Cupcake fun

Princess Emily requested cupcakes, so Daddy bought her cupcakes. Here are some photos of the cupcake faces.

New playset

We decided to buy the cubs a playset for their third birthday. Assembly was quite an undertaking. Steve and my Dad did most of the work, and I helped out where I could. This is what 800 pounds of cedar wood looks like. It was mid-July before it was all assembled, the roof wasn't quite finished when we took these pictures, but I just couldn't wait to let the cubs try it out.

Zach, first on...of course.

Zach's first slide.:

Emily wasn't far behind.:

Emily's first slide.:

Swinging!:


Checking out the rock wall.:

No fear here.:

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was pretty uneventful. We missed the town parade but it was too hot outside for us anyway. The new houses blocked our view so we walked down to the golf course to stake out the best viewing advantage. However, before the fireworks even began, I had donated a pint of blood to our local mosquitoes, so we decided to take the cubs home before they became mosquito dessert. On the way home we ran into our neighbors (they have 3 year old twin boys) and they offered to let us watch the fireworks with them from their backyard (wine and mosquito repellent included). Awesome! Zach loved the fireworks! Emily took a little more convincing...she spent a majority of the time with her head buried in Dad's shoulder. Every now and then I saw her peeking through her fingers. Steve and I both agreed for such a small town, the fireworks show this year was pretty impressive.


All dressed up in her red dress.:

Our little ham.:

Yes, Thomas is even better when wearing shades.:

Waiting for the fireworks to begin.:

Future teacher??

How cute is our little Emily bear??? I loved catching these pictures and just wanted to share!

Our weekend "stay-cation"

At the end of June, my parents came to relieve us of our parenting duties for a weekend. Our first weekend away from the cubs EVER! We stayed at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas, host of the Byron Nelson golf tournament. Our villa was right off the 18th green...Steve was so excited...he acted just like a little boy on Christmas morning. He managed to work in two rounds of golf and I treated myself to a spa treatment and a manicure. It was a really relaxing (and long overdue) weekend. A huge thank you to my parents for letting us have a weekend away (and for giving us the confidence to know that we can do this again...I'm already looking at my calendar!).

The view from our patio.

The main hotel.

The villas.

Pictures with Byron are mandatory!

Me with the bronze Byron.

June visit to Grandma's house

Here are a few pictures taken during our June visit to Grandma and Grandpa Bear's house while our hardwood floors were being installed. Yes, they are from 3 months ago, but at least I finally got them posted. This is a good pictoral of our visit.

The Cub House ROCKS!!!! This cub house was my savior!! It got the cubs out of the house and entertained. It's decked out with carpet, ceiling fans, windows, and TOYS!!! My parents really go all out for the cubs. Can you say "spoiled"?!?!?!






"Oooh, look Mommy! Another animal for us to torture!"


Isn't he the cutest? Even after the cubs picked him up by the neck in a death grip.


Baxter has learned to keep his distance. In reality, he really is great with the cubs, and the cubs love him!


Some serious golfing! Zach spent a lot of time golfing. He has perfected the fist pump. Too darn cute, if I say so myself.










Some serious kite flying. Emily loved it. Zach, not so much.






Some serious Heather-trapping. My dad kindly put up this sign so I wouldn't have a repeat of the "attack of the killer hose guard".


My dad doesn't throw anything away. Here is a picture of Emily on MY very first tricycle.


Some serious wearing-out. Little guy was exhausted from all those rounds of golf.