The World's Dumbest Animal

This woodpecker has been pecking at my windows all morning. I shoo him away and he comes back one minute later and starts again. He is driving me insane. I love nature but if he doesn't realize the futility of his efforts he may be getting to know Raif's BB gun soon......(j/k).

Austin...

What can we say about Austin....we got to spend the weekend with people who are more family than friends. We laughed til we cried and stayed up til the wee hours of the morning just talking and drinking. Had some incredible food and a lot of fun in the water. Oh and the kids were around somewhere too....

The bonus of the trip was a chance to see our friends Steve, Elissa and Reagan again and get to meet their adorable new daughter Abbie.

Hudson on the dig for dinosaur fossils

Here you can see the different parenting styles....Hudson nicely sitting on the rock...my children smack dab in the middle of the water fully clothed

I intend to bring this picture out again roughly the time they both hit high school....

Just chillin'

Reagan hamming for the camera

Raif giving Elissa a break, getting to know Abbie and reminiscing of days gone by....


Page and I and our redneck airbags...

Is This How VanGogh Started??

For the second year in a row I took Quinn to art camp at Cheekwood. Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed - we had the same teacher as last year and so we did a couple of the same projects. Quinn however, was not disappointed in the least. She had fun coloring, painting, gluing and even getting to do a clay project.

What I enjoyed most was a whole week of one-on-one time with my daughter.


(Quinn's interpretation of Van Gogh's starry night)

Recital Video

Here is what you have all been waiting for....the debut of Quinn (and Raif)!! And yes, the voice at the beginning and the end is Greyson.

Fairy Princess

My cousin Lisa has a daughter a couple of years older than Quinn and every once in awhile she sends a little hand me down Quinn's way. This past Friday, my parents arrived with a dress that Lisa had sent Quinn via my Aunt Frances (thanks Lisa). It took 5 minutes after my parents got here for Quinn to discover it and 5 seconds after that to determine that it indeed was a fairy princess dress and that it NEEDED to be worn - along with coordinating tiara and fairy wand.


And about 5 minutes after she put it on Greyson realized that the fairy princess needed to be friended by the valiant Sir Greyson and off he went to put on his knight costume....


(By the way doesn't this sort of look like a Charlie's Angels pose picture??)

We have a wedding to go to in September and I am hoping that the dress will last until then! Thanks again Lisa (and Aunt Frances)!!

The Recital

If you ever want a good afternoon, you need to take in a little girl's recital sometime. Quinn's recital yesterday had it all...heartwarming moments like Quinn's class dancing with their Daddies, hysterical moments like this one three year old who spent half her dance blowing a feather that had fallen off her head across the stage and one bad moment when this pre-teen's pants ripped off during a tap number - she was a trooper though who kept dancing and smiling throughout. All in all it was a really cute performance and thankfully short...Ms. Cherie had it done in 3 acts with parents clearing out after each act so you really only had to watch your child and a couple of other dances.

Admittedly, these aren't the best photos. I was trying to photograph and watch at the same time and didn't do a test photo before Quinn started. The video is much better. I am hoping to get it up shortly. We took the video on our old recorder that still uses tape not my fancy camera (since I was taking pics with that) so I need to figure out how to upload it but I will try diligently (aka bother Raif constantly until he does it) to get it out soon. Until then please enjoy the stills from Quinn's big day....

Quinn's Professional Ballet Pictures

Nini, let me know if you want me to bring a copy of one or both of these pictures to the Bahamas in July....

Let's Go Team!!!

Every year, Vanderbilt Hospital's Orthopedic Group sponsors a local high school football rivalry game as part of their SHINE charity***. The event includes a football game, guest speaker and a silent auction. The proceeds from all of this are given to the Susan Gray School (where Greyson and Quinn attend). This year Vanderbilt has sponsored the 50th anniversary of the Franklin HS Battle Ground Academy (BGA) grudge match. As part of the event football players from each school spend time at Susan Gray to learn the impact of what they are involved in.

While everyone was excited to have the football players come, there was one little boy who was more excited than anyone. Greyson was on cloud nine being able to cheer on his own BGA team (although technically his room was assigned to Franklin it didn't matter to Greyson). After the 'pep rally' he went over the the BGA players, gave them high fives and let them know he was going to BGA next year. They were so nice and took pictures with him and even gave him a ride on their shoulders. He is now more excited than ever to go to BGA and kept telling me he can't wait to see his new friends at school. (I didn't have the heart to tell him that I didn't think the football players would be in Kindergarten next year). LET'S GO BGA WILDCATS!!!


***For those of you who are confused about why a hospital would be fund raising for a preschool, Susan Gray is no ordinary preschool. Founded in part by (duh) Susan Gray, one of the pioneers of early childhood education who also helped found the National HeadStart Program, The Susan Gray School was one of the first preschools in that nation to promote inclusiveness. Susan Gray believed that all children, both special needs and typically developing, would benefit from being in a shared environment. As part of Vanderbilt's Peabody School of Education and Vanderbilt's Kennedy Center (one of the nation's premier therapy and research centers for children with disabilities) Susan Gray is used as a 'laboratory' for cutting edge research in the area of early childhood development. PhD and Masters students regularly utilize the school and its students for research projects and subject matter for their theses. It is a school unlike any other devoted to promoting education and acceptance for all types of children.

Mushy Mommy Moment....

Ms. Ashley asked the kids in Discovery Kingdom (Greyson's class) if their house was on fire what would be the one thing they would save (i.e. their most important possession). The majority of the kids answered with their favorite toy or stuffed animal. Then it was Greyson's turn...his answer.... his sister...

Everyone say it together......"Awwwwwwww"

Firsts

This weekend was filled with a lot of 'firsts' for my children. That is the wonder of childhood isn't it? When we are adults the 'firsts' are few and far between but for kids they are everywhere -like summer fruit, ready to be picked, devoured and savored. Some are sweet and some are sour but at least they are there for the taking....

First nighttime flight ("Mommy I almost touched that boat way over there!!!)


First whack at Daddy's favorite food...

First time manning the helm...


(yes, the boat is underway, yes my son is steering it ALONE)

First beach volleyball game with the 'fellas'


And finally.....first kiss.....


I joke with all my friends who have kids the same age as mine that one day one of my kids is going to marry theirs... Now the chance of this actually happening...well I am not holding my breath. But then on Sunday when Zach, the son of one of my oldest and dearest friends leaned over and kissed Quinn, well I got about as close to my wish as I could ask for. Twenty years from now when someone asks Quinn who first kissed her I am sure she won't name Zach but I will know and it will still warm my heart to know it was Cindy's boy and to know that I was there....

And now for Greyson......Oh Susanna.....where's Kinley??????

Set Sail

So I knew about 6 months ago that we were going to make our trip to Annapolis an annual one. How did I know? Because the kids were STILL talking about the boat, and Zach and the guinea pig (well mostly about the guinea pig) at Christmas. So once again Memorial Day found us in Annapolis and on the boat. And while there wasn't any wind (or actually a sail to sail with if we had wind) Raif got to go out on the water as we motored around the Chesapeake for an afternoon.


The kids enjoyed all manners of water play - both appropriately dressed


and not so much...

Not to mention getting soaked in some water fountains...


I also got to see my friend Robert and his family for lunch and we got to spend the night with Raif's Godparents whom we hadn't seen since our wedding. All in all a pretty action packed vacation.