It's summertime and hot outside.

That can only mean one thing -- sprinklertime!





(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Jump, Jump, Jump

(c) 2008 Scott Everett

How much does Andrew like the backyard now?

He's so fast I can't even see him run anymore.

(I wanted that one to work, but I like this one a little better)



(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Busy little boy

Matthew was being really quiet and entertained until I interrupted...




... but then he got smiley, so it's OK.

(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Andrew on his brand new swingset

He must be really excited about this. When I picked him up from school today, his teacher said that he told her all about his swingset and that I finally finished the slide. It took 2 weeks! Sheesh, what an impatient 4-year-old. Oh, wait...



(c) 2008 Scott Everett

More apologies

Sorry for not posting over the last couple days. The whole family (minus the little, little one) was sick on Tuesday night; I didn't go to work on Wednesday, the boys didn't go to school, and Liz made it through a half day.

Then last night the DC United match was delayed for 3 hours due to the monsoon on the east coast, ending the game at about 12:30 here, at which point Matthew decided he was done sleeping. (Sssh. We seem to be back on track tonight.)

(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Andrew at Starbucks

I took this shot right before I took the ones of Greg and the kids. This was just a test shot and a heavy crop, but I like the light and Andrew's funny expression. What a goofy kid.




(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Photos of Greg as promised

And I have no idea when or where he got this. I'll blame Allie for teaching him "Peace."



(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Sleepy little boy

Andrew never falls asleep on the couch, floor, lap, or anywhere not in bed, so he must have been really tired here. This was just the other day when I knew he'd never go down for a nap. I was outside working on his swingset and I was sure that there was no way I'd be able to get him to sleep and go back and get some work done, so I just let him stay up . Finally, at about 4:15, I came in for a break, turned on the TV for him, and came back to this. He ran his little butt off out there!

(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Finally finished!

Now I just have to mow around this beast.

(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Aunt Wanda and Matthew

More...


(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Uncle Bill and Matthew

We went to Cyclone Corral on Saturday for dinner with Uncle Bill, Aunt Wanda, their son Craig, and Uncle Greg. I usually hate it when people take pictures in restaurants, but we didn't have any photos of Greg with the boys (forthcoming) and he was leaving early Sunday morning. I took the opportunity to snap some other photos while I was at it.




(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Swingset update

It's about 90% done. I have a plumber coming in today to remove the gas lamp from the backyard and then I have to put up the slide. Just about done.
(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Do you know how hard it is to photograph a baby on a swing?

Especially when the flash startles him






(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Fourth day of swimming lessons

Liz said he was even better today. He fulfilled his promise to jump in the water, several times. Well, apparently he would wait until his teacher got hold of his hands and then he'd jump at the last minute, but we'll count it as success. He splashed a lot and swam by himself back to the wall. Yippee, Andrew!

Today was a complete banner day, too. He took a Kung Fu Panda pillow that his Grandma and Granddad bought him to school for Show-and-Tell. He's never done this before and when Liz dropped him off, she and the teachers agreed that he probably wouldn't do it today, but we'd all give it a shot. To our amazement, he told the whole class all about the pillow (well, all that he knew - he has no idea about the movie).

He also passed a mile-marker that most parents probably wouldn't celebrate. The kids at school insist on calling him a baby. I know it's just because of his size and if he insists on being small, he has to learn to cope. Today someone called him baby and he spun around and informed her (I think it was a girl in his class), without hesitation, that he is not a baby. His teachers both said that, although they don't usually condone such discourse, they celebrated quietly to themselves.

All in all, I think he deserves to be as tired as he was this evening. It was a big day.
(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Third day of swimming lessons

Actually, these photos were taken yesterday. Liz took him to lessons today while I picked up Matthew from day care. She told me that he did exceptionally well today. He had a blast and did just about everything his instructor asked. And he promised to jump in tomorrow. We'll see...








(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Second day of swimming lessons

You know that kid that I said wasn't interested in swimming yesterday? Well, he was a completely different kid today. Unfortunately, so was Andrew. He didn't want to do anything. All day long he told us that he didn't like his swimming lessons even though yesterday he talked about how much fun he had. These pictures show what he did the whole time; just stood on the edge of the pool and watched everyone else. Micah (the instructor) actually pulled him in twice, but that was it. Bummer.





(c) 2008 Scott Everett

Andrew had his first swim lesson today

Today we headed down to the Waco Family Y for Andrew's very first swim lesson. I was concerned since he'd been talking about this almost as much as the fireworks, but every thing went fairly well. There are 3 1/2 kids in his group (one is even more timid that he is -- he's the half), so he gets plenty of time with the instructor. He just wouldn't jump into the water today.

Usually when he does something new he comes back to us and says he doesn't like it. We encourage him to press forward and by the time the event is through, he's in love with it. Not so with the swim lessons. He came running back to me and told me how much fun he had. Maybe we're getting somewhere.

Note to self: bring the real camera tomorrow, the cell phone camera is terrible.










(c) 2008 Scott Everett