Hot dogs every night

Every evening lately we play 'hot dog.' 

Dave puts a kid in the bean bag. And covers them in ketchup, pickles, and mustard (tickles).

 Then he picks up the bean bag and throws them around

 Then onto the couch.

 Here's Hendrix patiently waiting his turn.

The kids think it's kinda fun.

 Veda doesn't usually play hot dog-- but here's a picture of the little darling anyway :)

crazies

This is us walking home from the pool. We might be the strange ones in the neighborhood :)

 Hendrix flying home!

 he he....

HEB

There's an awesome girl in my ward who organizes little pre-school outings. Yesterday it was a field trip to the local grocery store (it's called HEB). Quinn looks excited, huh? And Hendrix was maybe less excited than her- see his crown and name tag hanging on the stroller? He wouldn't put them on.

 But Veda thought it was awesome!

I think they all ended up having a lot of fun. (Plus the goodie bags they got at the end kinda sealed the deal of the fun-factor).

 Ha-- at the end this grocery bag guy came out (he's the logo/mascot). I think it frightened a lot of the children. Hendrix keeps talking about the 'bad guy' that was at the store... talking about the big grocery bag :)

veda

Sweet baby Veda. 

She is loving books right now. She'll grab one and sit on my lap (or Quinn's lap, or Dave's). 

She is a waver right now. Waves at anyone or anything.

Loves strangers. Will sit by anyone at the pool- if she knows them or not. Just walks right up and takes a seat.

She might be ready to go to one nap a day. Such a hard adjustment.

Is super excited by birds, dogs, bugs, and her daddy.

She had her first braid yesterday. Hopefully the first of many. She's been a stinker about pulling her hair out lately.

But you put her by another baby that is about her age. And the fire comes out.

She wants to ring this doorbell.

(no- I didn't let Veda bite her)

But oops- she got a little push in

Yikes!

 Just look at the fury in those darlingly beautiful blue eyes :)

Highs and Lows

Highs and Lows:

I had one of those weeks where I kept thinking "wow-- this is so great." But then after a while I would think "Bummer... why is this happening?" I've heard of people who do 'highs and lows' with their kids at dinner. We've tried to do that, but our kids are too little. Someday, I hope we do that as a family. Until then, here are my highs and lows from the week. And let's start with the low. (I'm definitely a save the best for last kinda gal)

The lows:

-Hearing a kid at the park say to Hendrix: "Don't play by me, I don't want to play with you." (A kid that we know, by the way. And he was just being a kid. But it's heartbreaking to hear someone say that to your kid. And then to see your kid burst into tears because his friend said that to him).

-At same park (it was a bad morning), Quinn got so frustrated that she tried to bite me. What?! Then when I stopped her she bit herself. I guess we need to work on dealing with frustration.

-Running five miles (That's a LOW you say?) Because it was ONLY five miles-- which means I still have a long way to go to run a half marathon

-I'm feeling old. I went to book club with one of my new friends who is a lot younger than me. It made me feel really old. 

The Highs:

-I ran 5 miles!!! That is the longest distance I have run since high school, so I'm pretty proud of myself. Seriously guys-- 5 miles. That's far. ;)

-Instagram. I love Instagram. Those of you who are already friends with me on there (Hi guys!! It's so fun, huh?!), the rest of you- get an iPhone and get Instagram. 

-I feel so happy to be in Austin. It's not easy to make such a humungous life change, but Dave and I both just feel like life is so much better for us here. We love our house and ward and neighborhood and Dave's job.

-Not having to work right now. I've been doing hair at least part time for the last 10 years of my life. I'm really happy to be having an extended break right now. 

-This morning was a great morning- so it deserves to be on my 'highs' list. Woke up and had an early run, followed by Dave getting up early for a run (I know, right??!!), followed by us all going for a swim at 7:30 am. Seriously a dreamy morning. 

Here are my Instagrams from the week. Seriously everyone- jump on the bandwagon.

Buzz

I buzzed Hendrix's head.

the 'office' and Veda talking

We're still decorating this place. We've been working on Dave's little corner of the house. This is looking into his office. His computer is on the desk on the left. The other desk is there for me to use for sewing or when someone from Dave's company comes over to work for the day. 

This book shelf is what I worked on today. It's just awful when I have an excuse to go to IKEA. 

 These are some pictures we put up in the 'play room.' I know... I'm blowing you away with this picture of pictures... but that middle picture just makes me so happy. :) (I would have taken a picture of the whole shelf to show you how great the pictures make the room look, but the toy shelves need some organizing attention)

Three things I love about this video

1. Veda's fake cry near the beginning

2. When she says "no" to saying "apple"

3. Hendrix's "you're so funny, baby!" at the end.

father's day, cleaning, HEB, and Veda

My kids have the best daddy ever. 

This was our fun Father's Day morning. We had coffee cake and presents and 'beef turkey' (that's what Hendrix calls beef jerky- Dave got some as a present)

 Despite this face he's making, the kids had a blast cleaning with me this morning.

 They happily cleaned my shower and the mirrors in both bathrooms for me. It was great :)

We then had a fun adventure at HEB (the grocery store). When kids come they give them 'buddy bucks' when you check out. Then you insert them into this machine that spins and you push that button. Then it gives you a sticker. It is cause for much excitement.

Plus we managed to get this awesome cart today. Steering wheels + flames = fun

I love this-- Quinn steering for Hendrix. Already a back seat driver :)

See this darling pitcher? You all need to go to Target and get one. I got it last week and it makes me happy. It was 3.99... and awesome. I want one in every color. We use it to water my flowers, every night at dinner, and today for an out-door tea party.

 Quinn sometimes gets out every toy we have. It's kinda cute to listen to her play.

 And could a post be complete without this darling baby?

Do you know what else makes me happy? That my talk is over. I had to speak in church on Sunday and I HATE to. It stresses me out like no other. So I'm feeling some serious relief that it's over and that hopefully I'm off the hook for a while.

summer bucket list

We made a summer bucket list again. I thought I would share some of the things I'm going to try and do with my kids in case you are looking for things to do this summer too. I'm not sharing my whole list- since it includes just normal stuff like parks and swimming, etc. But here are some that you might enjoy as well: (My darling friend Lindsey has a cute printable again this year if you want to make a cute list. Mine is unfortunately on a piece of old construction paper that I hand wrote in a dried out marker that Veda later scribbled on).

Most of these ideas are on my Pinterest boards. You can find some of these on my 'kids' board if you want to do any of these and need the instructions! (that is also where I got all these pictures). And some of them I have linked to the original site.

Make home made gak

 Ice treasure hunt 

(freeze little toys into a block of ice- go outside with a hammer to get them out)

 Write ABC's with licorice strips

 build things with marshmallows/toothpicks

 mod-podge rocks

 tin foil river

 baking soda with colored vinegar

And some summer treats we hope to make this summer too:

 shirley temple floats

sand pudding

 Soda pop ice cream.