{new computer}

We did it! We finally bought a laptop for the house. It has been wonderful computing upstairs instead of in the basement. I had to order a 19-1 media card reader because the only problem with this laptop is that it doesn't read CF cards for my Canon SLR. The media card reader should arrive today (oh ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin!!) and then I'll be able to upload some recent pictures. So expect a new blog post soon!

{happy father's day!}

Happy Father's Day to Gerard, Grandpa Ian, Grandpa G and all the other dads out there!

{cell phone pics}

I realized that I never do anything with all the pictures on my cell phone since the quality is really crappy, so I figured the least I should do is post them here! Enjoy...

Here is a partial view from our hotel balcony in Myrtle Beach. We were on the 19th of 20 floors and had an awesome ocean-front room. The balcony wrapped around from the living room (we were in a suite) to one side of the bedroom to the other side of the bedroom. It was very nice.


All she needs now is a pair of leg warmers. Let's get physical, physical. I wanna get physical. Let's get into physical...



A random shot of the gang:


Morgan loves her Care Bears. Here she is reading "Goodnight, Moon" to them:



And finally, here is Morgan eating her cereal like a normal human. She has been eating the same breakfast forever: yogurt and dry cereal. Today she just decided to try cereal the regular way: in a bowl, with milk, eaten with a spoon. Imagine that.

{school's out for summer!}

Gerard and I went to Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Although our actual anniversary isn't until July 4, we took our trip in May so my parents could watch the kids (they combined their visit here with a trip to Chicago for Jason and Gretchen's wedding). We had a great time. It was fun and relaxing and we only missed the kids a little (just kidding!!)

While we were gone, Grandpa took Gerard to a local parade for Memorial Day. Can't you just tell from the photos that he had a horrible time?








My parents brought the kids a plethora of presents (in case having Grandma and Grandpa all to themselves wasn't enough). Among the gifts were these cowboy hats from Arizona.









I'd say they had fun while we were gone.




The day after we returned from our trip I went on a field trip with Gerard's class to our local nature center.







And with that I believe it is officially summer. It is now time to consider whether the kids should take their sandals OFF when they come in the house or leave them ON. Summer means the bottoms of feet are dirtier than the bottom of shoes.


But at least they're happy.


Last weekend we all went to a little country fair not far from here. There were bounce-houses (Gerard's all-time fav), little games, a horse and calf lasso "ride", horses, and face painting. Gerard doesn't like people to touch his face (??) so he opted for an arm painting. Morgan got one too, and I was surprised at how still she sat!









Today was Gerard's last day of Kindergarten. He was so excited. Unfortunately, he woke up with a bit of a stomach ache but didn't want to miss his last day so he went to school. He didn't last long -- I got a call from the school and picked him up about an hour into school. Lovely stomach bug. He was disappointed so I told him his summer vacation started a day earlier than everybody else. That softened the blow, but he was still bummed to miss the last day. Here he is before school:



And last but not least, Morgan got her first haircut today! Here are some before pictures from yesterday:





She was an absolute angel for the haircut. I couldn't believe how still she sat. I can still vividly remember Gerard's first haircut.... I had to hold his face to keep him still. Not my Morgan. She was just happy to have some undivided attention and some girly pampering. Here are the after pictures: