Helmet Bow

Parker got a new bike helmet, her old one was too small and probably too pink. This one is a little goth for her....with skulls and such, but it was the only one in the store that she remotely liked.  She found out that her friend's brother has the same one, so she's girly'ed hers up with a duct tape bow.

Another Volleyball mismatch pic

Here's another pic of Parker's latest volleyball game.  The funny part is, they played a 6th grade team that was in 1st place (Parker's team is like 10th) and nearly beat them in both games!  

Patio picture...pan and zoom

Here's a fancy picture of where we are in the patio update.  You should be able to drag your mouse left and right to look around in a circle, and scroll in and out if you want to see it close up and blurrier.
We added the pergola awning overhead to cut down on the blasting sun, and it has helped a lot.  We added the built in grill and the bar w/ the stools and new furniture underneath the covered area, plus a tv.  We still want to upgrade the dining table and chairs (the one with the beach towel draped over it) and I've ordered some more summery throw pillows for the couch.

First day of school

Just like I do for Parker, Fisher had his "first day of school" picture done.  This was right before we left for his first obedience class.  He did really well and LOVED romping and wrestling with the other puppy in the class. 

Summer volleyball

This summer Parker's volleyball team is playing in a club league so they can keep their skills up and be ready for fall.  They are 4th graders, but are playing "up", against 5th graders.  Or so we thought, but there weren't enough 5th grade teams, so they combined 5th and 6th grade teams, which has us playing against some giaganto 6th grade club teams (i.e. girls who were professionally coached for the last 2 years).  This picture doesn't quite do the height discrepancy justice because Parker is bending forward, but some of these girls are taller than I am.
Our girls get to serve from about 3 feet in from the back of the court, but if they get 2 balls over, then they have to serve from behind the white line.  Parker's serves have gotten really strong and she can get them over most times until she has to move back.   Maybe at tonight's game we can get a pic of tiny little Parker trying to get the ball over the net from the back of the court.

Funny Fisher pic

Fisher LOVEs to perch atop a cushion.  A few weeks ago when we went to the pool, he nestled himself on top of our cooler.  This doesn't even look comfortable.

Birthday

Here are some pictures that I never posted from Parker's Birthday.  Instead of a party this year, she got a puppy....which is like a party every day, so we were pretty low key for the rest of her celebration.

She started her day with donuts, which are usually forbidden because they get her off to such a horrible start to the day.  She had a sausage kolache to start with, so that helped stave off the sugar crash.

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She invited one of her sweet friends over the the day.  I took them to Top Golf, which is a 3 story driving range w/ a restaurant.

There are big holes, and you get points when your ball goes into one.  Watching them wack at golf balls was painful!!  The were horrible, but they didn't want any tips from me, even though I was crushing them on points.  

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We had lunch and then fancy cupcakes, then went for a swim, watched a movie and had a sleepover.  Still....way less work than a party!

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Another 4th pic

Back view:  Fringy flags and giant hair bows

 

4th of July!

Nothing is cuter than the neighborhood 4th of July parade. Parker and her friend decorate their vehicles....last year was bikes, this year scooters.  Parker has a broken little toe, so she has a boot on.  I'm pretty sure she had that same boot on last year for the 4th too.




It's a combination of golf carts, 4 wheelers, classic cars, convertibles, and riding mowers.




Our neighbors rode their mower and pulled a wagon in case the dog got tired.




Even Bob and Fisher walked in the parade....although they didn't dress the part I see.



Happy 4th ya'll!!

Family walk

Did I post this yet? This is our nightly family walk. It always starts with Fisher with the leash in his mouth....usually we don't even hook it, he just carries his end. For the first few weeks, he was NOT interested in a nighly walk, we'd have to practically drag him for the first half, and then he'd drag us for the 2nd half because we were headed home. He's gotten much better, but he refuses to walk if it's sunny. I have a picture of that I'll post...he just runs and sits in the neighbor's yards under their shade trees.

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Found object

Here's Fisher playing with a plastic pot he found. Nothing makes him happier than finding something and then running away with it.

More camp pics!

If you click and enlarge, you can see she's had some trouble getting an even application of sunscreen.



For "wilderness night" she and her friend were butterflies.  Each night there is a theme....so instead of just packing for camp, the week prior, you have to text the other moms and run all over town pulling together theme outfits.  For this one, the other mom said "she wants to be a butterfly" and i said "I HAVE 2 SETS OF WINGS" and it was a very happy moment.

 

Parker and Fisher

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The grandpas have seen this already....the grandmas too I guess, except Parker drew mustaches on both her and Fisher. The mustache is a big icon for the gradeschool set for some reason.

camp picture

Here's a picture of Parker and her friend Sarah at camp. This is from
"movie night"...they were movie stars.

Fisher pics

Here are some pictures of Fisher. You'd think I'd have a ton, but I really don't. He's really hard to photograph since he blends in to our carpets, and if he's outside, he won't hold still for very long. I'm having a tough time getting both he and Parker in focus in the same shot too.....if she's holding him, he's trying to bite her hair.





 We've had a good first week. He's pretty low key, so far. He love to play ball and chase his toys, but when he's tired, he's all about stretching out on the tile floor and taking a good hard nap. Parker has taugh him sit and shake, with about 80% compliance.

 He will walk on the leash, and off leash, but not very far and definitely not if it's sunny. If the sun is shining bright, he sits on the porch and refuses to move...so we have to walk him in the mornings and evenings.

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Fisher in the flowers

Fisher Comes home

After a long day of planes, trains (airport monorail) and automobiles, Fisher finally made it home about 8pm last night. He love being outdoors and romping around with his toys. He's just as cute in 'person' as he is in these pictures. He's so busy and wiggly, I'm having a hard time getting pictures of him and Parker together.  He is half Australian shepherd, half standard poodle....but seems very "aussie" to me.




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Cup Song

Here's Parker and her friend doing the "Cup Song".  It's from a movie, and all the rage among her age group.  Her friend can imitate the original singer exactly.  Just ignore the part where she sings about "two bottle o'whiskey"

The password is glitter

Cup song from Carla Post on Vimeo.

Garden grows

My new garden focus is to plant stuff that is pretty year 'round. This bed is coming right along.
The empty pot is my compost bin that will hopefully have a potato vine growing out of it.

Making of the helmet

Once I got her started, she was a natural at papier mache. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.


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Book Character

For this year's book character parade, Parker was Augie from Wonder.  Augie's favorite thing as a child was his astronaut helmet.  We constructed ours of of paper mache.  It would have made for a better picture if I had stayed for the parade.....but I didn't...so this is what you get.

Hair Straightening

Her hair is longer than her arms. She needs a cut badly. ''

Puzzles with sitter

Can't decide if i like the B&W or color better. ''
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testing size

 

Taping

Covering a box with duct tape.  These came out really tiny.  I'll look into fixing that.