After taking Sam to school today, Evie and I decided to hit the playground for a while before the heat set in. She can do things on this playground at two-and-a-half years old that Sam didn't try for a least a couple years past that age. She's strong and adventurous and quite the risk-taker. And cute, too!
We have a first grader! He looks more relaxed than his first-day photo from last year. He was downright giddy on this first morning and for that we are very grateful. He's a great student and he loves school. Can't ask for anything better than that!
The kids and I often visit our neighbor Arturo on the days we walk home from school. He stands outside his garage every morning and afternoon, waving to all the moms and dads and kids as they walk to and from school. He's watched many of them grow up over the last ten years he's lived here and his garage is covered with all sorts of children's artwork given to him over the years.
He's an awesome grandpa to his own grandkids and loves the neighborhood kids the same way. He often passes down his grandchildren's toys to Sam and Evie and he taught Sam how to play darts. There's always a dish of candy out for the kids - Sam likes to eat it, Evie just likes to unwrap it. He loves to talk about what he's planting in his garden, just like our Pops! He grows some of his plants from seeds and has a little greenhouse in his backyard that he likes to show off. I like when he tells stories about his time as a soldier in Desert Storm or shows us his bowling team patches from the seventies and other cool treasures from his past.
The kids look for him everyday and they're always disappointed on the rare occasion he's not outside when we pass by his house. Sam and Evie have wonderful grandfathers of their own, but it's also nice to have a grandfatherly neighbor right down the street, too, to ask you how school was, spoil you with candy and toys, and tell you to stop fighting with your sister!
We had a nice, overcast morning yesterday, and Sam asked if we could walk to the basketball court at the end of our street so he could ride his scooter around. I grabbed my camera as I usually do, not knowing if I'd take any pictures or not.
As we walked I realized this would be the perfect time to try the panning technique I'd seen used many times. I like how they turned out and I plan to try again sometime, maybe once the weather cools down a bit. Sam likes them, too, and had fun showing off his scooter skills for me!
While the boys played basketball, Evie climbed here, there and everywhere (covered in mud). Right before this shot she said to me, "Look, Mommy. Evie is so tall!"
While we were scootering, panning, photographing and doing fancy tricks on the basketball court, a boy from down the street came on the court with his basketball. He was very friendly, introduced himself to everyone, and asked Sam if he wanted to play ball with him. They quickly became friends and played for quite a long time together. Our new friend was very sweet to Evie, too, and made sure to include her in the basketball game. Sam's never shown an interest in basketball before (the Lakers shirt he happened to be wearing that morning was a hand-me-down), but he had a blast that day. We stayed for a long time and even shared snacks together on the basketball court. I told Sam it's pretty special to be a first grader and have a friend in the FIFTH grade! He and Sam see each other almost every day at school and wave and say hi, and Evie asks where he is at least once a day. He was a precious kid and a good role model for Sam. We hope to see him again soon!
One picture each of Sam and Evie in front of the ever-popular blue wall on what was likely to be our last trip to the Fountains at Fairview for the summer season. Gotta love 'em!
For Evie, feeding her babies is a serious job. First the baby's binkie comes out, then the milk goes in a spoon, or "poons" and the spoon goes into the baby's mouth. And it's always a time for quiet and concentration. I could watch her take care of her babies all day.
July was hot but fun!
Our fabulous photography playgroup, Lens Baby, turned five this summer. FIVE! I can't believe it! We celebrated at Celebration Park again this year. It was a hot sunny day, and the splash pad felt great. Happy Birthday to the best playgroup ever!
Sam and Evie are always so excited to go the library, and half the fun is getting there. They both think it's hilarious to squeak and yelp in the parking garage to make an echo, and they always beg to climb the stairs at the garage entrance. All this fun before we even get inside! They are definitely easy to entertain!
The Frisco Library has had a postcard writing station up for a while now, and changes the storybook characters often. We've written to Curious George and Pete the Cat, but on this day we were all SUPER excited to write a postcard to two of our favorite characters - Elephant and Piggie. Simple drawings with minimal text, these books sure do say a lot just through the characters actions and facial expressions. No book gets Sam giggling faster!
I see a resemblance to our own little Elephant and Piggie pals, don't you?
Baby fell asleep in her tent. Good place for a nap, I say.
I checked out the Farmer's Market in McKinney's Chestnut Square for the first time this week. It was fun to see our favorite photo spot - usually rather empty and quiet - so full of people and colorful produce! There was an artist covering Johnny Cash songs, lots of great food to buy, yummy samples, and friendly folks.
I brought treats home for both Evie and Sam. Evie got a little pink ball with a bee on it that said, "Bee Patient", one of our most frequently-used phrases with her right now, so how perfect is that! I got Sam the children's storybook written by Chestnut Square's Chester the Cat - the cat who supposedly dislikes most grown-ups and all children, but has hung out with Sam on several occasions. They have a special bond it seems. The book is cute - it mentions several places in McKinney that Sam's been to.
I also brought home some awesome peaches, humongous zucchini, and rosemary bread. Great finds at the Farmer's Market - I will be back!
Met up with some friends at good ol' Double Dip for some frozen custard. Well, custard for Sam, crackers for Evie (crazy girl). It was hot, but we had fun!
This was one of my favorite photography meetups of the summer - patriotic setups in celebration of Independence Day. It was held at our favorite location, Chestnut Square, and Sam and Evie really explored every inch of it this time. They ran up and down every ramp, hung out on every porch, and found all sorts of treasures. We stayed for a long time and I came home with so many images of the two of them exploring and enjoying this pretty little spot.
On the actual 4th of July Brian and I took the kids to downtown McKinney to see the parade. We've been several times and it's always a fun morning. We had a great spot this year and there were some very patriotic floats to enjoy. I was very happy there was a marching band this time. Patriotic music was the icing on America's birthday cake! An ice cream and iced coffee treat from our favorite shop The Sweet Spot made for a yummy end to a sweet morning! Happy Birthday, America!
When this kid gets an idea in his head, he goes for it - and he goes all out! On this particular day he decided to open a snack shop, "Sam's Cafe" and set up shop right in the pantry. It makes sense - all his ingredients were just an arms-length away!
He invented these three snacks:
Evie ordered something and then didn't eat it. Typical.
We even put some paper and crayons on the table while we waited for our food to be ready, just like they do at a real restaurant.
I ordered "Sunflower Seeds and Peanuts are Friends" because, yeah! They are!
This summer I began using an iPhone app called 1SE - One Second Everyday. The idea is you record one second of video every day and at the end of the month stitch all the clips together for a short montage. It's a great way to share some of the videos we take. Here is our June - enjoy!
