B.F.F. (Best Friends Forever!)

Last night after church I went to go pick Josie up from class, and they were out on the playground. Josie and Zoey were playing in the little house, which was no surprise. However, I was completely shocked as I got closer to them to see how dirty they were! Apparently, they'd been giving each other dirt baths with the dirt floor in the house. They were both absolutely filthy! Their arms, legs, and faces were COVERED in dirt. They'd both taken off their socks and shoes, too and had filthy feet. I should have been mad, but they were sooo dirty that it was actually pretty funny. Needless to say, I had to give Josie a bath before I could put her to bed.

Cousins!!!!

We were blessed this past weekend to have Lane's sister Mary Anne and her family come for a visit. They were visiting Kevin's family in Baton Rouge, and decided to make the 5 hour drive to Houston to see us. It was a quick visit. They were only here for about 24 hours. Saturday night we took them out for some of the best Tex-mex around at Pappasitos, then MaryAnne and I took the kids to the pool. Josie was so excited to see her cousins, Faith and John Derrick. She even eventually warmed up to their dog, Prince Harry the Charming One (who was very well behaved, I must say). It's always good to see family and we were so thankful for their willingness to make the drive, even for such a short visit. Since moving to Houston, God has really taught us a lesson in the importance of family and not taking them for granted.

VBS 2011

Our VBS theme this year was "Voyagers: The Search for True Treasure" (and don't ye be confusin' that with pirates, argggggg!). The kids had a great time as we searched for the true king, the true teacher, the true power, and the true strength. I particularly enjoyed watching Josie progress throughout the week. I'm sure she didn't really grasp everything that was going on, but she would come home singing the songs. Of course, when asked "Josie, who is the true treasure??", she sometimes still says "the pirate!!!" instead of "Jesus!!!" (There was a "first mate" in the skit that she called the pirate.)
I taught the 4 year olds, and these are pictures of our classroom.

Summer Fun

Picnic at the park

This is what happens on the way home after a hard day of playing and no nap

Backyard Splash Time!!!

Nathan kept trying to jump into the pool over the side.
Several times he bounced off the side of the
pool right back into the yard. But he kept on trying!

Catching some rays

Bathing Beauties! (I love this picture!!!)

The Splash Pad!

Sunday is Nathan and Natalie's 2nd birthday. So, today I thought we'd do something special by going to the nearby Splash Pad to play. Our friends the Fryer's and the Deaver's were able to meet us there.
Nathan and Natalie LOVED the splash pad! They were all about playing in the water. Josie....not so much. You'll notice there's not a single picture of her in the water. She didn't get wet at all, and we didn't even need her towel. She walked around a little bit in the water, but mostly enjoyed walking on the dry concrete steps (or sitting right next to me!). She definitely did NOT want the water to spray her! Josie's favorite part of this field trip was definitely playing on the playground (the see-saw in particular) before we left.
Fun times!

Happy Birthday Josie!

Lane's parents came to visit for the long Memorial day weekend and Josie's birthday party. They left Tennessee on Wednesday night and planned to spend the night at a hotel in Birmingham, then finish the trip to Houston on Thursday. Well, as they were approaching their exit in Birmingham, the transmission in their car went out. They spent most of Thursday morning at a Honda dealer (they also drove a CR-V), and ended up buying a new car in order to get to Houston. They finally made it to our house at about 11 on Thursday night.
Friday was Josie's "official" birthday, so we all went to the Houston Children's Museum. We had never been before, and I must say I was a little bit disappointed. The Museum really is awesome, there just wasn't much for Josie's age group. You had to be under 35 months to get into the Tot Spot, and several other activities were ages 5 and up. There was nothing specifically for the 3-5 crowd. She loved playing in the giant water table outside. She also loved the grocery store and the "cafe" in Kidtropolis. She had fun pushing buttons and playing throughout the museum, she just didn't "get" all of it. It was fun, but we probably won't go back until she's a little older.
We had Josie's birthday party with all of her friends on Saturday. She decided several weeks ago that she wanted to have a tea party. At the party we decorated sugar cookies and made a cardboard teapot craft. We ran an obstacle course and played a "Paper Wars" game outside. The big hit outside was the sandbox. All 5 of the kids crowded around it.
After crafts and games, we had a "tea party" lunch of sandwiches (cut into teapot shapes, of course), fruit, veggies & dip, pasta salad, & Goldfish. Then we sang "Happy Birthday" and Josie blew out the candles on her tea pot cake (which I made!). Then we opened presents, which is always fun. The kids all got sunglasses and bubble wands as "favors."
I think my favorite part of the party was before everyone left, we tried to get a picture of all the kids sitting together. It was hilarious to try to get 5 kids (the oldest one now 3) to sit still and look in the same direction.
It was a great day and Josie had a very happy birthday!
(To see more pictures, be sure to look at my or Lane's Facebook page.)