august '14

august wasn't the easiest month.  but there were a lot of nice times to be had anyway.

our girls mostly like each other a lot, and they especially like to sleep together.  we allowed this to happen for awhile - they're on a pallet on the floor, as Magz said her bed was 'too uncomfortable'.  the truth is, they sleep better in their own beds so that's where I'm making them sleep these days, but we're planning to move them into a full-size bed to sleep together soon, Laura&MaryIngalls-style.

magz came with me to work one day, and tagged along for a meet up with a convention staffer who wanted me to sign some stuff for a charity auction.  we decided Brasil was a good place to sign things and eat an early lunch.

it was magical weather for Houston summer.

I co-directed a Creative Arts Camp, which I was ultimately very proud of.  it wasn't the easiest week - we were never sure what kids would show up, I was recovering from a health event, Magz had a tough week, and I had a lot of other work going on.  lessons learned or revisited: don't be afraid to change the game as you go along when you see something not working, apologize when you need to, stop to listen, thank the village that shows up every day, people working in their gifts is a marvelous and unpredictable thing, perfection is the jerkface enemy, the collective is messy but the result is incomparable.  the first full run-thru was a mess and at the end of the day I had the kids demonstrate what it looks like for a baby to learn to walk, which they illustrated spectacularly.  I then told them that almost every new thing looks like a hot mess the first time, even for adults, but it gets better and you get better the more you work at it.  sure enough, we had a little Christmas miracle on Saturday and the kids did great for learning a ton of stuff in one week (many of whom weren't there every day).    

the photo below was from my 2-day Emerson shoot on Tues/Wed of that week, I'm a sales manager in oil & gas solutions.  I'm also taking a photo of myself on the monitor.

at 242 one night, I mentioned to Renee that I thought a large papier-mâché whale would be rad for the show.  she's an artist, and she went with it.  the beginning:

and the end result, before she painted the inside of the mouth red, added the eye, and hoisted it up to be the benevolent mammal angel of our show:

I love artists.  I also love yeomen.

our dear friends visited, and it was so nice to sit by my bestie in church and watch our girls head off to class holding hands:

su-su's pool!

epic playdate:

gussied up to impress at the cookies and story time shindig @ willow meadows.  we had just bought these silver keds:

costume change #3 of the day:

I don't even know.

a nice indulgence - leftover dark chocolate chopped up on peanut butter:

frozen party at imagination toys - it was BANANAS.  why aren't my children more excited?  we all began to melt down shortly after this photo was taken.

heading out of town for a much-needed texas stay-cation.  first stop, cousins in coppell!

delicious baby.

I couldn't stand him, really.

we tried letting the girls all sleep in the same room - alas, it was not to be this trip.  they had to be content with playing all over each other for 2 days.

I did a bit of work while there, which was nice.

next destination, Glen Rose.

Dinosaur World, which is an awesome stop.  I LOVED this place, and it was the perfect young child-friendly destination.

unearthing bones:

fossil dig:

playground!

we hit up Storiebook Cafe for lunch, which is also a perfect young child destination:

playroom/dress up room, hello!

I have many nice sun hats, all of which were left in Houston.  so I chose the most awesome one I could find.

our hotel had a wonderful pool/spa area:

and for dinner we went to the Riverhouse Grill, which was the best.

we walked around the square afterward - I thought we'd get coffee and pie, not realizing that everything would close at 5p.  so we had the run of the deserted square, which was odd and neat.  maggie took this picture.

the next morning we headed to Fossil Rim:

and had lunch at Hammond's bbq, where they served us a ton of food.

seriously.

after naps and more swimming, we headed to The Bayou for dinner.  the girls made a friend - that's them dancing to the zydeco music in the photo, and maggie invited aliyah to her next birthday party.  the people working here were so great, and I loved the down-home vibe.  this was the day I had fried okra at 2 meals, which is what vacation is for.

last night at the hotel - eating popcorn, drinking hot chocolate, and watching mary poppins.  not the best bedtime routine, but a fun vacation practice.

we hit Big Rocks before leaving town the next morning.  the girls, especially magz, were like little mountain goats.  which made me terribly anxious, but whatever.

taking a photo of us.

the photo they took - let me just say, sunscreen is a pain but I consider it a triumph that no one got sunburned on this trip:

we drove to Hico and spent the day at Grandma's hanging out with she and Yaya - dance party in progress below:

girls with PawPaw:

at the Clifton Church of Christ, showing off the pretty dresses Grandma gave them:

back in town in time to start pre-school:

ru was upset to be left behind, and put together her own ensemble:

also first day back in ballet class.  there were a ton of kids (God love Miss Laurie) and parents/siblings were crawling over each other in the hall, so we had the option of switching to a Thursday 4 year old class that I think will work even better for us.

story time with friends - they're milking the cow and drinking the milk, which is awesome:

and the girls spent the night Friday at Grammy and Opa's while mgb and I went out on a date:  Azuma Sushi & Robata Bar (awesome), The Chocolate Bar, and walking through Urban Outfitters where there is no bar but you may just spot a unicorn.

m.y.