Fishies

On my way to the airport to go to Maui, I stopped by Gramp's house to see how the kids are progressing with their swimming. Oh my land! Kaiya and Teague have turned into fish! (Well, actually we decided that Kaiya has turned into a mermaid, so we're calling her Arial; and Teague is half monkey/half fish.) Kaiya, who has advanced to Level 3 in swim lessons and is by far the youngest and smallest in her class, swims without a vest, dives, does underwater flips ... everything! And Teague is as fearless as ever in the water. It will be good when he's finally old enough for lessons so that his abilities will match his courage!

Here's Kaiya in the midst of one of her underwater flips.

... and doing an awesome backstroke.

I don't have a camera that's good enough to really catch the action, but the splash you see is Kaiya after Mom chucked her half way across the pool. The other shot I didn't get but should have is Kaiya holding on to Dad's back as he swims across the pool under water. She can hold her breath for a very long time!

What a good Dad!

Drying off ...

... and enjoying a poolside picnic.

July 24th

On the weekend of the July 24th holiday, in addition to trying to get ready for my Maui event, we had a sleepover (Kaiya and Teague) on Friday night, a barbecue, and Karen, Mike and Hunter stayed over on Saturday night. Busy, busy! Kara and Johnny and gang also joined us for the barbecue, and it was nice to have a chance to visit with everyone.

So, sleepover - the morning after out on the patio. Teague sure likes all the rocks in Grammie's back yard!

And Kaiya sure likes to color, whether it's inside or outside. Too bad we forgot the crayons outside after we were through and had them melt all over the tablecloth!

A good percentage of the play food in the playhouse is from McDonalds ... so here's Teagie enjoying some MickeyD's fries.

Not sure what this solemn face is for ... we really do have fun at sleepovers. Really!

Teague likes the Leap Frog, even if it is pink.

This was just too darling of a shot to miss. They were helping Grammie make stuff for the barbecue, and taking a break to enjoy some fruit.

Mmmm good!

Here's our baby boy Atticus. Still so little, but growing like a weed.

Backyard project

The backyard project is finally done! Well, I guess there's still stuff to do, like a new fence (the bank account will need to recover a bit for that), but the majority of it is done.

So ... the before pictures:

By the way, the lawn wasn't always in THIS bad of shape (although it was installed improperly and so always had been lumpy, etc.). I decided to let it die since I was getting rid of it. Oh, and the chairs are lined up this way because this is the way we play train (or cars, as the case may be).

And, once again, the infamous "Swing House" before it got a new life as a playhouse. Pretty ugly, wasn't it? (Sorry, Brock - but it's true.)

And the new ...

Including the new playhouse, proving once again that ugly ducklings do indeed grow into beautiful swans.

Of course, I personally did very little of this work. I seldom pull the gender card as a reason I can't or won't do something ... but of late I am pulling the age card. As in, I have worked too hard and too long to be doing this too. But with the help of a couple of professionals, and ESPECIALLY with the help of my darling daughter Stephanie (plus Alex to help us with 5 TONS of rocks), I finally have the low-maintenance, water conserving backyard oasis I dreamed of.

Atticus' Welcome to the World Party

We were finally able to have our baby shower for Atticus. It was originally set for the last weekend in June. We thought that would be okay, as he was due on June 12. However, he ended up making his debut a week late, and then he landed in the NICU for a week with pneumonia. Thankfully, he was okay. But of course we postponed the shower, which we had today.

So many attended, and we are grateful for everyone's support and love. Kris and Sterling have traveled a long road to become Mom and Dad to this beautiful boy. One thing's for sure ... he will be truly loved and cherished. Welcome, Atticus! We're wondering, though - will your nickname become Attie? Or Cus, as some speculate? Or just Parker, which is Krissy's vote?

This boy is going to be styling. Is there anything more fun than shopping for baby clothes?

My grand-niece Marina (the redhead in the photo above) and my nephews David and Kevin (below) were going directly from the party to the airport to spend time with Karen and Mike in Phoenix (I know ... crazy, huh?). Marina was a little nervous about her first trip without Mom.

This apparently is Teagie's standard photo-posing smile.

Atticus Will Parker

At long last, Atticus Will Parker has arrived! It seems to have been a longer wait than usual for me for two reasons: one, because he is a gift from a selfless mother who wanted a better life for him ... and the whole process is fraught with a degree of uncertainty; and two, because this (thankfully) has all been happening locally as opposed to from afar (as was the case with Kaiya and Teague, whose births seem to come up fast from the time the pregnancies were announced). We are just so happy to have him here at last! Kris and Sterling will be such awesome parents.

Unfortunately, he has developed pneumonia, and will be in the NICU for a few days. May God watch over him and over Kris and Sterling until they can at last be united as a family.

But our Atticus is strong ...

Teague Oliver Turns 2!

Our handsome little man turned two on June 11. He had a party on Sunday, which was VERY well attended by all the people who love him. He was absolutely buried with presents, had a great cake and THREE kinds of ice-cream (including Toy Story Lemonade), and a pinata (which kept spinning around and bonking him in the head, so he wasn't too sure if he liked it until the candy finally came out with a little help from Alex). He was perhaps most enamored with his balloons and kept reminding us of the colors (blue and red) and noting that there were no yellow balloons. It was a lot of fun!

On his actual birthday, Steph and Mickel asked him where he wanted to go to dinner. First answer: Grammie's. But, since I was still in Las Vegas, he had to come up with a second choice. "Steak" he told his mama, so they went to Lone Star. Unfortunately, it was so bad that Kaiya and Teague ended up eating only their broccoli. :-/

Since I did not have the blessing of having a son, it has been a very special thing to have Teagie in my life. He is all boy! He's so sweet and loving, it melts my heart each and every time I'm with him. And soon we will have our next little boy ... Atticus William Parker. Stay tuned!

Rising Star 2010

Well, yet another Rising Star convention has come and gone. It's always so crazy to prepare for, and then over before I know it and all of the sudden it's a month later. We had a GREAT group this year ... smaller in size but they sure made up for it in enthusiasm! I'll tell you what - if you need a job where you receive love for what you do, you should go into event planning. Of course, you also sometimes receive unwarrented criticism, and you have to work long hours ... but all-in-all ... it's pretty uplifting.


The Japanese women are always so great to wear their kimonos. We love it!

Had to take a rest during the visit to the manufacturing plant. The participants are there for several hours, conducting quality tests, making their own formulas, and seeing exactly how Nature's Sunshine makes the best products available. They always leave with a renewed commitment to NSP.