Happy 5th Birthday, Jax

Jaxon turned 5 on July 10. He wanted his party at the Skate Station, so that's what we did. He had a wonderful time, and both he and Gracie are now decent skaters. Our friend, Jessica, came over the night before the party and made his birthday cake. She also made Gracie's cake this year; needless to say, she is awesome!

You can see more pictures from the party under the album section on the right.

Horrible Parent

I am definitely the WORST parent ever!!! Here's the story: Gracie fell at school Wednesday morning. The office called me at 8:15 and said her hand looked really bad and that I should come get her. Yes, her left thumb/wrist were very swollen and 'angry' looking. Of course, me being the great nurse that I am (obviously not), took her home and gave her ibuprofen. No need to see the doctor I said; it's just a bruise or sprain. Well, the thumb and wrist were still hurting her today (Friday), so Kev took her to the pediatrician. They took an x-ray of the left wrist and saw no gross abnormalities. They then decided to x-ray the right forearm for a comparison film. The radiologist then asked Kev and the crew if Gracie had injured her right arm recently. Gracie immediately spoke-up and reminded Kevin about the soccer kick she received about 1 MONTH AGO! Gracie did cry when that injury occurred, but she got back in the game! She complained for a couple of days, but she was fine soon afterward. Well, much to our dismay, she apparently broke her arm that night. The 'comparison' film showed a healing fracture of her right radius. Luckily, the left wrist/thumb are okay. I can't even express how terrible I feel right now. There are no words to express my horror and anger at myself. From now on, if the kids get hurt, it's straight to the doctor (yeah, right - I will probably still down-play everything). You probably don't remember, but Jaxon broke his right forearm (radius and ulna) when he was 2; he fell off of a swing. We didn't take him to the doctor for 2 days. I am beginning to think we might be unfit parents! Regardless, we have very stoic children, and they are surviving (and thriving, I think) despite their upbringing. We do feel very blessed that the fracture has healed straight and will require no further treatment.

Go, Fish

The entire 1st grade at Wiles Elementary performed to muscial "Go, Fish". Each class had a different role (sharks, crabs, red snappers, etc). There were about 10 students who had speaking roles, and Gracie Mae was one of them! She was on the stage during the entire play; she was the Blowfish. We were very proud of our little puffer!

Cowboys

While Papa and ChaCha were visiting. Jaxon's school had it's annual show. The theme this year was 'How the West Was Fun'. When they heard Jaxon's granddad would be in town and that he has a ranch in Texas, they asked him to speak to the kids about being a cowboy. Therefore, Papa loaded-up with cowboy things from Texas: chaps for Jax, spurs for himself, mesquite branch, barbed wire, hats for him and Jax. I think he was a big hit!

Puerto Rico

Kev and I escaped to Puerto Rico May 1. We had a wonderful time; it is a beautiful island. Kev received a grant with a professor at University of Puerto Rico, so he sent some samples to Dr. Otriz to see how they would grow. The plots looked great, and we were able to collect a lot of other grasses growing throughout the island. To view our album, click on 'Albums' under the 'Links I Like' heading on the right. Thanks to Papa and ChaCha for watching Gracie and Jax; I think everyone had a great time!

Lily

We haven't shared any recent pictures of Lily (possibly none since last March). She turned 1 in January, and she is definitely a handful! She loves to put her head in your lap, go for runs with either Mom or Dad, and eat bones (or ANYTHING else whether edible or not!). We have thoroughly enjoyed her, and here is proof of her cuteness.

1st Sleep-over

Crazy Divas - Logan, Gracie and Kathleen

The whole crew - Kathleen, Logan, Gracie, Luke and Jax

Dressed-up for church and backpack-prepared for sleep-over

Gracie and Jaxon had their 1st sleep-overs this weekend. They stayed with Logan and Luke (our friends, the Sparrows). Not only did the Sparrow house have the 2 Sparrow children and the 2 Kenworthy children, but they also had another friend, Kathleen. The amazing part of the story is that Renai hosted all 5 kids BY HERSELF! Her husband, Kenny, is in Texas on business, but she still wanted everyone to spend the night. We're not sure if she's crazy or just an angel (probably a little of both).

Another 1st was going to church on Saturday night. We all went together since we knew the kids wouldn't get up on time Sunday morning. Our Saturday night service is called 'Denim at Dusk', and it is a very informal service (the exact same service as Sunday morning only with casual attire). Jaxon cries almost every Sunday morning because he doesn't want to wear 'church clothes'. It is a constant battle, and it leaves everyone unhappy. Wouldn't you know it...when we told him to get dressed for church Saturday night, he insisted on wearing his sports jacket (he also picked-out his shirt, shorts that didn't match so well and his nice shoes). Maybe his motivation was knowing his best friend, Luke, would be joining him at church. Gracie also dressed beautifully and even wore hose. They got several comments when we arrived at church (needless to say, they were a bit overdressed).

Kev and I got to sleep-in on Sunday morning and relieved Renae at about noon. By the time we got home, both kids were crying. They went straight to their beds without even eating lunch. Jax slept for 2 hours, and Gracie was out for about 3. After their huge naps, we all went out for a little exercise. Jax rode his scooter and his bike, I ran 1 mile, Kev ran 1 1/4 miles, and Gracie outdid us all by riding her bike 2 miles. Unfortunately, we probably negated all the work by heading to Working Cow for homemade ice cream after the work-out. Oh well, at least we all had fun!