We celebrated Cooper's birthday today. Can you believe he's 5?! Actually, he's been 5 for a week now, but we were waiting to celebrate together. We spent the day at the Drafthouse to see Cars 2.


We perused Toys R Us and debated between a Nintendo DS and a bearded dragon at the pet store. Daddy nixed the DS. Mom nixed the reptile. Cooper settled for a new set of stylin' headphones and toys. He's easily pleased.

He was especially excited to share a boatload of yummy cookies at swim practice.


I just can't believe he's 5. I'm stunned.

Getting the Grub in Order

I've mentioned before how much I love organization. I just have to have a place for everything to go. Lately, our pantry has been getting out of control. Again. The shelf labels I made last year just aren't enough to keep things in order.

Today, I added a shoe holder to the mix. Now, I feel better about things.


I'm sure your day is much more complete now that you know my protein bars have a new home.

All is Well

The kids went in for their annual well checks today and all is well. It's a monumental event because neither of them are ever sick. We only see our pediatrician at these annual checkups, so we don't know her very well. I'm okay with that. It's a far cry from our weekly visits to the doctor that we made when Cooper was little.


In case you were wondering, they are both in perfect condition. The doctor is concerned that they are growing too much. Maybe next time I should have Daniel take them in. She won't have to wonder why my children are on track to tower over me in three or less years. And, other than putting a brick on their heads, there's not anything I know of to stop this "problem".

Star Spangled Pretzels

A national meet at UT coincided with the Fourth of July this year. So, I decided to tackle both events and make patriotic treats for our friends/neighbors that could also be treats for the swimmers. Who doesn't love pretzels, white chocolate and sprinkles?! I thought so.

B Meet

Abigail qualified for her first regional meet this year. She qualified for five races, which meant she had to swim all three days of the meet because of when those events were scheduled. Unfortunately, the meet was scheduled at the worst pool in our region. Ugh... I met my complaining max this weekend and you're about to hear all about it.

The pool was 45 minutes from us and we had to be there by 7 a.m. for prelims Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Abigail was awesome and made it to finals every day. It was not awesome to get back in the car after a nap and drive back to the pool by 4 p.m. all three days. I tried to get a hotel close to the pool, but they didn't exist.

Even worse, the pool was outdoors. It's the only outdoor pool Abigail has ever swam at, and we found out why. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot and it's hot. Backstroke is almost impossible when staring at the sky. And, it's hot.

The meet was set up terribly and the swimmers had to swim in a short course pool for prelims and a long course pool for finals. It just wasn't fair for anyone.

There were no electronic timing systems so they relied on human timers. There were many errors. Our swimmers usually swim at UT, so that just wasn't good enough for them.

If you're still reading this, you're a glutton for punishment, which is how I felt every time we drove back to the pool this weekend. Thankfully, Gran came to show her support and helped out through the weekend. Although the meet was not enjoyable, the kids still found a way to have some fun.


Now, we're looking forward to next season. Short course meets begin in October!

Father's Day

Our annual Father's Day tradition is in full force this year. Since we were going to be gone during the weekend, the kids made these a few weeks ago. We make them every year for Daniel, Grandad and PaBear. The grandparents especially love having them in their gardens. The kids always love making them.


Since we make six stepping stones, I am especially happy the kids are now helpful. These are much easier to make than they were when the kids were babies. They weren't as helpful. If you've never tried to keep a baby from grabbing wet cement, I don't recommend it.

Just Beachy

We traveled to Corpus Christi this weekend for a big swim meet. It was nice to take four days away from home and spend with our closest friends, the swim team. Most of all, Abigail had a great meet. She made four more qualifying times for regional championship meet. Her 200 IM, 100 Fly and 200 Free were her best swims of the meet. She won five ribbons, and we were so proud!


She had a lot of fun cheering on her friends.


She especially had fun cheering on her teammates in a relay. Of course, the girls were a first place team.


Of course, we were excited to be on the coast and back to seafood. But, we were disappointed to find out that the Texas coastal version of seafood isn't the same as what we've been accustomed to. Apparantly, fried shrimp is considered a delicacy in Texas. Oh, well. The kids had fun eating on the pier.


On our way out of town, we made one vital stop. The kids wouldn't let us leave the coast without a few hours at the beach. We were pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had!