ya.

But anyway... this post is to invite you to come find out with us if our baby is a boy or a girl.

Chances are good if you come to my blog you are a friend and we want all of our friends to be there.

And just in case you are that last lone holdout that is not on facebook you may have not heard about this.

So if you are near us and don't have anything better to do, come to the park in our neighborhood at 6:30 tonight, crack open a cookie and tell us if we are having a boy or a girl.

because we are dying to know!!!

ps. if you can't make it - or happen to live somewhere other than the Great State of Texas, we'll announce as soon as we are home. Here on da blog and on facebook.

Picture pages...

ok so I didn't resize these or anything - and our computer froze a while ago and I can't get adobe to work for me - none of my adobe products rrrrrrrrr.... but anyway these just shouldn't sit in the camera...

spur of the moment trip to Erwin to roast hot dogs and make smores, and to ride our bikes and explore the woods

Ella is getting too big for my taste - she's always been too grown up for her age, its a little cute at three, its scary at eight.

Like Cora's bug lotion application - one blob on the forehead?

off to go exploring

Notice how in this one evening Benjamin goes from a shirt and jacket to no shirt?

What a cutie - I may hide somewhere with her come August and not send her to kindergarten after all.

see because she has running to do.

and if I send her she'll grow up so fast like these other two have done.

she's not as close to the fire as this picture makes it look

one bite of hot dog good - three bits of hot dog better!

still working on it

getting it to that cute tummy

seriously how cute is that?

an afternoon in the sprinkler

colder than they thought

so they bask in the sun.