Sharks, boots, and "Fro-up"

 

Just a few pics of the last couple of weeks to get us caught up to speed.  We've recovered from the birthday party madness that enveloped the weekend and are now back in the swing of things.  Here's a picture of Ruby in the midst of the birthday present bonanza.  One of  the first presents she opened was this stroller, and she immediately ran to her room to get "Baby Georgia" to ride in it.  She was completely done opening presents after this.  :)

 

 

 

 

Here are Kai and his cousin Preston sporting their shark goggles.  Preston and his family just moved into a new house with a POOL not too far from us, so we are excited about mooching off of them for some fun pool time for many summers to come.

Ruby and her Daiya at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in East Dallas.  We go to the same place every Sunday for lunch before refugee clinic.  Ruby LOVES spring rolls!  Note her neat dress--we found it a cool vintage clothing store near Waxahachie--it's from the 60s!

My little cowgirl turning on the charm before school one morning this week.

 

Kai "fro'd up" on the way to school one morning (Yes, in the car), he got to spend the day hanging out in my office watching movies.  Note the trash can strategically placed in case any more "froing up" were to take place!

 

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a great backyard birthday party for Kai and Ruby on Saturday, despite the crazy hot weather.  About 50 family and friends came out to the farm and bounced in the bounce house, blew bubbles, swung at a pinata, flew kites while enjoying burgers and cupcakes in the 103 degree heat.  It was a lot of fun, though it made me wish we had a swimming pool!

Kai and his buddy Cody acting tough.

 Kai taking a swing at the pinata.

Saw Eh Soh and Pla Shee looking cute with the giant bounce house in the background.

 

 

Ruby and Aunt Sara looking adorable.

Happy 4th Birthday, Kai!

Our sweet Kai Lane turns 4 today, and I can't believe it! Here are some pics of my precious boy during his 3rd year:

Kai misses his big brother!

Kai and I drove Pla Shee to camp in La Grange on Sunday. Pla Shee was so excited--this is his second summer at Camp Lone Star, so he knew just what to expect this time around. 

Kai was excited, too, until I told him it was time to go home. He was so disappointed that he couldn't stay at camp with Pla Shee! Poor little guy. His spirits improved considerably when we stopped for a dinner date at the Elite Cafe in Waco on our way home. 

Yesterday Kai "wrote" a letter to Pla Shee and announced that he needed to put it in the mailbox so the "mail lady" could take it to camp for him. 

He rode his bike down to the end of the street and dropped in the mailbox. He was so proud. (Note: This adventure to the end of the street and back took at least half an hour). :)

One of the fun things about living in the country is that bike rides to the mailbox can be exciting adventures without any added work. For example, on our journey we saw a mama rabbit and her babies, found a horse shoe, and decided that a giant field of milo can make a pretty good maze for a person who is less than 3 feet tall. 

Ruby!

I know that all my friends and family are getting tired of me talking about how adorable Ruby is right now, but I figured since it's my blog I could indulge myself a bit more. So...she is sooooo cute! I love this age! She's turned into a little chatterbox and has a HUGE vocabulary--every day she'll say a new word that I had no idea she knew.

This summer our schedules are a bit different than during the school year, so Aaron's been taking Kai and Pla Shee to a day camp near his work while I take Ruby to her baby sitter in Arlington 3 days a week. It has been so much fun to get to spend one-on-one time with my little girl! She loves to go with the flow and is the perfect little mini-me! Here are a few pics of my best girl being her cute self this summer. See what I mean??!!! Cuteness overload!!

Family Fun in Galveston

 We headed down to Galveston for a week of fun on the beach last week with my family. It was such a blast reliving memories that I have from my childhood of our family vacations in Galveston. Pla Shee was obsessed with collecting hermit crabs, and Kai and Ruby both LOVED swimming in the ocean. Here are some pics of our adventures.

So much for Ruby's nap!

The kids got back yesterday afternoon after a fun-filled week in Houston with Nena and Pappy.  We were so happy to have them back home with us!!! While we took full advantage of our kid-less week with plenty of work around the house and date nights, we really missed them so much!  Aaron went to work today and took the boys to Day Camp, so it was just us girls hanging out today running errands and the like.  Ruby was taking a nap this afternoon when all of the sudden it sounded like a plane was dive bombing our house.  So much for quiet country living!  I guess someone around has a trick plane they thought they'd play with, and our house seemed like the best spot.  I hope you can appreciate these videos--it was crazy to witness in person!