Another HOT Week...

I have a really cute story about Lily this week. Lily came home from Grammy & Papa's house with a little cough. On Monday morning Lily came to me & said "Mommy, I don't know what to do!" I asked her what she meant & she said "Well, Papa told me to cover my mouth when I cough, but Daddy told me to put my arms up when I cough & I don't know what to do!" :o) I told her that when she is coughing because she's sick she needs to cover her mouth, but if she's coughing because she's choking, she needs to put her arms up. Poor baby girl - she tries to do what she's told!
We had another extremely HOT week here, so for most of the week, Lily had to stay inside. This was fine with Lily since she discovered noggin.com & playhousedisney.com. Both websites have lots of fun games for Lily & she plays them every chance she gets. We also played some games & played with Play-Doh to keep ourselves busy.

Lily's new obsession: her computer games.

Lily & Daddy playing Hungry Hungry Hippos

Lily & her beautiful play-doh necklace.

We did get outside in the evenings once it cooled off & walked around the block with some neighborhood friends & then all the kids played at the park together almost every day.

This weekend Lily & I made a trip to Stoney Point where they have a water fountain for kids to play in. We brought Stevie & his mom - my friend, Jamie with us as well. The kids had a fantastic time & the mom's got to sit & enjoy the scene from our shaded bench.

Brian got to use his new fancy BBQ for the first time this weekend, since he received it on Father's Day. He's been dying to try it out, but from WLC to our weekend trips to work, he hasn't had a chance to fire it up. He made some delicious ribs & BBQ chicken for us, as well as corn on the cob on the grille.

What he loves about Sunday:

Brian, the ribs & the new BBQ

Lily, Stevie & Noah playing in the pool on one of our hot days.

A week with Grammy & Papa

Lily had a great week at Grammy & Papa's. Some of their week's activities included riding her bike in the driveway, playing outside, going to Skylar's house to play, finding a new friend named Catherine at an anniversary party for Grammy & Papa's friends, going to the mall with Grammy's friend Sheila & her grandkids, Kerry & Kyle, where they hit all of Lily's favorite stores (the pet store, the Disney store & the candy store) and going to a car show in Papa's car. Lily had a great time & still wasn't sure she wanted to come home at the end of the week. Thankfully, she decided she wanted to come home to us, because Mom didn't know what to do with herself while her Lily was gone! On Sunday we both drove half-way & met in New Jersey to return Lily. We met at a Chuck E. Cheese so Lily could play for a little while & break up the trip a little bit (and tire her out a little bit). She had so much fun, but was sad to see Grammy & Papa go. We reminded her it wouldn't be long before we saw them again. Lily slept most of the way home, but she woke up when we exited the freeway near home & was so excited when she got home. She couldn't stop hugging Vader & Zoey and she wanted to talk to me all about our fish & how they had been while she was gone. She wanted to play with all her toys that she had missed, but I told her she had to wait till morning, so she reluctantly went to bed. She sure seemed happy to be home!

Lily, Kerry & Kyle on one of the rides at the mall.

Lily modeling her new Ariel nightie.

Grammy is growing tomatoes on her back porch & every day, she & Grammy would go out & pick the ripe tomatoes. Here she is with the tomato plant, Rocky & Bucca. My, they've grown!!

On their way to the car show.

Spencer & Alyssa came & took Lily out for an afternoon together too. They went for ice cream, played mini golf & went to the park. Lily had such a great time, she still hasn't stopped talking about it.

Lily's friend Kylie also came to visit & the girls had a great time playing together.

Pretty girls

A Birthday, Boston & a Big Girl

We had a great time on our trip to Boston this week. Our drive up wasn't too bad. Lily was really good - she just watched her movies, listened to her FP3 player & slept the whole way there & even Zoey, who has always been apprehensive about car rides, was well behaved.

Lily had a big surprise when we got to Grammy & Papa's house. Grammy had re-decorated Lily's room with "big girl" furniture. At first she said "Hey what happened to my room?" but when she realized the crib had been replaced by a big girl bed, she was ecstatic. She was also thrilled to see Rocky & Bucca - even though they have just about doubled in size since the last time we saw them! They were pretty excited to see us (and Vader!) as well & Zoey immediately made some new friends. Rocky & Zoey really hit it off - they are both very high energy & they played non-stop until they both passed out from exhaustion. Finally! Someone who can keep up with her!

