6.30.2009

electronic monopoly again.
one of justins "5 things i want to do this summer" was beat nathan at monopoly.
it was justins turn to pick the game of the week.
here we go again.
i actually never liked monopoly growing up.
too long.
too complex.
i had a hard time playing this game solo.
but now i love it.
i love watching the different strategies each boy uses.
i love watching the smile when its a good chance card.
i love the bargaining when money is tight.
i love the sharing of funds just to keep players alive.
i love the fact that we play a little everyday.
whos going t0 win this time?
will justin finally outsmart nathan?
will colin and I survive longer than a couple days?
will nathan 'trump' sippel continue his winning streak?
keep you posted....

6.29.2009

goal: scrapbook a page in real time.

(currently i'm on september 2008 in our family album.)

plan: figure out how to print

pictures now. at one of those machines.

remember to bring tiny card from

camera with you when you go.

insert. touch. print. pay.

instant gratification.

drive home.

simple layout.

use invitation colors for theme.

quick journaling about the day.

while the day is still fresh in my head.

capture thoughts i might forget by the

time i actually would scrap this event.

love it.

now i just have to fill all

the days between sept 08 & june 09!

real time.

real life.

6.26.2009

we started on june 9th.

we each have our own journal.

we write something everyday.

we take turns creating the prompts.

we list our 5 favorite dinners.

we list our 5 favorite books.

we list 5 things we want to do this summer.

we list 5 things that are red.

we list 5 superpowers we wished we had.

we answer questions.

if you had a million dollars and couldn't

spend it on yourself, what would you do.

whats your favorite ride at

austin park n' pizza & why.

theres an elephant in your school

cafeteria....finish the story.

we think.

we write.

we create.

we share.

we laugh.

we add to our stories.

we rewrite our answers.

we journal together.

good stuff.

love reading their answers.

love hearing their thoughts.

love sharing ideas & imaginations.

happy day.

6.25.2009

this week.

colin lost another tooth.

we watched the pink panther 2 on dvd.

broke a record - 103.

went swimming.

started a new game of monopoly.

received 164 pictures in the mail from kodak.

laughed to elf (again).

relived the life of michael jackson.

looked for our farrah poster.

learned of moving neighbors.

relaxed.

slowed down the pace.

enJoyed mornings in our pjs.

opened a book each day.

summer days.

6.24.2009

colins fathers day card.

i normally never point out errors

in such a thoughtful, handmade gift.....

but i couldn't let him go around telling anything

less than the truth to all his friends (& teachers).

6.23.2009

tuesday notes:

-justin asked when we were going to the library again. he just finished a "great book" by a new author aunt debbie found for him. i dropped the laundry basket & we jumped into the minivan - library here we come.

- its rare that justin reads everyday, everywhere we go - gotta take advantage of this opportunity. three new books checked out by justin. 5 by nathan. 0 by colin. he's still working on the pile from last week. 3 by mom. 1 dvd picked up that was on hold for us - harry potter.

-rented pink panther 2 online at redbox at 7:10am. picked up after the library run. watched this afternoon during high heat time. gotta love steve martin. cute movie. made boys list all the steve martin movies they knew of. did well. got the big ones. googled the answer before i asked.

-late afternoon swim with our new water toys. concrete too hot to walk on. must wear flip flops to the edge of the pool. love it. 102 today. 79 tonight. my first swim in the pool of the year.

-college baseball rules all the tvs tonight - ut vs. lsu - love this college town - love it that colin understands sports better than i do.

-reading busy woman seeks wife with the real simple book club - perfect summer pool book.

-watched mr. deeds with the gang this weekend. adam sandler never disappoints. nothing better than a silly saturday family night movie with a big bowl of popcorn and never ending glasses of sprite. love that justin still hangs with us, sometimes.

-downloaded this mini poster from this blog.

-printed out this set of labels to organize my scrapbook bins.

enJoy.

6.23.2009

ok. time to review & recap

last weekends quick trip up north.

10 great memories.

#1) hanging at brennans with the happy couple

and our newest austin resident and ut girl ms. megan.

#2) staying up till midnight on friday just to be

one of the first to wish lauren happy birthday.

#3) hanging out at the CCB with mom and her
wonderful giggling girlfriends -
thank you marcia for hosting!
#4) singing happy birthday to lauren at
the shower while the violins hummed away in the
background - thanks doug & gayle.
#5) the beautiful centerpieces created by mom -
we always put mom in charge of flowers and she never
disappoints - aren't they gorgeous - lilly would be proud.
#6) cinnamon ice cream. oreo crust. chocolate topping.
strawberry wedge.
no words necessary.
{sinfully delicious}
#7) a special visitors from rochester.
no not uncle mike.
teddy & sandra spent the weekend in town.
i'm hoping to see mike at the wedding.
keep your fingers crossed.

