Jack and Molly...

Jack icing his cupcake...

Maybe he will become great in the kitchen like his Uncle Jason!

A patio to a path...

We are not done with this "home improvement" project, but I thought I would share some pictures thus far. We laid the stone down this week, and are really pleased with it. We are excited to get to use the patio more this summer...many great nights of eating dinner outside!

Jack is ready for summer...

We have not had much summer-like weather yet, but Jack is ready for shorts and short sleeved shirts. He got some new shirts and shorts the other day from Grammy, and he was so excited about the plaid shorts that he wanted to wear them immediately! Thanks Grammy and Pops!

More Rhodies and an Iris...

This one REALLY smells wonderful. We were working on a path that we are creating from the patio to the garage yesterday that goes right by this Rhodie. We were digging and hauling - it was really hard on the back. I told Kyle the only redeeming thing about the work was that every once and awhile one would get a whiff of the flowers and be refreshed.
We have just about every color in our backyard right now, and I just love the red. It is the only plant out there with just redness.
These smell wonderful, too.

Flowers from Kyle...

One of my earliest memories of Kyle is the way he always bought me flowers. When I returned home from my semester abroad in Italy my junior year in college, I had moved from the Theta house to an apartment with some friends. We were not dating yet, and he was unaware of the move. The Theta house called me to let me know that some flowers were there and to come and pick them up. They were some beautiful purple roses in a cute little vase. I was a bit curious why he had sent them, since we were not dating, but the card said something like he just wanted to welcome me back. Flash forward 12 years...I have successfully (I am ashamed to say) changed Kyle's habit of buying me flowers. It was sweet and wonderful when we were dating, but then we got married and the money became something we shared and had to watch a bit more. He continued to buy me flowers, but I would always throw a comment in there about how we could have spent the money on something else. Now, he still likes to buy me flowers but it is not as frequent which is my fault and not his because he still loves to buy flowers for me. He bought me these Mother's Day flowers on Sunday, and they are wonderful and I love them. I am grateful that I have not killed the spirit of his flower buying altogether. Some change is not always for the better!

"Checking my email..."

Yesterday and today the kids have been playing with a computer that their Granma gave Jack last year. Yesterday, Jack said that he was on the internet checking out "pbskids.org" because they have "online resources" for parents. He wanted to make sure that I knew about it. I smiled and laughed and told him he was too cute and too much. It is funny and scary how much kids can pick up from the things they hear on tv repeated over and over. Jack has no idea what he is talking about, but has heard it so much from watching Clifford on PBS that he now repeats it to us. Today, Molly was playing with the computer while Jack was at school and she stated..."me checking my email." Once again, she has no idea what she is saying, but has the right tools and does the right motions to look as though she knows what she is doing. Kyle and I just laugh at the different realm of technology our kids are growing up around. I am sure that our parents felt the same way, but somedays it is really amazing. We also laughed because we are not the most technological family around. I do get on the computer to check email and such, but do not live on it and usually do it when they are napping so I am more amazed that they have picked up on it from the little they see of it.

The Dentist...

Today, I went to the dentist. It always feels so good to go and get the tartar and gunk removed from inside of my mouth. Today was a first for me. This was the first time to this doctor. I was a little leary when I first arrived. His office was a bit dated, but clean. They do not make their appointments on a computer, but in an old book handwritten by the receptionist. (The up side to that is that they will never have to worry about the computer crashing and losing all the appointments!) They were running a little late, but came and got me at last. It was a lunch appointment, so the dentist checked me out and (I am assuming) was off to lunch. He said everything looked great. I did not have any gum problems or new cavities, which is a good thing because it had been a little while since I had been to a dentist (that is what you get when you don't have insurance - procrastination). The one curious thing he said that I have not had since I was a kid was...he would like to see me in BRACES! I kindly smiled and thought to myself..."yeah, right. We have two young kids that are going to need braces in the next few years. My teeth can wait for another 20 years!" So, mom and dad...sorry that you wasted your money only to be told that your daughter needs braces again. Also, sorry I did not wear my retainer enough. But as a side note...the dentist did find it odd that my teeth would have moved as much as they did in so short of a time with the fact that I did wear braces. Oh well...here is to slightly crooked teeth.