A Day at the Museum

'I looked in the museum and what did I see?
A T-Rex and a Pterodactyl looking back at me!

The Science Museum was such a nice surprise...

Sand pits forming right before my eyes!

I can make bubbles that look so neat...

Blowing bubbles with Daddy can't be beat!

It wasn't really so, but it seemed to me...

That everything in the museum was made just for me!'

We had a great time Saturday morning at the Museum of Nature and Science.

Peyton was enthralled with all of the exhibits and had great fun experimenting with a little of everything.

However, the thing that he adored the most was this fire engine playset where he could 'drive', slide down a slide, climb a ladder and wear a fire fighter hat.

We took a break from 'fire-fighting' to cool off with some water play...

...and to imagine what it's like to be an ant and burrow through the Earth.

But ultimately, we always ended up helping out on the fire engine. I think Peyton makes a great hero, don't you?

I Have A Few Things On My Mind Today...

Last night I got an email from my Mom in Indonesia which read:
I have been telling everyone about how tight our company's security is. This is why: At approximately 8:00 a.m. Jakarta time, there were 2 explosions at the Ritz-Carlton - Mega Kuningan and JW Marriott in Jakarta. At 9:25, the reports are saying that at least 6 people have been killed including foreigners.. The explosions took place at the ground floor in the restaurants at each of the hotels. We are at another Ritz-Carlton at the Pacific Place. These two hotels are about 10 minutes away. Right after the first report came out, about 10 minutes later, I heard an explosion outside our apartment building. So far, it does not seem to have done anything and traffic and the Police (which are right next door) are not reacting. Our company security has stated that I am to stay in our apartment and not go to the lobby or mall... as if I would!!! There are sirens going off everywhere and helicopters flying overhead. I will let you know if any more news comes to light.....Sitting tight in Jakarta.



I don't think there is anything scarier than hearing that a family member was close to a terrorist bomb site. It is especially hard to not be able to call them on the phone and make sure that they are okay. If you are wondering what my Mom and Dad are doing there, it is because my Dad works for Chevron in an upper management position {they call it 'upstream') overseeing the laboratories there. The phone systems there are pretty haywire so getting a connection and keeping one is extremely difficult. This means that our only source of communication lately has been through email. Can you imagine getting an email like this? I think my heart stopped for a full minute!

For the most part, my Mom and Dad haven't had to worry too much about things like this and up until now they had been enjoying the islands and exploring the cultural and historical sites in their area with no problems.

[You can see pictures and read about their adventures on my mom's blog.]

I've also got my Uncle Bruce on my mind. He's recovering from surgery that he had performed last week to remove some cancer from his body. This was also hard news to bear because I haven't had the pleasure to meet him yet in person. He and his lovely wife Chris reside in Maine where they work the land with their magic green thumbs producing fruit and vegetables in abundance.

They also tend bees, chickens, sheep and their two 'kids' which are glossy black Scottish terriors. It's been wonderful having family to connect with; he's the only Uncle {or extended family member for that matter} that I really have any contact with. My Grandmother put him up for adoption when he was born and it wasn't until my Dad was an adult and I had moved out to try my hand at being an adult in turn that we found out that my Dad had another sibling that he hadn't known about. It's been a joy getting to know him and Chris and to exchange stories, recipes, pictures and surprise packages. My heart aches to know that he has undergone major surgery and I am crossing my fingers and toes that he gets a free and clear pass at his next doctor's appointment.

Speaking of adoption, I saw the most heart wrenching story last night on TV. I've been following the '16 and Pregnant' show on MTV and the season finale was last night. I hadn't intended to follow the show, but having a small baby that wants to feed on and off all day lends myself to being parked on the couch at the whims of daytime television (and I am not a television person anyway, but when you don't have any free hands and you've read your fill for the day then you resort to what can entertain you while you're tied up).

The teenage couple on the program made the decision to give their baby up for adoption and it made my soul hurt just to watch it. They made the right decision because they didn't have the family situation or the means to support the baby, but it was just agonizing watching it; especially after just having had Chloe within the past month and a half. It was too much to see.

After watching that last night, all day today I've been appreciating even more all of the dainty and delicate features of my sweet baby and holding her close and breathing in her scent. I could not imagine putting up Chloe for adoption and I just think of how crushing it must have been for the girl on the show to have spent 9 months growing a child, to have gone to the hospital to have the baby and then to hand it over to someone and go home empty handed! Ahhh! That must be so hard!

