Our church has been getting on to Kate and me about having a church-wide baby shower. After some discussion, we finally relented and told them that we would allow the church to hold a "Church-wide Celebration." That celebration took place tonight after the Evening Worship Service. It was basically a church-wide fellowship with decorations and gifts.
Isabelle really enjoyed helping Kate open the presents. Anna's favorite part was the bows that came off the gifts. We had a great time and really appreciate the effort so many people made to make the evening great.
The other day Will desperately needed a haircut so we decided to let the girls have a chance with the clippers. Anna is always playing and pretending to cut his hair so we knew she would be thrilled to get the chance do it for real. The girls had a blast and when they finished, I took over to do the blending.
I don't think the girls are ready to open their own beauty shop yet but practice makes perfect.
Here are some more pictures to go with the story below. Oh, and in the plane yard they had one of the presidents helicopters either being retired or worked on. Will had to have a picture of that.
The daddy to one of the little girls in Anna's dance class this year works on Avionics for the Blue Angels. Well, his wife told us about the practice shows and autograph sessions that the Blue Angels do when they are home and not doing shows. Since it has been so long since Will and I have seen them, we talked about going with the girls this summer and last night we realized that we wouldn't be able to go again until after Luke was born and I didn't want to take a newborn; so we decided to go today. That meant me getting up 4:45 am to pack lunches and get the water bottles ready and us leaving the house by 6:15 am. It was crowded (over 1,000, maybe 2,000 people), but nowhere near the crowds that come out for their full blown big shows.
You forget how amazing they are and what incredible skill it takes to do the things that they do. From the minute the engines turn on, you get chills. Surprisingly, Isabelle loved it and asked if she could come back tomorrow. Anna could have cared less, but didn't like being hot and sweaty, so she proceeded to sit in my lap (on aluminum bleachers) and make me hotter and sweatier and make Luke fight back for his room. I was pretty miserable. Fortunately, the practice started at 8:30 am and it was still pretty cooled off from yesterdays rain storm. But once the sun started blaring, it got hot fast.
We had a little old man in front of each section that told us what was going on and what to expect. Since it was practice, one of the planes had to land in the middle and get in a different plane, sometimes they repeated some maneuvers until the head pilot was satisfied. Even during practice though, they pulled the SURPRISE fly by. The little old man told us to look to the left and cover our ears... once that plane was barely past us, another one snuck up from behind and shook us to our bones.
Afterward, we went to the museum where the pilots were signing autographs. Isabelle was dead set on meeting one of the pilots so we stood in line until they told us they had to leave and wouldn't sign anymore autographs. I'll rant about the museum in a little while. We were only two people away when they told us no more. You would think that if they do this every Wednesday, they would have learned by now to sit the pilots at a table and line people up. We would have gotten the autograph if people hadn't kept cutting in front of us.
We walked around the mueseum and looked at some planes. It was very very crowded because of everyone coming to see the show and sticking around. We need to go back when it isn't as crowded. When waiting in line for some of the cockpits for the girls to get in, I realized how idiotic parents can be. After the third or fourth kid cut us off and climbed in from another side instead of waiting in the line, I began to be quite rude myself. Why would parents just let their children run wild in a museum? Because they are idiots! In fact, while standing in line in the bathrooms, we had two different little girls skip about six people at a time. They are old enough to know better!
We took advantage of a few more photo ops and then ate our picnic lunch in the car on the way home because I couldn't stand to hear Anna whine about being too sweaty one more time. Before we left, we swung by the cemetery to visit Granddad's grave site. It was a long, tiring morning, but something we can say we did. Enjoy the pictures.
Well, I have to say this is one of the hottest summers I can remember. Today, I had a church member over to discuss next years AWANA program and start getting ready for clubs to start. While she and Will were talking I was sitting on the couch and I looked at our thermometer and it showed 133 degrees. After asking Will and our guest if I was seeing things, I realized that it was just that hot outside. After she left, Will and I decided to take some pictures of the thermometer; by the time we made it outside the temperature had gone down a little bit. But right now it is still showing 114. It is so hot it feels like you can't take a breath when you walk outside. So, needless to say I will pretty much just be hanging out inside until August. Let's just pray our air conditioners don't die. They have to run constantly to keep the house at a measley 78 or 79 degrees.
Yesterday, I helped to give a wedding shower for our music minister's daughter. Her colors were black and silver with a touch of red. Here is the cake I did. Not exactly what I intended, but I thought it turned out okay.
Every Spring Anna gets little red bumps all over her body. A couple years ago we had her pediatrician look at the bumps, but she was unable to give us any definitive answer. Kate decided to go ahead and take her again just to see if she might have anything new to add to the situation. As usual, the doctor was confused as to the cause of the bumps. She decided to refer us to a dermatologist to see if he might be able to help the situation. Just before we were leaving the office, Kate asked the doctor to look in Anna's throat just in case she may have contracted Strep Throat from Isabelle recent battles with it. Anna had not run a fever or had any other symptoms; Kate just wanted the doctor to check as a precaution. The doctor did the test and said she would call us with the results. We made our way home to Jay after stopping by the pharmacy to get an antihistamine to help with Anna's itching. As soon as we arrived in the garage, Kate's cell phone rang and it was the doctor informing us that Anna did indeed have Strep. We made yet another trip over to the pharmacy to pick up an antibiotic. Less than an hour later the doctor called back and told us that if we could be in Pensacola in two hours, we could see the Dermatologist that same day. This was good news as it is usually a month long wait to get an appointment. We hurried to the Dermatologist's office and Anna sat in a big red chair while the doctor examined her bumps. He, too, was at a loss as to a definitive cause for the bumps. His best hypothesis was that it was related to something in the air in our area that blooms or pollinates in the spring, perhaps oak or pine. He prescribed a steroid to get rid of the bumps and keep Anna from getting another outbreak this year. He also suggested a visit to an allergist to find out what the real cause might be. We went back to the pharmacy and picked up our third and final prescription.