#8) laurens very own birthday cake.
no sparkles the clown.
no half pink and half blue.

#9) glowing julie with number two &
hannah in her pigtails and pj's.
priceless watching ryan as a dad &
making cookies & taco dip & pasta salad &
inflating bounce houses.

happy times.

#10) sharing my top five words of wisdom

with my soon-to-be-married little sister.

you know i love lists.

you know its my responsibility as 'cis' to share it.

heres my top 5 survival words of wisdom

for all - newlywed or not.

-

No.1 - God First. Before spouse, family, friends, career & stuff.

No. 2 - Real Simple. Don't make life more complicated

than necessary. Keep it real - keep it simple.

Your life - your house - your calendar - your meals.

No. 3 - Listen completely.

Don't hear your words. Listen. Digest. Absorb.

Hear as if with new ears.

No. 4 - Love contentment.

Love life. Love always. Love the quiet routine that everyday

brings. Love the big events. Love the daily events more.

No. 5 - Everyday brings a memory.

Find it. Cherish it. Enjoy it.

6.22.2009

happy party day justin.

you've waited all month for today.

heres to 9 guys at austin park 'n pizza.

102 degrees.

lots of sun and fun.

what a great group of friends you have.

heres to no waiting lines on a monday afternoon

on the go cart track.

lots of pizza, oreo cake and presents.
laser tag groups of nine.

perfect day for water bumper boats.
perfect way to cool off after putt-putt.

the party was supposed to end at 8pm.

too much fun to stop there.

can't believe we made it out by 9:15pm.

i think they would of stayed all night if we could of.

happy party day justin!

6.21.2009

happy fathers day.

a surprise gift for you and the dads on the path.

fathers day golf at 8:30am.

doesn't get any better than this.

too bad the guys had too much 'sun' today.

one of the hazzards of the big texas sun.

thanks to all who made this special day happen ;)

6.21.2009

happy fathers day dad!

to the dad who actually carried 4 dozen

chicken wings from buffalo to austin.

fresh & hot.

from anchor bar.

on a small plane.

with real people sitting next to him.

with a vinchet cake in the other hand.

honest story.

now if thats not love.

thanks dad for all the big things

and little things you do for us all

everyday.

enJoy your special day.

6.20.2009

happy birthday justin!

can't believe you are 12 years old!

special day at the old settlers water park.

lunch at sonic with the hudsons.

mint chocolate chip ice cream & a candle tonight.

hand selected birthday treats from all.
your brothers even wrapped your gifts this year!

zoo tycoon for ds from mom & dad.

nerf football & wrestling mini figures from your brothers.

three new cool shirts from the hudsons.

and a saturday 'off' from cutting the grass from dad.

a special day.

a special dude.

enJoy.

6.19.2009

our week long monopoly championship ended today.

heres the final board.

guess who won?

guess who was sitting on the left?

nathan 'trump' sippel.

as always.

he ALWAYS wins at monopoly.

always.

this week was no exception.

way to go nathan!

can't wait to see what game justin picks next week.

6.17.2009

to do list:
print this for sunday.
pick up this book at the library.
bake this if i didn't have a to-do list.
reading this article.
just finished this book.
looking thru this list for my next read.
printing this to keep me organized.
happy anniversary to sarah & troy today.
internet fun today.
making lists today.
round rock donuts today.
swimming games today.
monopoly fun today.
100 degrees today.

6.15.2009

hello monday.

suitcases to unpack.

emails to reply to.

laundry to fold.

tin foil people to mold.

(thanks nate for sharing with us)

journals to write in.

books to read.

pools to swim in.

routines to love.

6.14.2009

uneventful flight home.

sunday afternoon at carlos & charlie.

dip. chips and cokes.

finished our uno championship tonight.

guess who won?

bye uno.

hello electronic monopoly.

6.13.2009

happy birthday lauren!

happy shower lauren!

happy day lauren!

today was filled with bridal shower games,

courtship tales, family and friends,

birthday songs, bridal blushes, cheeseburgers

on the grill and lots of laughs.

heres to moms dance, hannahs bounce house,

teddys tail and gps.

heres to answering 8 of of 15 correctly.

heres to a lilly day & father of the bride night.

enJoy.

6.12.2009

this smile was worth 2 delays & a quick

airport run only to be delayed again!

travel nightmares are forgotten

when you get to sit next to hannah

at brennans and nibble on carrot sticks

and lemon wedges together!

thank you for knowing my name and wearing

your cutest pigtails for me.

thank you for showing me your pedicure

and coloring tinkerbell.

i can't believe how big you are getting!!

your smile is priceless.

