Animal Night...

Every few months, the Petroleum Museum has family night where they open the whole place up and have a huge themed extravaganza! This time was animals! Calla loved getting to feel all the soft fur...


The ferret was silly...

Leslie loved meeting all the animals! I think it was pretty surreal for her because she knows a ton of facts about all these animal from watching Diego, but you could tell she thought it was pretty cool to see and touch them in real life...

One of the craft stations had an alligator puzzle to color and cut out. Of course, Calla wanted to make one too...

Regardless of whatever awesome tables they have set up, the highlight of the trip for Leslie is always walking through this permanent exhibit tunnel and ocean scene...

It was MEGA crowded, so we didn't last too long. Instead, we decided to swing by the old K-mart parking lot snow cones!

Calla showing Daddy her red tongue...

Everybody showing eachother our colored tongues...

To Princess Leslie...

I came across a passage in one of the books I'm reading, "The Me I Want to Be," that spoke very strongly to me as a mother...

"Often people have dreams for their life when they are young, but over time they simply give up. Writer and artist Gordan MacKenzie tells of visiting children in kindergarten and asking them "Who is an artist?" Every hand shoots up. This decreases to half the class by third grade. Over time many find that becoming the me they were meant to be is too hard or that it takes too long. When we give up on our growth and life's purpose, we languish."

Even though I'll admit that Leslie is currently not the best artist... or dancer... or gymnast in her class, I never want to be the one that discourages her from developing to her full potential. So, today before nap I was cuddling on her some and asked her,

"Leslie, are you an artist?"

"Hahaha- yes mommy. I'm an artist."

"Do you know what an artist is?"

"Yes- a painter."

"That's right, and you are a very good painter. What else are you?"

"Ummmm... a princess."

The conversation went on for a while going over all the other things she is and enjoys. But I thought "a princess" really encapsulated it all. Today she can be a princess just as easily as she can be an artist. The world is still so full of possibilities for her. I pray that her spirit remains young and open to everything God has designed her to become. And that we all cherish this time of innocence and preserve it for as long as possible.

Swimming and Sports...

Yet another pool day. These kids love the water!
Ever since Leslie watched the adults play volleyball at the family reunion, she's been obsessed with it. Her and Daddy practice all the time, and she's actually really good at it! (As long as you throw it perfectly.)

Ready!
Bump!

And follow through!

Finally, a cute little cheesecake picture of Leslie...

Accessorising...

I know yall see alot of dress-up, but it's pretty much Calla's favorite activity. This day was especially cute because of her shoes. She ALWAYS wants to wear the princess high heals, but her foot is too small to keep them on. Today however, she figured that layering her shoes overcame this obstacle perfectly...
Nothing funnier than wearing Potato Head glasses! Except maybe the fact that her boobies are hanging out of this dress...

The green ones are beautiful too. Poor girl doesn't realize that her future probably holds many pairs of glasses:) I guess it's a good thing she likes them!

Mornings with Calla...

When Calla first wakes up in the morning, she's usually pretty angry. It takes her a few minutes and gulps to get in a good mood:)

However, once she has her cup, she is a different baby. We really enjoy having a baby that will let us cuddle on her some! Here I am snuggling with her one morning while she wakes up with a cup of watered-down Crystal Light...
Daddy gets lots of snuggles, too...

I thought it was funny that she was sitting on the folded up nap mat on top of the ottoman watching TV. Rough life...
On a side note... She has started sliding off of the ottoman head first on to a pillow while yelling, "Mermaid Calla!" Hilarious.

Hair/Storm...

This picture was cute when it was taken (a month ago) because it was one of the first times she had her hair fixed...
The girls love for Daddy to read to them...

Calla's hair didn't last long. At least I always get a good laugh at how it looks when she pulls it out...

Tonight had a nice summer storm. It was warm with distant rolling thunder, so the girls wanted to go outside and enjoy it. Us too...

It remind me of the evenings I used to spend on the patio as a child with my dad watching a storm roll in from Odessa... eating pork skins I'm sure. I think that was where my love of weather began! And now I'm passing it on to Leslie... who, by the way, already knows several cloud types:)

Houston visit/plague...

We spent several days of July in Houston with my family. Of course, as soon as we got there, Calla got a horrible horrible horrible stomach bug, which she gave to Barry, and then Leslie got it our last day there. My family also shared it with several other family members. Since I'm not sure if we will ever be invited back, I figured I better post all the cute pictures we got in between sicknesses.


One of the favorite activities is playing with the silicone baking supplies my step-mother has graciously donated to the toy pile. You can nestle them, stack them, drink from them, or wear them as hats...

Leslie loved having so much attention and so many people around to play with her. Uncle Willy even used some vacation days to spend time with us! And she loooooooves her Uncle Willy!

The piano and organ are a magnet to young fingers! My brother, Zac, went to help hold (and supervise) his daughter, and Calla decided to climb right up, too!

It was cute seeing him old both the sweet girls and to see the girls actually playing together some...

Grammy likes to read to her sweet grandbabies...

On Monday, we went to the zoo! Daddy had to stay home with Calla because she had been up with "the sickness" all night and needed some rest. It was really hard for me to have Leslie because my family doesn't always realize that her top speed falls just above lolly gagging. Luckily, Uncle Willy came to the rescue and helped me carry her around quite a bit. She loooooooves her Uncle Willy...

Her and Uncle Willy stopped to take pictures at everything we past...

We visited the elephants at the perfect time and got to see them all getting their daily baths. It was very cute and astonishing to watch this baby elephant. It was running all around and trying to escape through every bar/opening he could find. He tried sticking his head through, then maybe start with a foot, then tried backing through all while running laps around his mom. Made me miss Calla:)

The zoo had a special dinosaur exhibit set up. Leslie wasn't too sure of it at first...

Once we convinced her they were entirely fake and not going to eat her, she warmed up to them...

It was so hot and humid while we were there! And the worst part was that there were scattered storms around most days, so we didn't get to the pool much. We finally made it one afternoon and got to swim for 40mins before they blew the whistle for thunder:( Such is life. We all had fun while it lasted!

On Wednesday, we went to the children's museum. And while it was really good, it was all a bit overwhelming for us from a small town. I discovered later that the crazy crowd was due to a special "make your own ice cream" exhibit that was going on that day (and we didn't even get to see!) At least we know that there is alot to go back for!

We ended up playing in the toddler section the entire time. Leslie likes baby toys best anyways:) Here's a picture of my beautiful niece, Kate, who is just a few weeks older than Calla...

A rare shot of the two girls playing together. Even Binx was having fun!

We ended up staying a extra day because Leslie got sick. It worked out well for the rest of us because we finally found time to crack open the watermelon Dad bought for us!

He didn't realize it was yellow when he bought it, and while it tasted really good, it was a little surreal eating it. I felt like my eyes were trying to trick me. Calla, obviously, had no trouble with the color change...

The allure of the piano is more than they could resist...

EVERY spare moment Leslie had, she would sneak off to the computer and "farm" for Grammy...

Of course we finally take a good family picture with both girls looking and smiling at the camera and it's the morning I decided not to wear make-up! Oh well- beggars can't be choosers...

Sickness aside, we had a really good time in Houston and hope we get invited back soon!