Link was a fun costume to make this year! And with a nurse and a ninja on your side, how can you be defeated ? :)

Summer is almost over! In one week, all of the children will step onto that big yellow (air conditioned) bus and I will be left to no excuses. I better get a job! Now, expectations go up. A clean house? Do you mean the bathrooms too? PROJECTS? You mean that I should have a clean house and be completing maintenance and such? But who's going to cook? WHAT?

LOL! Of course, I'm kidding! I'm very excited about the new phase of our family. At the beginning of this year, I worked myself up into a real panic over what I should do when the kids start school. It's taken me 13 weeks to figure out that I don't have to do anything immediately. I still have moments of anxiety. A feeling that I must be somewhere, contribute, pull my weight. As if I won't be if I stayed home all day! Between being a taxi service and planning lunches, and home meals, cleaning, painting and helping with homework, along with all of the small details that go with running a house and family....I think I'll still feel useful. One week. What can happen in a week? A hurricane that may be here or close by Wednesday, school supplies to purchase, haircuts for all, new tennis shoes, lunch planning and an evaluation of clothes that still fit or need to be donated. Yes, I best go, I'm wasting time.

Fireworks!

July 4th, we went to the horsetrack.

Free rides! Kenneth made it to the top of the Rock Wall!

We went to see the Astros and they won 4-0! This is the first time that the boys had been to a baseball game and we had so much fun! It was just long enough! Kathryn was at Nanny and PawPaw's house, so she'll have to catch the next one. We'll definately try to get more tickets.

The Story Behind Kaleb's Christmas Picture:

Christmas 2004 was our first attempt to get some dress up pictures of the kids. It was so stressful. Kathryn, Kenneth and Kaleb were absolutely incapable of sitting still. Photo after photo was shot. In each one, someone had their eyes closed or crossed, fingers would shoot into noses, someone would be looking at the other. So much for the angelic poses. I finally gave up and decided that we would just shake the sillies out. This was my request for an angry face. Michael and I laugh at this photo everytime we see it. You may notice that Kaleb has a faint bruise in the center of his forehead. That came from an extreme potty training incident. He finished his "business" and was leaning forward to pull his pants up. On the way down, he smacked his head on the edge of the toilet bowl. Direct hit. I was laughing so hard, I could barely help him and surely couldn't kiss his head until it was disinfected.

Mike graduated in May. It was a tough road, but it is over. He is now in OKC, on the brink of a new life, starting college in the spring. Split between two homes, he is missed when he is away. The kids are always asking about him and we look forward to seeing him at Christmas.

Proof that tv influences what our kids play. We watch Dirty Jobs. I walked outside this afternoon to find Kenneth putting his goggles on and stating, "It's a dirty job" as he crawled into the trashcan with a scrub brush. Now the neighbors know just how nuts we really are.... 

It's finally here! The first day of school! With new clothes, new shoes and new supplies, our little campers are off to another exciting year! Kaleb? He's ready to sit back and enjoy his final year at home. It's Blue's Clues and Dora The Explorer ftw!
Dad stayed home the first day and got everyone off to a good start. Me? I went to Baytown to visit the doctor and old high school friends.