Getting Into the Spirit

Along with everyone else, our household has turned into an Olympics cheering squad. We love to watch the events and cheer along with the crowd.

This Olympics has been interesting because it is in Beijing, where Jon and I visited a couple of years ago. It has been fun to see the coverage of the tourist spots of interest and Jon and I can say that we have been there!

During the opening ceremonies, we were discussing all of our summer Olympic memories from years past - watching Mary Lou Retton get a perfect 10, Keri Strugg landing her vault to win the team gold on one foot, watching Michael Johnson win in his gold shoes. And we noticed something new this year.

JD is a true Olympic fan! He just soaks it all in and cheers along with the tv and claps when the competitors finish. He was amazed by the incredible opening ceremony and loved all of the lights and noise.



And coincidentally (or not), he has really started throwing the balls that we have around with more enthusiasm. He will pick them up and really chunk them across the room. It makes me wonder if we have a future Olympic athlete on our hands...or maybe he will join the ranks of the couch athletes like his parents.

Hot, Hot, Hot

And I am not referring to the cute song with that same title. I am referring to the ridiculously hot weather we are having right now. 103, 105, 107 - I used to think of those as radio stations. Now it is the typical temperature for the day.

Poor JD is feeling the strain of the weather too. He has been getting heat rashes from sweating it out, no matter how cool I try to make it for him. He is just so active! We have been trying to make the best of it...

This afternoon, I'm going to find an air conditioned mall playzone for him to run around for a bit. Swimming is even too hot these days since the pool water feels like bath water.

We did turn on the sprinklers in the backyard the other day so that JD and Jon could run around in some cool water for awhile. It wasn't so long ago that JD was playing in our backyard and was all bundled up.

I am ready for days like this one again...anyone else?

Big Macs and Blessings

I took Jon this morning to get his eye re-Lasiked since he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye.

JD stayed with my mom, so I wouldn't have to worry about him getting into trouble at the doctor's office.

After a long wait, Jon went through the surgery in minutes and we were on our way back home. His only request was a McDonald's burger for lunch.

I am not a fan of Micky D's. I would rather eat at Wendy's or Chick-Fil-A any day. But my husband loves the Golden Arches. So we pulled through the drive through.

After we paid, the teenaged girl cashier wished us a "blessed day." Jon and I were both a bit surprised by this, but then we both commented on how nice that was. I would like to think that the teenager who said it has had God give her so many blessings in her life that she wanted to bestow some on others.

Anyway, it made me smile for the day! Maybe I will wish a stranger a blessed day in my next encounter.

Eating By Myself

I am slowly getting JD comfortable with eating his food with utensils on his own. I really don't like him getting messy with the food (I know, I know - let it go, Mandy), so it has been a slow process.

Plus, he doesn't really like it either. He gets frustrated because he can't get enough on his spoon to satisfy his hungry tummy fast enough.

But every once in awhile, he reaches for the spoon and wants to go at it.

Where, oh where, did I put that high chair drop cloth???

Can I Eat the Sand?

We are now back in the 105 degree heat with no cool ocean breeze or waves crashing anymore. I think we all had a pretty good time and I loved watching JD enjoy the ocean for the first time.

He played in the waves until he got tired...

And then he played in the sand until I took him back to the house kicking and screaming.

I noticed that my little guy really enjoyed the taste of sand while we were there. He would actually take his snacks and rub them in the sand so he could eat more. Eww! I tried not to be too much of an over-protective mother, even though I drew the line at drinking wet sand from the bucket.

When it was really rainy from Hurricane Dolly, we took the kids into town to go to the Rainforest Cafe. They all liked the animals that moved around, although it was a bit shocking at first for the little ones.

JD was really into making this face for most of the trip. Not sure where it is coming from, but it made me laugh (and everyone else) everytime he did it.

JD had such a good time with his cousins! He played so hard that he passed out every night from sheer exhaustion.

And yes - my sister did cajole us into getting decked out for a family picture on the last night (see previous post) and yes, we did it kicking and screaming. But I think we are all very glad that we did it. Thanks, Dara, for talking us into it! We got some really nice pictures out of it!

JD and his Grandma and all of his cousins.

We watched the Wiggles this morning on tv and saw a scene on the beach and JD started saying bath, bath and pointed at the screen and looked at me - as if to say, can we go out to the waves today and eat some more sand??

I guess we will need to start planning our next beach vacation with the kiddos sooner rather than later!

Having Fun at the Beach

We have been enjoying a family vacation in Galveston at the beach. Our house is actually on the beach, so we have beautiful views of the ocean.

We had some minor worries earlier in the week with Hurricane Dolly, who kicked up some crazy winds and even crazier waves.

But the last couple of days have been great beach weather with nice breezes and lots of fun! We are looking forward to another day today!

Sunny or Scary??

Hmmm...I'll keep you posted.