We had some special visitors at Grammy & Papa's on Thursday. Spencer & Alyssa came to see us, much to Lily's delight. She LOVES her Spencer & Alyssa. She immediately showed them her "new" room & had them playing with all sorts of stuff with her.

On Friday Lily & Grammy made Mom a special birthday cake. Lily directed Grammy on the design & she even helped decorate with the flowers & writing Mommy's name. We went out to dinner & Lily was able to stay awake for this birthday dinner. :o)The cake
Mommy's birthday celebration

Saturday was the surprise wedding shower for Shannon & Phil. I am pleased to say that the shower was a sparkling success. I don't know how, but we pulled everything off & somehow managed to keep the entire thing a surprise right up until they walked in the door of the hall. They were so surprised & everyone had a wonderful evening. Lily spent the evening at her friend Skylar's house (my friend Christina's daughter) & she had a great time. The next day, she couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had at Skylar's house.
Channeling their inner princesses

Mom & Dad's night out

look familiar? This is Brian break dancing at the shower - like father, like daughter, right? ha ha!

While in Boston, Lily made a very big girl decision & decided she wanted to stay with Grammy & Papa a while longer. So when Brian & I headed back to Virginia on Sunday, little miss Lily May stayed behind for a fun filled week with Grammy! We are missing her terribly, but she is having so much fun, she is barely missing us! She told me today that she liked it there & wasn't going to come back. Then she said she was just kidding! :o) What a silly girl. I told Grammy to take lots of pictures this week, so I will be able to put them on the blog at the end of their week together.

HOT week

Virginia saw some very hot weather this week - it was in the 100's most days! - so Lily was forced to stay inside until it cooled off a little in the evenings. This was not to Lily or Stevie's liking, but it was just too hot to be running around outside during the day. Luckily, this was a short week in VA, because on Wednesday we left for Massachusettes for Mom's birthday & a surprise wedding shower for our friends Shannon & Phil. (Both Lily & I will be in the wedding, which is next month.) Brian spent the majority of the first part of the week getting his Class A's (his dress uniform) & his promotion packet ready to go to the board next month - so he will not only blow them away with his army knowledge, but also with his smashing appearance. :o)

"It's too hot!!" - even after it gets dark
more chalk drawings
"Mom! Watch me!"

Spinning on the swings - just watching makes me dizzy!

New trick

"Look what I can do!"

Virginia Beach

This weekend we met Mimi & Grant in Virginia Beach. We all had a great time & Lily had such a good time, she said she wanted to stay there forever. :o) We had great weather all weekend too. It was, by far, the best weekend we've had in a long time!

Day 1

What a great view!
Lily & Grant on one of their many trips to fill the buckets with water.
Lily & Grant digging for treasure
The best treasure of all!Boogie boarding in the surf

Day 2

Lily & Daddy building a sand castle

Daddy's still working away...
The finished product - great lizard Daddy!!

Lily & Mimi taking a break from the sun

Mommy's pre-birthday dinner at the Olive Garden - my favorite!

Poor Lily was so tired from playing on the beach & in the pool all day she slept right through dinner. When we got back to the hotel & she woke up, she didn't remember being at the restaurant at all!

Day 3

Daddy showing Lily how to swim in the pool with her boogie board

Doing it all by herself! Fast learner...what a big girl!

Sweet girl in the pool

A girl with her Daddy

What an Imagination!

Lily spent this week counting down to meeting Mimi & Grant in Virginia Beach & using a lot of imagination.

Here she is with her fellow 'princesses' (note the crowns on all the stuffed animals heads).

She set up a bunch of her toys as an 'audience' to Ariel & Prince Eric dancing.

Making Ariel & Eric 'dance'.

Lily was also my big helper when I gave the puppy dogs a bath this week. Zoey is finally starting to get used to her baths, but she still tries to jump out of the tub if she sees a chance to escape, so Lily helps me keep her in the tub. Since Vader is such a pro at getting baths, she helps me shampoo him & tells him it's okay if he gets water in his eyes.
A clean, pretty Va dog.

In other news, we found out that Brian will be going to the promotion board in September! When he goes, he will have to answer questions regarding the Army, and if he passes he will get "promotable status". That means, once he gets enough promotion points, he will be promoted to Sergeant. Good Luck Brian!!!

Brian's Picture in the Newspaper

Here is a copy of the newspaper picture of Brian's flag detail while at WLC in Kentucky.

He is the one standing at attention at the far right.