Kristen Marie

Today my baby sister is seventeen. Kristen is:

Classy

Fashion Forward

Athletic

The Favorite Aunt

A little crazy

She's also smart, and also hilarious. She doesn't call attention to herself, but if you sit by her, you'll hear the funniest commentary on whatever is going on.

Plus, she steals your camera, takes pictures of herself like this, and lets you discover them later.

What a nut.

Happy Birthday, girl! I love you!

Go Go Go Joe!

When I was 13, my Grandma Sandi took me to a U of R productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I've been hooked ever since. Of course I wanted to share the amazing-ness of it all with everyone I knew. When our community theater put it on the next year, I dragged my sister Lauren to see it. Unfortunately, the talent in a community theater production didn't quite make the impression I wanted it to (she laughed through it like I laughed all through Twilight, in a this-is-so-bad-I-can't-believe-it way).

So when I fell in love with McKay, I naturally wanted him to see Joseph (both men being important to me), but I had learned my lesson. You can't build up the awesomeness of a Broadway level Joseph and then have your would-be convert see a high school drama class production. I bided my time, and nearly five years later, it paid off. The Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth put on Joseph, and since the lead female was Broadway's longest running Belle from Beauty and the Beast, it met my standards. We left the babies with Grandma and bottles and ventured out for our first date night since Jamie was born.

It. Was. Amazing.

The hall is HUGE.

One of the great things about the show it that it is a very silly show, so each production adds funny things. Our show had:

• Jacob giving Joseph a Wii


• Potiphar being Donald Trump


• The country hoedown dancers pausing to shout out "The stars at night are big and bright..."

I wish we had more pictures, but the old lady ushers were a bit Nazi about their no pictures policy. Still, we snuck a few.

Afterwards, some of the cast came out to meet the die hard fans. We thought about joining them, but as you can see, no one came out in costume, and we realized that our seats were so far in the back that we wouldn't recognize Joseph unless he was actually wearing his amazing technicolor dreamcoat. As we walked past them, I heard a few teenage girls giggling over Gad. I laughed, but then I remembered being quite smitten with Benjamin myself at the U of R production.

We had a great night out, and I am glad to report that McKay liked it. My only regret is that I did not buy this shirt, or even get a decent picture of it:

It says "I am handsome, I am smart, I'm a walking work of art."

Dear Grandma,

We got a package in the mail today:

Tyler was very excited

until he realized it was all dresses for Jamie

so he repacked it all

but Jamie and I loved it.

My friend Julie told me that we have baby girls because we outgrow dressing up our baby dolls, and I'd have to agree. Jamie has been unnecessarily changed in and out of so many outfits, just for fun, and this new box of Sunday dresses is going to entertain me and annoy Jamie for the rest of the day.

Love you!

Summer 2010 Bucket List

It's official: Tyler, Jamie and I are getting bored. It's a good sign that we are adjusting to our new normal if we are willing to brave the heat for a change of scenery. The problem is, whenever I ask what we should do for the day, I am met with blank stares and no ideas (and not just from Jamie and Tyler). To help us out, I've made a list of things to do before the weather starts to cool down and we can do whatever we want again.

Summer 2010 Bucket List

Play hopscotch

Send daddy on a treasure hunt

On one day, take a picture every hour; make a little photo journal highlighting that day.

Go swimming

Make root beer

Get a triple scoop ice cream cone

Pick flowers

Go see the Declaration of Independence at Dallas Center Library

Go to the library

Go to the Galleria playground

Go on a picnic

Go to a farmer's market

Wash the car

Fly kites

Catch fireflies

Visit the zoo

Go to a farm and pick berries, apples, etc

Visit the Grassy Knoll

Go to the lake and rent a boat

Go to the observation station at DFW airport

Go see the super model trains at Childrens Medical Center of Dallas

Play at the Fountain Place

Go to Hands On Museum

Visit Pioneer Plaza

Go ice skating at the Galleria

Visit Deep Ellum

Go to the Summer Symphony concerts

Try a new kind of food

Go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

I realized I've only been in Dallas proper two or three times, and there are so many cool things and places and events to see!

Also, I can't remember doing much these last ten months, being pregnant and all, and it's motivating me to bust out of the house and get a life.

In the wee small hours of the morning

Galleria @ Dallas

Forecast for the week? Heat index of 107 degrees.

Plans for the morning? Indoor playground at the Galleria!

Keeping up with myself

About this time last week, I realized I was doing what I had said I wouldn't. While we had a number of pictures of Jamie, I hadn't had any picture taking frenzies yet like we had with Tyler. You know the kind, where there's like 30 or 40 shots of Baby taken in less than two minutes, because you can't stop.

I give you this gallery as proof that she is just as scrumptious a newborn as Tyler was.

"Baby Jabie"

Tyler is starting to enjoy being a big brother.

telling secrets,

looking,

and of course, agitating his sister, a special talent of big brothers.