Quintessential Summer Evening

I don't think summer can get any better than swimming and barbeque... well at least I enjoyed having great barbeque. Last week I surprised myself and took the kids swimming again. Michael was in training last week at a resort only seven miles from home. This meant seeing him at the dinner table all week. Training was over on Thursday and so they got out early (done with work at 4:00). Michael met us at the pool... you didn't think I would really brave taking the kids alone.

We swam for a while then headed to get some great barbeque for dinner.

Pictures of me with everyone, thanks to Michael and Miriam for actually taking the camera from me.

King, Queen, Princess, and Prince

Miriam loves crafts. She randomly thinks of things and wants me to help her create. Last week Miriam wanted to make a crown for everyone. I used my best cutting and gluing skills. Next thing I know she is deeming us all royalty.

I can't wait to see what her imagination will come up with next...

In the Car... I mean Van

 Miriam likes to buckle-up all by herself.

 Simon loves being able to look out the window.

Miriam wants the music LOUD.

 If we have sunglasses on, Simon wants his on too.

 Miriam and Simon love to dance to the music.

I LOVE MY VAN!

This just happened...

 

I had to post this even though everyone will witness my freaking out and scaring my child. I thought he would turn around and stop. Instead he just headed out like it was no big deal. Good thing I heard him playing with the door a minute before and checked to see what he was up to. He has no boundaries and would have fallen down the stairs. House now on lock-down.

So much to Celebrate

What is the best thing to do when you have something to celebrate? If you said EAT, you are correct! Like three restaurants in one week kind of eating... that is how we like to roll. Let me start at the beginning. Michael's sister, Elizabeth, came into town as a surprise for his sister Rebecca who graduated from high school. Last Friday night we decided to get together by going to Nagoya for some yummy Japanese cuisine. The kids loved seeing the fire in front of us as the chef made our food. Unfortunately Michael was working in Arlington and didn't make it in time for dinner, so I made our wonderful announcement for him about his promotion. During dinner Michael's Dad also said that he was promoted at work. How exciting two promotions in one day.

With so much to celebrate why not go out again the next day? We headed into DC last Saturday to eat at Fogo de Chao. It is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian meat fest. Very delicious. I remembered my camera and got a couple of pictures. Miriam loved eating with the tongs that were supposed to be for grabbing meat.

Sunday Rebecca graduated from high school. Way to go Rebecca! We are glad we could be there to see you receive your diploma. Now on to BYU!

Last, but not least, Michael's Mom celebrated her birthday last week. We headed off to eat at Thai Basil, home of a Throwdown with Bobby Flay. (Can I just say that I love Bobby Flay? One of my favorite celebrity chefs.) Anyway, we had some delicious Pad Thai before heading back for some dessert. All in all we had a celebratory, delicious, and cultural week full of food and family.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's in our lives. Thanks for all you do for us and the great examples you are for us. A special happy day to my dear husband who makes Miriam, Simon, and I so very happy. We are one lucky bunch. Michael was informed last week that he got promoted to Senior! We are so excited that his hard work is paying off. We are so proud of his accomplishments at work. Michael, congrats and we love you more than words can say!

It really happened

On Saturday we took our kids to the pool! Miriam has been asking about going, so I decided we should just go while Michael was home. I don't love swimming and I don't feel comfortable enough to take the kids by myself. Like I said before, I never know how my kids will handle the water.

Miriam did great as long as her head didn't get wet.

Simon loved the water for the most part.

I am sure people thought I was weird taking pictures at the pool. They just don't understand how rare it is for me to go. I wanted to take pictures, ya know, for posterity's sake. Maybe next time I will actually get good shots!

Walking, Bubbles, and Grandma

fourteen months

This month I feel like it hit me. Simon isn't a baby anymore. At fourteen months Simon...

...tries to join Miriam in the bathroom.

...loves to smile for the camera.

...climbs to help Miriam brush her teeth.

(he fell two seconds after I took this picture)

...always wants up.

 my little Mama's boy

Simon's language is developing rapidly. Every day he is learning new words and signs. It is hard to keep up a list, but here is my attempt (I am sure there are some missing)...

New words: Up, Grandma, Shoe, On, Cheese, Jesus, Book, Hat

New signs: Hungry, Baby, Bye, Potty, Bath, Hat

Simon loves music and dancing. He goes crazy when Miriam gets out Hullabaloo. He loves singing and acting out the songs during story-time at the library. Whenever we have music on in the car he is bobbing his head up and down.

Simon has started to walk a little bit more (just the past couple of days). He can stand up and take a few steps. He tries to go so fast that he still falls a lot, but he is getting the hang of it.  Okay, so I wrote all of that a couple of days ago. This week our little Simon has started to walk. Here are a couple of videos.

(taken Monday June 4th)
Simon Learning to Walk from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

(taken Friday June 8th)
 
Simon walking on the grass from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Clemyjontri Park

With Saturday being another beautiful day, we decided to do something on our "to-do list".  You know the kind. You hear about local things to do and decide someday you will go there. We are not very good at the follow through so I was determined not to let the beautiful day go to waste. We packed a lunch and headed to Clemyjontri Park. I thought the park was really neat. I say this because it is a special park that is accessible to children in wheelchairs. It also has all kinds of equipment that children of all skill levels can play on. It is a pretty big park. I think Miriam was overwhelmed at first. Once she explored she had a ball. Simon and Miriam both loved the swings. There was even a merry-go-round in the center of the park. Being the nice parents that we are we let Miriam and Simon buy token for a ride. (After deciding when we got there to leave the camera in the car and just have a day to play, I grabbed Michael's phone and took a couple of pictures of the kids on their horses.)

I think our outing was a success.

Kidwell Farm

Thursday was the most beautiful day. A storm came through Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and pushed the humidity away. I knew it was going to be nice, so I wanted to take the kids somewhere fun. Where better to go than the free farm? We packed up a picnic lunch and had a great time seeing the animals and playing at the park.

 

Things to note:

• Miriam is really close to the horse. She usually keeps a distance from the animals.
• Both kids are in stripes, cute huh?
• Simon loved the animals and wanted to dive for them, so most of my pictures were taken blindly because I had to have one arm on him at all times.