??? SENSE OF STYLE

I enjoy seeing Joshua grow up in that he does a number of things on his own. One of the things that he does on his own now is dress himself. I have only had to send him to his room a few times to change into something more decent (it either did not match or it was Sunday and I did not want him to wear what he had on to church), so I don't think that is a bad record.
Now, you all know that his mom has no sense of style. I pray that he does not get my lack of style...then this is what he came into the family room wearing this morning. He kept his pajama top on, put on Andrew's jeans (they are 2T, he is so skinny), and Andrew's hat. He does have a questionable sense of style, or maybe he looks good and I just don't recognize it.

NEW ADDITION

We have a new addition to our family, her name is Chloe. She is an 8 month old chocolate lab mix. So far so good...the boys seem to love her. Joshua said, "Mom, I really love my dog." I really wonder if Chloe is causing him to have memories of our first dog, Riley. He did mention her a couple of times, comparing the dogs, but he did not seem upset.
I got her at noonish and we introduced her to the boys in the back yard. Andrew and Joshua both stayed by the back door for a while. She did not approach them and they did not her. When Jeff squated to pet her Andrew came running to check her out. It has taken all day for Andrew to really get in her face and enjoy her licks, but Joshua warmed up after a few hours. He asked to feed her, to walk her, to take her outside, to play fetch with her, to give her a bone, he is genuinely excited. We hope this is all a start to a love of dogs for both the boys...learning responsibility would be nice too.
Welcome to the family Chloe!

MIA

Where have the Kennedy's been? What has been going on in our household since say...May? Why have my posts been MIA? Those are some of the questions some friends and family have been asking. It would take me a few days to do a post for everything that has happened. Instead of boring everyone with the details, here is the Cliff Notes version...

Joshua graduated from Pre-K 3's at the end of May. His class put on a great end of year program.

After school was out we hit our first spray ground adventure and ran into some of his classmates. If you have not been to a sprayground park you should go. Free and water just to their feet, so great for the little ones.

June was a busy month. First, we should have started the month celebrating Dave's, Jeff's dad, birthday, but we wished him a happy birthday on Fathers Day. Cake, swimming, good food, and celebration of two important men in our lives...We love them both!

Second, we went to another Roughriders game with Joshua's t-ball team...he got to run the bases at the end of the game.

Then Joshua attended two weeks of VBS. Yes, I said that correctly...2 weeks straight of VBS is not what we will do next year. Especially if I work both weeks. I was exhausted. Joshua enjoyed it and that makes me happy. In between the two weeks of VBS the boys and I went to our first puppet show, Slappy's in the Galleria. We got to see Charlotte's Web. Andrew was very entranced and Joshua could not stop talking about it. Good times!

Joshua ended his first t-ball season with a donut party and a bobble head trophy (no pics...I need to contact some of those parents that were good at bringing their cameras). Then we left for Breckenridge, CO to celebrate the 4th in nice cool weather. Not only was the weather cool, but we did get a lot of rain while there. However, it did not stop us from ice skating, hiking, biking, hot tubing (wait, we did have to get out due to lightening), an hour and a half long parade, bounce houses, rides, and getting pics of all the cousins playing nicely together. We did have a few problems while there. First, we had to take Joshua to the ER. We were afraid he had appendicitis. Not sure what really was wrong, but he was better after a few days. Then on the way home we had a flat and a broken headlight. God was with us because the store we stopped at so happened to have a mechanic that operated out of a building behind them. Not only did they fix the tire, but his wife showed us how to get out of the horrible construction traffic.

(will try to post video later)

We got back home July 7th and then the boys and I headed to Emory to see my brother and his family. We celebrated their 10 year anniversary, which should have been a surprise, but certain relatives could not keep it to themselves. Either way Cameron and Jennifer had a good time. We had some good food, a nice cake, bounce house and slippin' slide fun for the kids, and people we have not seen in a while.

Just before we left Emory to come home Pawpaw gave all the kids a ride on his motorcycle...Andrew did not like it, but Joshua loved it. There is still not a motorcycle in his near future.

We took Cameron and his family to Hawaiian Falls once they got to our house. While here they checked out a few malls as well. The day they were leaving I ended up cutting my finger and had to get three stitches...a first for me.

All ten grandkids cooperated with mom...

Now we are all caught up. Maybe this was still too long of a blog, but if you don't read it then at least you got to see the pics.

CRASHING IS FUN!

So today I was coming to a stop light and put on my breaks due to a car in front of me that was stopped at the red light. As soon as I breaked the following conversation occured...
Joshua yelled "Crash it! Crash it!"
Mommy in disbelief asks "Crash what? The car?"
Joshua full of excitement"Yes!"
Mommy still in disbelief "If I crash the car we would get hurt!"
Joshua explains "That is why we have seat belts!"
Mommy matter of fact "Seat belts are not 100% protection."
Joshua bummed "Oh man! I should have worn my helmet."
Mommy laughing internally and thinking my kid is crazy "Our car would be hurt too."
Joshua dissappointed in mommy "Oh mom! It would be fun! I like crashing...crash, crash, crash, Yeah!"
Mommy shaking her head thinking my child IS crazy and he will not get his license until he is 30.
Mommy trying to end conversation, "Crashing is for pretend, not for real cars."
Oh boy!

NOTHING BETTER THAN FAMILY

What is better than family? The past 4 years my grandmother, paternal, has made a point to get our family together. There were two firsts this year. One, we enjoyed each others company in Oklahoma. We celebrated in Emory, TX the first 3 years. My Great Grandmother moved to OK, so we moved the reunion. Second, it was chilly, wet, and muddy. No volleyball, baseball, or sunburns. Just UFC on the trampoline, endless conversation with many 5 generation families (91 people were there), savory country food, and kids having to change clothes due to playing in the mud. Great times! Hope you all get to celebrate with extended family often.

CAMPING...IN THE HOUSE

Joshua and I did not get the opportunity to camp in a tent at Eisenhower State Park, so we did the next best thing. We borrowed the Henline's tent and pitched it in the house. Well, the next best thing is probably camping in the back yard, but if I am going to be outside in a tent it is not going to be in my back yard in the city. I want to hear the bugs and smell fresh air. Anyway, Joshua is now fast asleep in the tent. I will let you know if he stays in it all night. We may have to get out own tent and make this a once a month routine.
Side note...Joshua is looking so much older these days. What is it? I mean he should look young until puberty, not when he is 4 1/2. Gotta love that boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI...SURPRISE!

Mimi's birthday was April 29th. It was decided that we would wait and celebrate her birthday when Jeff returned from his travel. So, Jeff got back into town and Mimi got a surprise Sunday morning...Kristen, Jeff's baby sister, and Morgan came into town from SC. Mimi was very excited to see them as Morgan was happy to see Mimi. Here are a few pics the day we celebrated Mimi's birthday...the boys hair is wet due to some hot tub time.
Thanks Kristen and Morgan for coming into town. We really enjoyed seeing you both.

Andrew and Morgan checking out what is in the diaper bag.

Joshua and Morgan...we could not get Andrew in this one.

Joshua loves his Mimi...