After all of my miring in the 'pits of despair' I decided that I should share some more happy girl pictures because when things are hard, you just want a little piece of happiness to brighten your day. So here they are:

Do you have any uplifting news to share? I need some happy news to balance out the sad!

To Say the Water Slide Was Well Received...

...would be an understatement! :-)


Peyton had a blast.

In fact, he didn't want to come inside.

And when there's a melt down involved, you can pretty much rest assured that it's because something was so fun that Peyton didn't want to be peeled away from it!

Needless to say, from the meltdown that we had yesterday after we told him it was time to come inside, I'd say it was a great success!

I can see many more days of outside fun ahead of us!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Beating the Summer Heat

Hi, it's me!

Just thought you should know that Peyton and I have been enjoying the backyard lately.

The sun can be brutal during the early afternoon {think triple digits}, so we wait until the rays of light start making their downward descent and then we sneak outside to enjoy a few minutes of {extra warm} fun in the sun.

Of course, summer isn't really summer without some hot summer grillin'. So while Chloe takes a nice {air conditioned} nap, and Peyton and I romp in the yard...

Troy gets to work making us some terriyaki chicken and vegetable shish kabobs.

The master griller at work! Troy is loving his new grill. It sure beats waiting for charcoal to cool off to a smoky red glow. And it's nice to know that dinner can be cooked up within 15 minutes start to finish. Loving it!

Do you remember drinking from the hose when you were a kid? Seems like things haven't changed much!

The finished culinary effect!

Looks good honey...let's eat!

Speaking of summer fun... Peyton got a wonderful surprise from his Mimzy and Sir Grandpa today. Remember the super cool water slide that Peyton was having a blast on at his friend Shelby's birthday party? Mimzy thought that the little guy needed one for his backyard too so that's just what he got from the UPS man today!

He was so excited when I told him it was for him! Pictures of the 'unveiling' to come! :-)

This Little Glow Bug...

...has stolen our hearts...

...little by little...

...and second by second.


We adore this baby girl!

More Taga Love

Seriously, why didn't someone think of this sooner? :-)

I Need One of These!

It's a bicycle.

It's a stroller.

Pure genius.

They even have ones for a car seat OR dual seats so two children can sit in front.

Here is what the Taga website says about this product:

For Taga, no location is impossible, no change a hassle. Whether indoors or out, on the bus, train or elevator, Taga is effortlessly transformed to suit any location to offer seamless mobility. We at Taga simply call it continuity. This is the limitless liberty a parent enjoys all day, leaving home with a single vehicle while enjoying quality time with their child at all times.

Imagine a day-to-day scenario:

You leave your home in the suburbs with your lovely child and your Taga.
You ride together to the train station, convert Taga to a stroller and jump on the train. When reaching the central station, you convert Taga again to a bike and ride to the city park.

On the way, you enter with your Taga into a café to have a drink.
After having fun in the park, you ride to the shopping area, enter the department store with your Taga to buy some candies and gifts for your child's birthday.Being tired, your child falls asleep in his seat. No problem - you switch modes again while your child is still sleeping and you ride on your Taga back home.

How cool is that?!

Too bad they're NOT available in the states yet.

I could use some forward motion! :-)

Summer Fun

How did you celebrate the anniversary of the founding of our country?

We met our church family at the park for a breakfast of donuts, breakfast casseroles, orange juice and lots of hot summer sunshine.

When you're this little, you can sleep where ever you want and look pretty darn cute doing it! Chloe slept through the entire park experience.

There's nothing like the warm hazy days of summer. When we were done with the heat and had maxed out on sugary baked goods, we escaped to our air conditioned home so we could stretch out a bit. Here's Chloe's attempt at a smile- she's been working hard at it!

And here's another one!

These are the very first pictures of the pair together. Peyton has been pretty uninterested in the newest member of the family but we were able to sneak in a mini photo shoot before he wanted to run off and play again {as long as we kept up the funny faces and sound effects, he stayed put!}.

It's just hilarious hanging out with your little sis'...didn't you know that?!

Besides celebrating the Fourth, we've also been familiarizing this little guy with the water. This nifty pool was at Peyton's friend Shelby's house for her birthday. Peyton adores the water- but he doesn't quite have the hang of closing your mouth while swimming in the pool so he ends up drinking the pool water!

We also got him his own little pool for the back yard, but nothing as cool as this! We let him run around in the buff like Jeni and I used to let both Peyton and Calyn do the summer we were up in Leesville escaping another hurricane. Peyton wants to know what you're waiting for- the water is perfect!

Of course, all of that fun and sun leads to another favorite summer activity; napping. For the kids at least... not the adults! :-)

How is your summer so far?