My Hero

can HEB just sponsor my blog already? i think i mention it enough. yesterday, jack was soooo excited to get his reading club hero packet in the mail from HEB. for reading 15 books this summer, he got a t-shirt, certificate (which reads "froehhich, btw), 20 he*buddy points, a sticker, and some coupons (ooh, momma likey!), but the best part is that he is an official superhero now. guess i better go wash that shirt. have a feeling he's going to need to wear it every day.

Most Boring Blog Ever
yup. am hurtin' for material this week, so this is what you get: the shopping cart at HEBplus! we've stayed at home A LOT lately. well, yesterday we did go to the mall to watch gwen & claire get their ears pierced. that was exciting. and in other good news, mia is pretty much potty trained! for you new parents out there (i.e. brian & amanda), this is an anomaly. it almost NEVER happens that fast. i feel like i sort of deserve it, though. in almost every other way, she has been way more high maintenance than jack (note: look who insisted on wearing a raincoat w/ hood in 90 degree weather!!). maybe the weekend will bring some excitement...

Happy Birthday, Honey!!!

Even at the ripe old age of 31, you are just as hot as you ever were. :) We love you too much.
xoxo,
M, j, m

Let the Potty Training Begin!
after much hemming and hawing, i finally bit the bullet this weekend and made some potty training purchases...dora & curious george panties and skittles (these were replacements for the m&m's i bought earlier in the week and immediately ATE). mia is doing really well so far! she's already asked to go a few times on her own and she loooooves her new panties. here she is all puffed up over her big girl status.

BROOKE. the most fun, sassy and tall (she can wear my clothes!) 6 year-old you'll ever meet. she and her mom, hoflyn, came for a visit the past few days, and it was non stop fun: dance parties, movies, lots & lots of swimming and playing in their hotel room. thanks for the visit, girls! we miss ya already.

Of Mice and Mosquitos
lately i've been asking myself these two questions: 1. am i mentally unstable? and 2. do i have west nile? after this morning, the answer to both of these is decidedly YES, because i went out for my long run with NO BUG REPELLENT on me. hello? can you say brain fart? am pretty sure i woke up the neighbors with all my loud slappin' and squealin'. at times i could have been seen swinging my arms and head around in a violent fashion, and i even hallucinated a few bug spray trucks in the road. good thing i have a date tonight...i'm going to look extra cute covered in calamine splotches. so, here's lovely me after my run. and if you look extra close at the pic, you get the added bonus of seeing bug guts! the little mice above are getting ready to watch mickey mouse clubhouse-their new favorite way to spend saturday mornings.

Jumpin' Jack

dave & jack went to swim lessons yesterday, where dave caught these pics of jack jumping off the diving board (two times!). well, technically he was thrown off by this lifeguard. but still, he was thrilled, and so are we. just one more week of lessons left!

I FEEL GOOD. da na na na na na na. i knew that i would now. that was pretty much jack's mantra after finishing his first swim lesson tonight. i believe his exact words were, "I am AWESOME! I am GREAT!" the kid doesn't lack for self-confidence, that's for sure. i was a very proud momma, too. he was a little apprehensive about swim lessons this year and almost chickened out, but after tonight he can't wait to go back. here's him on the kickboard with his teacher, kika. today he learned the superman, the starfish, and he caught the ring. whatever all that means. more to come...

lazy weekend. lots of reading, car washing & lawn mowing. the usual. we've also (after watching a video about worms) been into making our own slime. v. entertaining! oh, and i guess i need to take back my "never raining here" comment. i think it's rained every day this week!

REUNITED...and it feels so good
crissy was back in town for a few days, so we had the whole gang together again.
celebrated sunny's birthday @ pier 99 with some red velvet cake. jealous much? the kids got together at the pool, the park & our house until chaos broke loose. enjoy the pics of a pouty princess, some brotherly love and worn out kids decked out in 4th of july colors (all except gwen, who refused to look like anyone else). that a girl! if you need more pics to satisfy your fix (i.e. grandparents), check out www.sandyreeds.blogspot.com, where you can see pics of us @ sunny's party. Happy 4th of July!!!