"Un-Kool Mi-Kool!! Come Dis Waaay!"

We had a special visitor last week. Jason's Uncle Mike (or "Un-kool Mi-kool" as Ally calls him). The girls were so thrilled to see him, running up and hugging his neck, sitting in his lap. Emma got out "Hi Ho Cherry-O" to play, Ally brought book after book for him to read. Emma had to show off her Geo-Safari game. Pointing out to Mike the different critters on each page and whether or not they were an insect and why. "An insect has to have six legs, Uncle Mike". He later bragged on how smart she is.

Ally wanted to play hide and seek, of course. She had Mike hiding in the bathroom, the bedrooms, anywhere he could get fast enough. Anyone that has played with Ally knows you don't have long to hide. She counts to about three (well, she'll count to ten, but it takes her about 3 seconds!), then she runs right after you, ready or NOT! :) Then she would drag him back to her room "come Dis Way!" to play in her turf. Even though we don't see Mike very often, the girls always remember him, and always are excited to see him. They greet him with smiles and hugs like those usually saved for their grandparents. He's a very quiet, reserved man. But there's something about him that the girls can feel. They know he's a good guy, they know he loves them dearly, and they know that they love him too.

Fun in the Sun

I took these pictures at a local park a few weeks ago. It had been days and days since we were able to get outside, because of all the rain, and the much missed sunshine made it an extra beautiful day. The girls played and played. Emma and a few friends found a neat tree to climb, and Ally even ventured off the swings...just for a minute! But I did snag a pretty picture of each sweet girl....
Enjoy!

"Maybe when I'm old enough, I can marry him...."

...says Emma of her newest beau, the pest control guy. This is Wyatt, of S&W Pest Control. 1-800-pest-control (plug, plug :) ). Notice he is sporting his newly fashioned pipe cleaner and button bracelet. Emma picked out the colors to match his "outfit", she said. The guy was super, super sweet. Letting Emma follow him around, giving her special tour of the house. Pointing out the important things like her ballet bar, her canopy, and her treasure box and its contents. At one point in the "tour", I overheard Emma tell him that she thought he was "really cool", and that she likes "guys with black hair and brown faces"! For whatever reason, Emma was just absolutely taken with him! Today was his second visit out here. After the first treatment, I noticed some ants in spots where I never had before, so he came back to check it out. For no extra fee, he re-sprayed the whole house, spot treated the trouble areas, and re-sprayed the perimeter of the house outside. So on top of being extra nice and good with the kids, they really honor their guarantee. He said to call again if there seem to be any more problems. I've got a soft spot for the guy now-I recommend him if anyone's looking for a "bug-man" (this was Ally's name for him)!

"Princess Glorina, if you please!"

This was my answer, accompanied by a dramatic entrance (including a curtsey), when I called Emma to her room earlier.
"They call me this because of my glorious beauty" she said. Assuming "they" were her new loyal subjects, I went with it, as I always do, when she chooses her character of the day. This usually includes a new title for myself. Today it was "new mom". Yes, sometimes the creativity runs low when naming her entourage. Ally was "Little Princess Glorina". But the commitment is there. I was "new mom" grocery shopping through HEB, while cooking dinner and during after dinner play, and was quickly corrected if I referred to her as anything other than Princess or Your Majesty. This child has an imagination like I have never seen. And she will not tire of her role. Ever.
She has been very into Polly Pockets lately. She sat for 20 at a park (!) the other day and played dolls with another little girl! She played them all day yesterday and most of today. At one point sitting for 30 minutes on the couch with her Grammy, thumbing through a Mary Kay catalog, choosing make-up (complete make-up. from foundation, to eye shadow, to liners and powders) for each of her seven dolls! I hope this is some part of an amazing attention span, and will lead to an awesome focus in school. It still blows me away. Emma is definitely in tune with some part of her brain that I never was. She's already more of an artist than I'll ever hope to be. Can you tell I'm impressed? :) And very proud!

6-6-97

June 6, 1997. Wow. A few days, plus ten years ago. Jason was working, until 5. His boss didn't see why he would need his wedding day off. Just show up at the altar, right? I remember running into a drugstore (Eckards, maybe?) a little after 5 0'clock, with wet hair, on my way to the church, to buy a pair of pantyhose! I remember my dad, going out in the rain, cutting ivy clippings from the front of someone's house because we ran out of silk flowers to cover the lattice work in the reception room. I remember trying to roll the lattice walls into place and losing control, careening frighteningly close to the cake tables! My mom, my grandmother (and her amazing handmade flower arrangements), setting up chairs, refreshments, candelabras. We did it all that afternoon.

I was not nervous at all. Delegating for all the set-up work. I even fixed everyone's hair, down to the flower girls and jr. bridesmaid. Then, standing at the end of that line, watching everyone walk so delicately down the aisle, it hit me, that I'm the last one, the one that everyone is waiting for! Wearing my mom's wedding dress, my great-grandmother's brooch, I had everything ready. "Stop figedting, you'll ruin your nails" My dad is worried about my manicure?? How can he be calm at a time like this? But we pulled it off. Jason even said "I do" twice. :) ever so anxious, I'm sure.

Now ten years later. Eight moves (ok, it took me awhile to work out the Military-Brat issues), one dog, seventeen jobs :), four colleges (and one degree!!), six vehicles, countless trips to San Angelo, Brownwood, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Uvalde, a couple of special vacays to Port Aransas, and skiing/snowboarding at Angel Fire, and here we are.

Here we are. Through the good times and the bad, through the great times and let's be honest, the really bad, here we are.

And now we are four. A family of four. We have managed to be blessed with two very special, very beautiful, smart, loving, sweet little girls. And we couldn't be better. The world could be falling down around me, and when I hear Ally say, "Pweese help me, Mama", or have Emma come over and give me a hug and a kiss just "because I love you, Mama", or have Jason get home in time to play Hide-and-Seek with the girls before bed, nothing else matters.

Bring it on. We're ready for 10 more.