6.12.2009

{noah - last day of school - june 3, 2009}

happy birthday noah!

can't believe you are six years old.

enjoy your special day.

can't wait to celebrate with you tomorrow.

6.11.2009

what to do on a thursday nite.

bring in all the patio furniture.

pull the cars as far as you can into the garage.

grab your camera and look up.

hang out with the path & watch the clouds roar in.

be safe and go to your safe room &

ride out the storm.
no hail for us.
no tornado for us.
lots of lightening.
lots of rain.
all in the blink of an eye.
time to put everything back in its place.
better safe than sorry.
thank you for keeping us safe.

6.11.2009

from here...

to here....

a celebration of invitations.
hand delivered to the post office.
today.
6 weeks to go.
its official now.
watch your mailbox.
mail your response.
the countdown is on!
happy day to laur & aaron.
ps. still need a couple more addresses.

6.10.2009

happy birthday uncle mike!

two out of three nephews want to be a lego engineer.

hence your special message.

from our lego house to yours.

wishing you a special day filled with only blue

frosting cakes, no clowns of any kind and an

on-call night with no calls!

happy day.

wait till you see what the boys bought you

for your birthday....

a true nephew to uncle gift !

6.9.2009

heres to a little up in your life today.

we saw it in 3-D.

we laughed.

we cried.

we wore our cool glasses.

we loved the story.

we loved the plot.

we loved the message.

even colin got it.

good stuff.

the daily memories.

the simple times are the best times.

daily journal continues.

uno championship continues.

6.8.2009

monday fun.

library visits.

round rock donuts.

uno championship underway.

daily journal.

daily puzzle.

evening swims.

evening walks.

get smart lines.

stuff summer vacation is made of.

6.5.2009

love to see the boys just read.

not because they have to.

schools over.

not because i make them.

just because they love to.

our front room is a cozy reading room.

filled with books, sun and an oversized chair.

the perfect spot to hide from the world

and get lost in a good book.

we are on day two of summer vacation.

join us & the barnes & noble book club here.

heres to dragging a great book around all summer.

6.4.2009

{steve. tom & stephanie - july 2008}

happy birthday stephanie!

birthday wishes from austin to mass.

enjoy your special day!

6.4.2009

summer vacation.

day one.

rough life.

swimming & tanning.

ice cream & cookies.

lemonade & watermelon.

othello & movies.

journals & lists.

word searches & bible verses.

sunny & ninety.

cocktails & the domain.

sunsets & strolls.

bring it on.

summer we are ready for you.

6.3.2009

{rockstar spring dance - april 2009}

a day of celebrations!

congratulations sarah!

we are so excited for you!

6.3.2009

{nathan & ms. heine at awards ceremony yesterday}

thank you ms. heine for a great 4th grade.

i learned alot and had a fun time being your

student.

i promise to stop and visit you next year.

sincerely,

nathan

6.3.2009

good bye hugs.

good bye smiles.
thanks for a great year ms. morgan.
we'll miss ya!

6.3.2009

the farewell walk at teravista.

all grades. all students. all teachers. tons of parents.

we lined the halls.

we held our hands out.

we high-fived the graduating class as they walked by.

the pictures don't do it justice.

it was an exciting event.

it was a great way to end the school day and

school year.

smile!

6.3.2009

mrs. willis' 5th grade graduation class.

justin is actually smiling today.

you've worked so hard this year.

we never had to ask you to do your homework.

you always went above & beyond.

you lived in your jean shorts & ecko sneakers.

don't forget the hoodies - even when it was 90.

your hair changed &

your backpack changed.

did we ever blog that story?

your tags included A honor roll gold. safety patrol.

field day. tiger pride.

a surprised us with a special award.

too bad i already put my camera away - sorry.

your day was filled with kickball games, ice cream

sundaes & school walk with all the students cheering

you on.

what a kleenex kinda day.

just like the day we brought you home from the hospital.

just like your first day of nursery school.

just like your first day of kindergarten.

just like your first day on a school bus.

just like your visit to the hospital for stitches.

just like your first overnight summer camp.

just like your first trip to buy gaterade.

just like your first day with a cell phone.

we are so proud of you.

congratulations justin!

may your day be filled with bluebell mint chocolate

chip ice cream & milk duds!

6.3.2009

firsts & lasts.
starts & finishes.

tears & kleenex.

looking back & looking ahead.

a day of celebrations & a year of memories.

-

this is now.

today.

this was then.
first day of school - august 26, 2008.

6.2.2009

dress rehersal.

self made costumes.

cheese puff lives on.

colin left his smile in his backpack today.

must be sad because school is almost over.