Tucson!

This summer has been long and hot and lonely. I have had a lot of fun things to keep us busy but it got really repetitive and at the end of most days I was alone and lonely. So I told Ryan I needed a vacation and I started planning the 16.5 hour road trip with just me, Kate and Sawyer. The drive there went really well. I had a box of toys and a box of snacks that were in the passenger seat and I just handed stuff back to them every now and then. We made it all the way to Las Cruces, NM the first day which left only 4.5 hours the second day. We got to Tucson and met Grammie and Nana at a gas station and they picked us up and headed to the airport to pick up Dani. She heard we were going to be in town and she decided she needed a vacation too! Dani found out the sex of her baby the day before coming down and told us she would be wearing either a blue or pink shirt when we picked her up....exciting! We pulled up to the curb and there she was wearing a BLUE shirt! Congrats Dani and Jared, we are so excited for you! (And, in case you are wondering, that makes it 1 girl and 4 boys of grandkids for my parents...Kate is still the favorite granddaughter for now!)
The entire trip was spent doing a few fun things but mainly just hanging out. I needed it SO much! My kids loved Grammie and Papa's house and they were really on their best behavior the entire time, running around the house and playing. That let me have time to just relax. Then, after bedtime, I wasn't alone! It was perfect. I even had time to read Mockingjay (in one long stint that kept me up till 3 am) and and Wicked (which I HATED. Hated. Has anyone read the book and seen the play that wants to discuss it with me? I've only talked to people who have done one or the other.)
Most days after Papa got home from work the kids were waiting for him with their swimming suits on. Kate showed off her swimming skills, darting back and forth between the walls all by herself. Sawyer showed off his no-fear jumping in skills...a couple of times with no floaties and he had to be rescued.
I enjoyed being with my mom, running errands and going out to lunch at all my favorite Tucson places. It really was the perfect vacation.
I did take a few pictures of a few of the highlights when I wasn't being lazy...

Kate got a hair "trim" while we were in Tucson. She LOVES her long hair and her favorite thing is when her hair is long and wet and straight and she can feel it on her back. When I told her she needed a haircut she kept telling me she wanted it long so I started calling it a hair "trim". She was happy when it was all over and her hair was still long.

Picking Peaches in Wilcox at Apple Annie's

Does he make this peach look good or what?

Learning to play checkers with Papa

"Mom! I'm trying to concentrate here!"

eegees

Peter Piper Pizza with extended family for Uncle Jed's birthday!
Sawyer's Skee-ball skills....where did the ball go?

Oh there it is! Halfway across the place! ooops...
Playing Deal or No Deal with Papa

Yea!!

Yummy Kona Berri frozen yogurt...we did this one twice! It was self serve and no matter what I did, I always ended up with the heaviest cup! hehe

Seeing Shrek with Grammie

Costco!

Walking down to feed the ducks with Papa

After my 2 weeks of bliss were up we headed back to Houston. The drive was even better because Grammie can with us to keep us company. As soon as we got home we were running errands and getting ready for Ryan's presentation. He said hi to us when we got in and then headed back to school to keep working. You have to bring food to the presentation and we decided on pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salad, coleslaw and cookies. We cooked the pork all night long and it ended up really yummy. And its a good thing because we made 3 times too much! After it was over my zombie husband left and my happy husband returned! He was so relieved to have it over with and he feels like he did a good job. After he was done we all went to Costco to celebrate with their new gelato.
Good job Daddy! And thanks to Grammie for being here to help me get everything ready. Now mom leaves tomorrow and we're back to real life again. Only I'm hoping I won't be quite as lonely now that Ryan is done with his presentation...now all he has to do is study for his final and boards, work, and find a job! 119 days left!!

getting ready for summer

You probably have all been looking at the blog and asking yourself why I have let Sawyer's hair get so long. I have been thinking about getting Sawyer's hair cut for a while but haven't really cared enough to try and find a place to get it done and pay the money for it. When I told my mom that she said, "Dad would send you money for a hair cut!" (he isn't a big fan of the long curls!) So I finally buckled down and took him to Great Clips. He fell asleep in the car on the way there and I didn't know what was going to happen. They got us right in and I sat him down and he just sat there and stared the whole time while the lady cut his hair. He even drooled out the side of his mouth...the poor kid was tired! But the lady was so surprised with how well he behaved! I had told her I wanted it short but I was still envisioning some curls in the back. So here we go....

Before...

Starting to get it cut....Look at those curls fall....Ta da!!

As you can see, there are no curls left. But I know they will grow back and I take comfort in the fact that I have a while until I have to pay money to cut his hair again! When Ryan got home he we surprised him with it and his response was, "I could have done that with my clippers!" (I know that is true but, again, it wasn't the haircut I was envisioning!) And all night long we would ask Sawyer, "Where did your hair go?" and he would smile really big and touch the back of his hair and say, "Where did it go?"
Today at the gym the ladies were complimenting him and one said it made his eyes stand out more. I had noticed that too. So it was a successful hair cut and now he is ready for summer!