So this is the end of summer already?

It's hard to believe that this is the ceremonial end of summer weekend. Afterall, it really only got warm here after 4th of July weekend, so it feels like we just got started! Our holiday weekend is shaping up to be quite low-key.

Brooke had her last soccer practice today. It was very cute, she has improved a lot and actually knows how to kick the ball when she deems it important enough to pay attention to it. The coach invited the parents on the field today for some fun and games, so I took the opportunity to take a little video with my awesome new little point & shoot (and you can see how well Brooke kicks the ball and how well Jack is walking now! Brooke is in the purplish/blue shirt running away from the camera at the beginning.

The little brothers found a way to entertain themselves stacking cones (Jack's on the right).

In other news, we are counting down the days until Brooke's first day of pre-school next Friday. She is SO excited, she can hardly stand it. We get to go in for a "get acquainted party" on Wednesday morning, then starting Friday, she'll be in school every M, W, F from 9:30-12. She is such a little firecracker, Justin and I are thrilled for her. And I am also very much looking forward to having Jack all to myself for some focused time. It seems like our activities are so often centered around Brooke, that it will be nice to do things just for Jack and be able to talk to him the way I was able to talk to Brooke before Jack was on the scene.

Who wouldn't be thrilled to spend some 1:1 time with this guy?

I am also working on some fun things on the calendar for the fall - a family trip to Oregon to visit my parents, a girls' weekend with my college BFF in Austin, TX, Justin's 20 year high school reunion, a visit from Uncle Clark (my brother) and his new gal pal, and of course, Hawaii in December. The rest of this year is sure to fly by with all the excitement that is on the books.

Gross.

Nasty. Today at the gym, I was minding my own business on the elliptical, when suddenly the worst odor appeared in the form of a man next to me. I am telling you - bad, awful, like smelly feet. Oh my goodness. I had to actually get off the machine and change places! I felt bad for him, he must have noticed that I moved within minutes of him arriving, but I couldn't breathe! Ugh. How can someone not notice that they smell that bad? He was well-dressed too, in expensive workout gear and did not look like the type who had an odor problem. I don't get it.

An ode to Epicurious

I have to share - if you haven't discovered Epicurious yet, you are really missing something wonderful! It's a cooking website, with recipe archives from some excellent cooking magazines including Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and others. The quality of recipes is outstanding. The best part is that each one has reviews. So I look things up, read the reviews, and then make my decision about what to make. The community of reviewers at Epicurious won't steer you wrong! Just to whet your appetite, this morning I made the most delicious buttermilk pancakes from scratch (so easy too) and they were melt in your mouth good. And one of the best parts of the site is, you can create your own (free) "recipe box" to save your favorites in. Check it out!

One less fertile male...

Leo has returned from his neutering surgery. Poor guy! He had the surgery Monday morning and then spent the night for observation. His vet told us to keep this big Elizabethan Collar on him to keep him from licking his wound for 5-7 days and to keep him from running or jumping for 10-12 days. YEAH RIGHT! Hello? May I introduce you to our 7 month old lab puppy? Neither of those are very likely to happen. But I put the collar on him... he was mortified. Need I say more?


And then within moments, this is what happened. Makes an awesome ballet skirt, doesn't it?

Let the games begin

I promised myself that this year, I would get our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving because shortly before Christmas we are going to Hawaii. I'd rather come home and just enjoy the holiday season than return and be in a mad rush to buy, buy, buy. So today, I officially kicked off my Christmas shopping by picking up two stocking stuffers that I happened to find on sale at Safeway -- Dora and Diego electric toothbrushes! Wish me luck that I can follow through and get it all done in time. Every year I try and it seems like every year I'm shopping at the last minute. It's so much more fun to buy one or two little things at a time that have some real thought go into them.

Jack's First Haircut

Hair was finally trimmed and no one cried - success! Look at my little boy, he's growing up so fast... sniff, sniff. And did I forget to mention, he's WALKING now??

Before (and happy about the firetruck seat!)

During - hey, this isn't so bad...

All done! How do I look?

The reward for good behavior - a blue balloon!

Oops

It appears that if you don't religiously replace (or in our case, clean) the furnace filters every THREE MONTHS, your A/C coil will freeze up on the HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR. Awesome. And of course, it happens at 7pm on a Friday night... fortunately we figured out that the charge for a Saturday visit was the same as a Friday night 10pm visit from the technician, so we got it taken care of (we hope) tonight. Now we are awaiting the big thaw. We're told that by noon tomorrow we should be back in business. Which will be just in time, since Seattle is expecting another 90 degree day tomorrow. So much for my smug "we have A/C" attitude, I think karma is biting me in the rear!

Snoqualmie Falls

Today, we had the pleasure of meeting up with our friends Dandy, Sophia and Gavin, who are visiting from North Carolina. It was a gorgeous day, mid-80's and sun so we went to Snoqualmie Falls. The views were spectacular and the kids had a blast running around on the grass and climbing on rocks. It was really nice to see Brooke and Sophia playing together - they are only 3 days apart in age and both are tall girls, and it was fun to see how much they have in common! They are both very articulate and bright, so it looked like they had a lot of fun playing together. We convened at a local restaurant for a nice lunch afterward, and then came home so Jack could crash. Fun day!

Have a Nice Day

Breakfast should be fun (at least once in a while). We copied IHOP this morning and had some fun with pancakes.

See how neat and tidy Miss B was?

On the other side of the table, we have THE BOY. We don't need no stinkin' utensils!

Enjoy your Monday!

Summertime / Storytime

My cuties...

Yo Gabba Gabba Ecstasy

Oh my... they finally did it - someone merchandised Yo Gabba Gabba. We've been waiting! A 3 year old girl is awfully happy today! This is what a real smile looks like.

If anyone else's kid is similarly obsessed, you can find them at Target, along with a whole new line of toys. I hear they're also at Toys'R'Us and the Evil Empire (aka Wal-Mart).

Leo's Big Snip-Snip

Ah, poor Leo... there comes a time in every young dog's life when we call upon a qualified vet to do the unspeakable to his manliness. After I was "humped" while kneeling down to put Jack's shoes on the other day, I said "enough is enough" and scheduled him for surgery. Enjoy your randy, frisky self between now and 8/18 buddy!