A Red Neck Water Slide.

One kiddie pool, two cousins, one golden retriever and a swing set - makes for perfect summer fun and hours of entertainment.

Sidney had her twin friends from school over yesterday.  It was her first ever playdate with some of her very own friends.  She was over the moon and spent the first half hour showing them every toy in the house.  She was pretty proud.  Here she is pretending to enjoy the white convertible.  In real life she will not ride in the car AT all.  Kendall is quite the driver and took the twins for a few rides.  The four of the girls rode scooters around the block, ate Popsicles and had a blast.

Sidney is getting more daring each day. 

I absolutely love this picture of Sidney.  She is such a cutie.  She has the "Strong" gap in between her front teeth.  The other day she was telling her friend Asher that she had lost a tooth and pointed to her gap.  He laughed and said "Uh Uh.  It is just a space, silly." 

Kendall is becoming the master of the monkey bars.

Both of the girls are as sassy as ever!
















Kendall decided it was time.  She was finally ready to get her ears pierced.  She has been toying with the idea for about 6 months now.  Each time she mentions it, Kevin and I tell her about the initial pain and the cleanings multiple times each day.  She then says "Maybe I will wait until I am 8 or 10 or something."  This last week she announced she was indeed ready.  So the whole family made a trek to the jewelry store for the big event.  She was a champ.  A few tears, then lots of giggles as she looked in the mirror.  So far she has been reminding me every breakfast, lunch and dinner to clean the earrings.

My brother and sister-in-law, Roy and Sherry sent me a wonderful birthday card and some birthday money this year.  It was a wonderful surprise.  After much thought, I decided to buy this clock I had been eyeing for our kitchen.  I LOVE IT.  I even had enough left over to buy a pair of fuzzy flip-flop slippers.  Thank you guys!!!

The Big 4-0!

My husband decided to throw a big party for my milestone birthday.  It was originally supposed to be a surprise, but I found out!  Thank goodness.  Who really likes surprises???  Kevin did an amazing job organizing, inviting, cooking, prepping, shopping, cake baking - the whole bit.  It was amazing.  We had a great BBQ with lots of family and friends.  Here are a few pictures from the party weekend...
Hanging out and preparing salads the night before.

A picture of the ladies.

The little girls decided to perform for us during the party.

Beautiful little Miley!

The lovely Bridget.

My third grade math competition and BFF.

My goofy Dad and stylish Mom.

Proof that friends can be family.

I had a lot of help blowing out the flames!

Just checking things out.

The man who made it all happen and the crown the girls insisted I wear.

We took the girls swimming afterwards.

Gorgeous Kami!

Thank you Kevin!  It was the best birthday party ever.  To think I had wanted a nice quiet dinner at home?  What was I thinking?

Recital Pics - 2 months in the making

Boy have I been slacking!  I thought I should post some recital pictures before next year rolls around.  The girls had their recital in May and they both had a fantastic time.  They did a lot of goofing off before we headed to the auditorium.

Kevin and I got there early to nab some front row seats.  My mom came down for the event.  She was kind enough to take a family picture of us.

This year was Kendall's second recital. Of course she considered herself a seasoned veteran and patiently explained to Sidney everything that was going to happen.  Kendall was the first one on stage.  She was very focused this year.  It was immediately apparent that Kevin should have sat in the middle of my mom and I, because as soon as Kendall hit the stage my mom started to bawl.  Then I immediately started to cry.  The problem is that when we "Workman" girls experience anything traumatic (i.e. sentimental moments, someone hurting themselves badly) we laugh hysterically.  So there we were, my mom and I, alternating between crying and laughing hysterically.  We were a mess to say the least.

Sidney's group danced later.  She was a beauty.  Kevin and I were not sure how she was going to react to being on stage in front of all those people.  She spotted us immediately and gave us a huge grin.  She was not nervous at all.  Of course, the ridiculous crying from my mother and I ensued.  My favorite part of Sidney's dance was when she had to hop across the stage.  She got really into it and did a great job.

What is a recital without flowers from Daddy?  The girls had a fantastic time and we loved every minute of it!

Worms, Puppy Love and Plein Air Painting

We had a great weekend.  There were a few breaks in the rain and the sun prevailed.  Today was gorgeous.  The kids had their friends, the Nelson's, for a sleepover last night.  Eli informed me that I cook so fancy.  When I asked him to elaborate he said, "You make mummy dogs, my mom only makes them once a year."  Yep, that's me, the fancy cook.  For those that know Rebecca, she puts Martha Stewart to shame.  But me, I prevail with my over-the-top mummy dogs.  The truth is, I know that the kids LOVE them so every time they come over we have fruit salad and mummy dogs.  The fruit salad is also loved by all, but we really just enjoy singing the song (think...the "wiggles").  If you are unfamiliar, they have some fantastic you tube videos.  They are annoying as all get out, but beware you will find yourself singing their songs repeatedly.

