Brilee & Nick's Wedding

Tatum and Parker before the ceremony began.  They are only three months apart, but Parker has really gotten taller than both of his girl cousins that are his age.  

Cameron signing the guest book.  Everyone took an instant photo and added it to the book with their message, which was a cute idea.

Kenzie wrote "Good luck" which made us chuckle, and then Cameron added the, "We love you" all on his own.  I thought that was sweet.

Cameron actually smiled a big, normal smile!  We can never get that, so I had to try and take a picture of the picture.

Waiting for the wedding to start, Cameron was good about showing little Millie his book about mammals.  That kept them both entertained for a bit.

Brilee giving Uncle Geeb a hug.  

A couple of cute boys hanging out having pretzels and Italian cream sodas during the reception.

 Annie and Kenzie being goofy, as always.  I told them I don't think I've ever gotten a normal picture of them, but they both just laughed.

 Eventually they both got put to work taking pictures with the instant cameras, because they were tricky for some of the guests to figure out.  They had fun, plus they were being quite helpful, so that worked well. 

 Here are my goobers.  I just wanted one nice picture of them...

... but instead I wound up with several of these.  

 This one was probably the best.  They sure are growing up quickly!

Happenings Lately

Last Friday Kenzers had a day off of school, so just the two of us went to lunch.  She's always been my most adventurous eater, but I'm still surprised sometimes when she looks at a menu and picks out something like the crab melt with avocado, as she did here. (She loved it!) She also talked me into a piece of chocolate mousse cake (it didn't take too much persuasion on her part, to be fair).

Here and there, we're slowly working on the basement.  (Well, I say "we" but I mostly just fetch tools, turn the circuit breaker on and off, vacuum up all the drywall dust, etc.)

Someday we'll get there!

Poor Cameron has a cold, and it's wiped him out the past few days.  He's been home from school, and he fell asleep here in the chair!

And then the next night, he fell asleep after his bath when he was supposed to be getting dressed!

And finally, six giant sheets of Rice Krispy Treats.  That's my contribution for Brilee's wedding this afternoon.  I took a picture because I think it's a new personal record for how many Rice Krispies I've made in one day!  That's about it for around here lately!

Parker's Science Project

If there is one science project Parker enjoys, it's trying to make a volcano erupt.  It was no surprise, then, that for his 5th grade science project he chose to compare if the temperature of vinegar would affect the reaction of vinegar and baking soda.  He made a giant volcano as his visual aid.

He even put rocks all over it and grass.  I told Parker he had to do this by himself (because the science fair wasn't required for school, it was only if he wanted to participate).  Chris was far nicer and spent a long time in the kitchen with Parker helping him come up with the right ratios and better ways of doing things.  

Parker wanted an in-action shot for his poster, so here he was.  We used little bottles so he didn't ruin the volcano with his actual experiment.

 He's a cute kid.  I warned him several times that he might not earn any sort of prize, and he assured me he was okay with that, but he just thought this was fun.  He procrastinated making his poster and typing up his research until the night before, which made for a long evening Monday night, but I suppose that's to be expected with a 10 year old boy.  (The fun part was over!)

 This afternoon I headed to the school and thought it was cute to see kids crowded around Parker.  It helped that he had a volcano they could touch, whereas the other kids just had posters to look at!  

 I asked him if any of the kids had good questions for him.  He shrugged and said, "Some of them did!"  He was obviously enjoying having everyone come by and ask him about his project.

I saw 1st prize being handed out, so I asked Parker again if he was okay not winning a ribbon.  He wasn't as convincing as before, but he still agreed he had fun and it was okay.  Then Parker was given a 2nd place ribbon and he was pretty pleased with himself (there were a few divisions and not many kids, but it was still cute).  I'm glad he had a good time.  He's a smart kid who genuinely enjoys learning!

Brilee's Bridal Shower

 Grandma Arnold putting together the "maid" as the bridal shower gift for Brilee.  That tradition started long ago and consists of a trash can full of needed household items that are important but usually make for boring gifts - everything from plastic wrap to dish soap, hangers, and toilet paper.  The items differ each time, but this time she had a cake pan face (which Grandma drew to look like Brilee, because she has to be the maid!) and spoon arms, etc.  

Kenzie thought it was pretty funny.  

Cameron was confused who Brilee was, so I made Brilee pose with her youngest sister, Tatum (who was the only cousin Cameron knew for sure).  Bookie jumped in, too, so here they are.  Cameron said, "Ohhh!" when he saw the picture.  He knows his cousins, he just can't be bothered to learn the names of anyone over age 11!