Random Goings-On

Ever been busy but not really doing anything? Yeah, that's us lately.

This child CRACKS me up. I haven't decided yet if she's going to be a fashion designer or a feature on What Not to Wear. The day she picked out this ensemble it was 85 degrees.

All she needs now is some dreadlocks to go with that hat and sunglasses.

The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend the kids and I spent the morning with my mom. We started very early at the Worthington Farmers Market.

We also did some shopping, ate gyros and went for Italian Ice. That night after Jason and my step-dad got off work we went to their house for a cookout. I was a bad mom and didn't take pictures, but the parental units took pictures of the kids in the sprinkler.

Some man at the farmers market must have really wanted me to buy some of his things because he tried to tell me that Jordis "looks just like her mother." Really? I think not. Let's check it out......

Um, let's see. Jordis has big brown eyes. They are so big she doesn't have much in the way of eyelids. I have small green eyes and a lot of eyelids. The bridge of my nose is really narrow and hers is pretty wide. And I don't have to mention the skin. I have on makeup here and she is still darker than me. 'Nuff said. And no, I didn't buy any of his wares.

Let's see, what else. Oh, Xander had a new spelling word. Like it? Jason said it's perfect.....if they want to teach kindergartners about rum we have a great excuse to take them out of school to go to Mardi Gras.

Jason's summer softball season started. The kids are actually cooperating a little this year while we're there, and sometimes they even watch the game for a minute or two.

Last week Jason worked some overtime for the Memorial Tournament. He spent 10 hours over two days monitoring the traffic light in case cars got too backed up. I wish someone would pay me to sit by myself under a shady tree. I'm sure it's not that simple, but I'm thinking I'd enjoy the solitude. On one of the days I took the kids to the afternoon farmers market nearby and for some italian ice so we could visit Daddy. They were really excited when he let them each push the button to change the traffic light.

We also had a gorgeous double rainbow. I never would have known if my neighbor Dena hadn't called me. It was right after we'd put the kids to bed and sat down to watch some TV, so I ran upstairs to show the kids before it faded away.

Such a neat way to end the evening.

Summer's winding down

I can't believe that Xander starts kindergarten next week. Yikes! We've been keeping busy trying to fit in as much as we can. Here's Jordis at one of Jason's softball games. She's a combination of girlie and tomboy. Princess hat, but on backwards, shorts on backwards, shoes on the wrong feet, playing basketball. That's my girl.

The kids and I went to the zoo with my mom one evening for Family Night at the Zoo. We had free Bob Evans pulled pork over mashed potatoes with bbq sauce and cheddar cheese, along with some food we brought for a picnic. The kids also got to make a rain stick, get face painting and climb on various inflatables.

We finally got a couple veggies on our plants. The kids have to run out on the deck every morning to see if they're bigger.

Jordis did some shopping with me one afternoon at Trader Joe's while Xander was making snakes and spiders at pottery class.

This week Xander went to summer day camp at Recreation Unlimited. He got to go on a paddle boat, fish from a pontoon boat, go swimming, climb a giant tower, take his light sabre for Star Wars day and I think his favorite thing was that they had free-flowing lemonade from a pop machine at lunch time. He also made a few friends. Here he is with his counselor, Miss Kim, wearing a tye-died shirt he made while he was there.

While Xan was at camp I had quite a bit of alone time with Jordis. She helped me wash my car...

...rode the horse at the grocery store...

...ate Steak n' Shake with me at the park...

...and met up with Jason at the playground...

Can't wait to see what this week holds!

Before our trip

I didn't get a chance to post anything about our week before we went out of town. Last Sunday we took the kids to the 2nd Annual Softball Showdown for Autism. It was sponsored by one of the local news stations here and created by one of their anchors, Jerod Smalley, whose son has autism. Xander was hoping that Johnny DiLoretto would be there to represent the Channel 6/Fox 28 team, but he wasn't. He was happy to meet Jerod and eat a sno cone though.

Jordis was excited to meet Buck I Guy and get his autographed picture, even though I didn't find him to be too personable myself.

After the games Jason let the kids run bases with him.

A few days later I took the kids to a program at the park called Creepy Crawlies. They got to learn about different kinds of bugs, how many legs they all have, and then got a chance to catch some. The kids' friend Wes came to meet us there, but we were having trouble getting anyone but Jordis to participate.

And of course the kids put on a show for me as well. This week they actually let me take pictures and videos. They were in rare form.

Father's Day

Jordis' singing debut last week was on Father's Day, so I was really excited that Jason got to be there for it.

After coming home for lunch and relaxing for a little while Jason left for his weekly church softball game. He had been wanting some meatballs so I made those for dinner while he was gone, and also a chocolate cherry cake for dessert. After dinner we gave him presents.

A book written by a local police officer who was donating proceeds to the fallen officers fund.

And a handmade LSU hot/cold pack that I found on Etsy.

Our kids are so lucky to have such a great dad!