Kendall is obsessed with worms.  Our backyard is full of them. 

Today she asked if she could use her squinkee jar as a worm house.  I said, "Of course."  I even threw in a little potting soil.  Before I knew it, she had dumped in a bunch of water and was calling it worm soup.  Kevin explained that the worms may not do so well in water alone, and I was not about to give up any more precious potting soil so she had to resort to the dirt pile.  She spooned the dirt in happily, declaring loudly that she was going to be an "Earth Expert" when she grows up (translation Geologist???).  That is not too far removed from her earlier aspirations of gardener (and parent and cheerleader).  Very interesting combination.  I think she decided against being a parent after she asked how babies get out of their moms tummy.  I promised her that it was all worth it, but she was not buying it. 

Sidney spent the afternoon cleaning out the playhouse.  She then moved her stroller, baby bed, crib and shopping cart into the backyard.  She is napping now, but will soon realize all of those items will have to be hauled back into the "real" house.  That is the joy of living with two large dogs.  Kevin has to constantly remind me that the dogs were our first children as I shout out to them that I am taking them to the pound. 

My mom was visiting me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I remembered painting blocks of wood when I was little?  After a moment I began to recall doing so.  She said that it supplied hours of entertainment and cost virtually nothing as the wood blocks were just leftover scraps.  I decided to pull out the paints and wood today.  My mom was right.  The girls loved every minute of it. 

I thought I would give a shed update.  Kevin has finished putting it together and we painted it a couple of weeks ago.  It turned out very nice.  If you listen carefully you will hear Kevin performing the Home Improvement grunt.  Our Christmas decorations and lawn equipment are safe and happy now.

Before my mom started doing custom window treatments, she used to sew children's clothing that sold in a few boutiques up North.  She did an amazing job.  I managed to snag some of her remaining inventory as she exited that part of her business.  I think I nabbed these before Kendall was even born.  It is always a treat when I pull out their clothes for the next season and find one of my mom's creations.  Sometimes I am even so lucky as to have a matching set!

At Work With Mom.

Kevin had an appointment this morning, so he dropped the girls off at my work for an hour or so.  There is an empty office next to mine and they brought plenty of dolls and toys to play with.  They did pretty great and my co-workers got a kick out of them.  I say they were doing great, but that was only until one of my coworkers coaxed them into a jumping and running contest.  Of course, then he walked away leaving me to calm them down:)  I do not necessarily recommend doing that on a regular basis, but I think that it brought life to the office.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the break in routine. 
After Kevin picked them up, he took them for lunch in the park.  Sid climbed to the top of the big monkey bars today.  It was a first for her.  I joined them for the last part of lunch and watched her try to navigate down from the top.  At one point I thought we might have to come to her rescue as she stood with a look of fear in her eyes.  She paused for a moment and figured out her strategy and down she came. 

The girls had their last day of preschool a couple of weeks ago.  It was sad.  They took some amazing cupcakes in to share with their friends.  They really were amazing (no time to be humble).  We decorated them with very bold colors of frosting and equally bold piped flowers.  Kendall had come across some purple, pink, yellow and blue gumdrops that we used for the centers.  In hindsight, I should have taken a photo.  They were sad to leave their friends, but excited to be home with Dad for the summer.  Kendall is registered for kindergarten next year and Grandma Terrell is all set to move down her to help watch the girls.  The other day, Terrell asked Sidney if she would come up and see her.  Sidney replied, "No!  You are coming down here!"  We are all very excited.

Lunch in the park pictures:

A Day At the Races

Last weekend we met up with some of our friends at FireBird Raceway.  Mitch and Lynda are friends of my parents and I was the babysitter for their kids growing up.  They used to bring me along on family vacations.  They had even taken me on their space needle trip to Seattle.  Pretty cool when you are only 12 years old.  Now their kids are all grown up and married.  Michell just had her first baby last fall and Justin is running part of the family business.  Mitch is somewhat of a thrill seeker and has been racing cars for quite some time.  Every few years, his cars seem to get bigger and faster.  His latest car is the "RodFather".  It is a tricked out 51 Chevy that reaches 200mph and then some.  CRAZY!

This was his third race since his big crash last year.  He recounted the story.  He flipped over the rail and then back onto the track, cartwheeling and skidding along the entire way.  To him everything had happened in slow motion.  He walked away with only minor scratches.  The first thing he did after returning home was thank the guy who had built the car.  He told us the story of his first race after the crash.  He had told his crew chief that he was only going to go about halfway down the track and stop for the first run.  He said that once he got going, it felt so smooth he just finished the race.  His crew chief was freaking out thinking that his throttle had gotten stuck.

It was a good time to catch up with friends, eat good food and enjoy some great stories.  Here is the RodFather in action.