This past week was our church’s week of VBS. Anna was not able to participate in that night’s activities because her Strep was contagious until she had antibiotics in her for at least 24 hours. Anna stayed with Kate the whole evening and while sitting in my office waiting for the closing ceremony to begin, Anna tripped and hit her head on a crate filled with my school books. It was a pretty hard hit and you can see the damage in the photo.
I think Anna was glad to see that Thursday come to an end….
Sunday's are usually very busy for our family. I get to the church around 5:00 a.m. in order to spend time looking over my sermon for the 8:30 a.m. service. We finally make it home around 12:30 p.m. only to eat lunch and begin again around 3:00 p.m. in order to get started for our evening services. This Sunday was actually more like a day of rest for our family. My mom drove over with Lydia & Matthew (Mike & Jessica's Kids) and after church we grilled hamburgers and let the kids swim in the pool. Of course no summer fun is complete without popsicles. Overall it was a somewhat relaxing day...or at least a relaxing couple of hours.
In only 1 month Isabelle has learned not only to put her head underwater, but she is also getting better at swimming underwater. Anna still has a long way to go until she is comfortable with her head going under.
Today was my day off and Kate had some things to do in Pensacola, so I decided that we would spend the day in the backyard. We invited Jada and Josie over and the girls had a blast in the swimming pool. Here are a few photos from the day!
A member of our church has been doing renovations in the pastorium at the Methodist Church next door for the past couple of weeks. Last night, while gathering his tools together to stop for the evening, he happened to look out across the parking lot and notice something crawling. Upon closer observation, he realized it was a three foot alligator. He managed to corner it into an area that he could close off and then called the local wildlife management. They arrived promptly and carried the gator off to a safe location. All of this was taking place around the time Kate and the girls were walking home from Wednesday Night Bible Study. I am not sure where the alligator came from since there is not an area of standing water anywhere in the vacinity of our house. Needless to say, I may be a little more cautious when letting the girls run ahead of me to and from our way to church. I hope to be able to post some pictures of the critter once I get a copy of them.
While many members of the family have already had the opportunity to see what Luke's room looks like, we figured that we would post some photos and a video of the room for all to see. A few weeks before my surgery, Kate and I spent a few days getting all the painting done. Then the Saturday before my surgery, Kate and I had some friends over to help us put up the chair railing. (I use the word "help" lightly. They did practically all the work.) We were able to get the crib and all the furniture up on the following Sunday and all that was left was putting everything in place. All the funiture is the same stuff that Isabelle and Anna used with the exception the book shelves and the changing table. The book shelves came from Uncle Charlie and changing table is new. I think I will have permanant brain damage from the four coats of polyurathane Kate wanted on the shelves.
You can see a bigger sized picture by clicking on the photos!
When Isabelle began school back in the fall, Kate wanted to find something for Anna to get involved in during the school hours. Kate was able to find a Christian dance studio in Pensacola that offered classes for Anna's age group on Tuesday mornings. Anna has been going to dance every Tuesday since September. Today was the Spring Recital for In His Steps (the name of the dance studio) and Anna's class did the Bible Book Bop. When watching the video you will notice that Anna starts out in the front row all the way to the right. About halfway through the show she will move to the back row. Kate and I expected her to just stand there, but she actually tried to stay in step. After the show she received a half dozen roses for all her hard work.
Our cable has been really fuzzy with all the rain we have been having. I called the cable company yesterday and they sent out a guy today to try to diagnose the problem. While he was working on it, the cable was out for about an hour today. Isabelle decided that she was going to put on a concert since there were no other forms of entertainment. Isabelle was on the guitar and Anna was on the drums. When I got the video camera out, Anna suddenly became camera shy and I was only able to film Isabelle. This is, of course, the same song she sung for her Kindergarten graduation.
By the way, the cable guy never did find the problem but called back tonight to let me know that it was a problem for my entire area and not just me. Maybe they will get it fixed soon since our internet goes out every time it rains.
As you can tell, I have been working to give this blog a new look. I have added a few things to the sidebars and hope to make post on a more regular basis. If you use an RSS reader such as Google reader you can use the subscription links to the right and receive updates whenever new post are made. I have also added the ability to subscribe via email. This subscription will email you whenever new post are made.
With all that said, I would like your opinion on how things look. Is there too much stuff in the sidebars? Do you like the colors? The logo? Does the site fit on your computer screen? Can you think of any features you would like on this blog that are not already here? Anything that needs to be removed?
This morning we had Isabelle's Graduation Party. While the schools in Santa Rosa county don't have traditional graduation ceremonies with caps and gowns anymore, the teachers worked with them to learn a poem and song. It was cute. Here are a few more pictures of Isabelle's last day of Kindergarten. I can't believe it has been a whole year!
Here is the video from Isabelle's Kindergarten graduation. Unlike last year, the graduation, each kindergarten class held their own graduation in their classroom. It was pretty crowded once you filled that classroom with parents, siblings, and students. Isabelle was really excited about her graduation.
Here is Isabelle with her Cap & Gown on for Kindergarten Graduation. The Cap & Gown were only for the photograph though. During her graduation ceremony the class wore shirts that read, "I Survived Kindergarten!" Isabelle is glad that she is now a 1st grader.
We got Anna's dance photo today at dance rehearsal. Her recital is Saturday. I don't expect much more than for her to stand there. But at least ten years from now, she can't come back and say that I didn't give her the same opportunity as Isabelle.
esday, they would have learned by now to sit the pilots at a table and line people up. We would have gotten the autograph if people hadn't kept cutting in front of us.
