Fan Art

Amelia has spent the last few weeks volunteering with an organization that helps the young students who need it most in our community.  I'm not sure who has gained more from the experience.  The kids are getting to learn a little, play in a safe environment, and in some cases get the attention or even nutrition they don't always have the luxury of at home... and Amelia is having a blast and having her heart melted by sweet notes like this ....

"Thank you Ms. Amelia for playing tenes (tennis) with me."

Mop

Luckily, thanks to the heat of the summer, Everett agreed to get his wig trimmed. He looks like a different human...or maybe he finally just looks like a human....

Worker

 Amelia has somehow gotten her dream side hustle - dogsitting for a neighbor. She's done it a dozen or so times now and occasionally I go with her.  She doesn't know it, but it is obvious to me as I watch her hand feed one pup while having a conversation with the other, that there are a lot of people in her future - friends, boyfriends, employers, employees, children, grandchildren, etc. - that are going to be extremely, extremely lucky to have her in their lives...and she'll never require anything from them in return.

Receipts pt. 2

 One of our favorite parts of our week together was doing the animal experiences at a nearby zoo.   We've been to petting zoos and regular zoos before....but this was the first time we ever got to hold a baby spider-monkey or have a lemur ride around on our heads...

Despite his wild eyes, this dude was the sweetest, friendliest animal this side of Lucy and Olive...

This spider-monkey's name was Peter Parker.  If I didn't think Meggan would notice, I'd have brought him home with me...

I'll be honest, this guy was cute, but I don't think either one of us ever got comfortable with him...

News flash - sloths are cute and slow, but they are 0% fun to hold and bite like vampires...

Receipts

As promised, here are the first pics from our guys' week together.....

We needed to fuel up before we started ... so, we ordered sodas, hamburgers, fries, corn dogs, tater tots, and tacos....

Ev obviously needed new Hornets swag to properly cheer on the team....

It turns out all the corn dogs and new Buzz City jerseys can't help you when the other team has Kevin Durant...oh well, at least we had great seats....

Spring Broke

Last week was Spring Break for Meggan and the kids.  Since I didn't want them to have all the fun, I took the week off as well.  This week included visiting friends, staying in hotels, riding go karts, playing with monkeys and lemurs, an NBA game, and a girls' trip to Italy.  I won't say it was a restful week, but it was a great one.  I'll post pictures of week soon.  

Belle of the Ball

Amelia had a wonderful time at her school's Spring dance this weekend.  She looked beautiful.  She went with a great group of friends.  She danced to a lot of the music.   She attended a sleepover and stayed up until 2am afterwards... sounds like a pretty perfect night for a 15 year-old... or a 3-day hangover if I tried to do it.

Shooting Star

Everett had the good fortune of having former Duke legend and long-time NBA player Gerald Henderson come to his basketball practice.  Gerald could not have been better with the boys.  He didn't just stop in and wave.  He coached the players in scrimmages, gave them a motivational pep talk, and even hung around after practice to play a little one on one with the boys. For Everett, it was a chance to see even once you make it to the highest level of success and achievement, it's even more important to be a person of the highest character...

Glimpse

Seeing Amelia in her own little world, airpods in, cutely dressed, working on an art project for school gives me a glimpse of adult Amelia working in some amazing career, putting together a presentation for a major client .... or teaching an art class to kindergarteners... the career isn't important....what's important is this glimpse isn't NEARLY as far into the future as I want it to be.....

A Dozen

This guy turned the big 1-2 last week.  I have to admit despite the fact that he's a moppy-haired middle schooler, I have a hard time considering him anything other than my little peanut...

All Relative

In our house, we all think of Everett as the little guy who still needs us to help him with simple things.  In his cousin Reid's eyes, it appears Ev is the awesome big guy who can help him with anything.  I guess the view really does change depending on which side of the window you're on....

Sophisticated

My man is getting the opportunity to learn the rules of high society... or at least how to eat without looking like a raccoon fishing through garbage...

Back Home

After a fun filled week working in Philadelphia, I'm finally back home hang with the family.  Who wouldn't be happy to come home to these three....

She Wears Many Hats

5 Halloweens have passed, but Amelia shows that her ability to absolutely rock a cheap costume hat is still fully intact...

Mary Poppins in 2018..

Jessie in 2023

Foreshadowing

 I asked the kids if I could take a picture of them at dinner.  The result absolutely displays their personalities....I'm just concerned it might also foreshadow Everett's college years...

Sketchy

 This is Amelia's latest sketch.  She was asked to do a closeup pencil drawing of regular objects.  She chose silverware, but I give her a gold star...

Long Days

While anyone in our home will tell you I am Lucy's favorite human (it's almost to a weird level), I would say she's mostly just a girl who likes to have all of her family around.  She seemed extra lonely today while her buddies were off to school...

Self Aware

 Amelia was asked to draw a portrait that is reflective of her.  It was not to be OF her, but ABOUT her.  This is what she came up with.... I think my favorite part of it (aside from how well it is shaded) is that her fake math homework is due at 11:59pm and yet it is black and white, unfinished, and in the background while her Animal Crossing video game (and its cartoonish style she captured perfectly) is vibrantly displayed showing she is playing it at 11:54pm.  Luckily, in real life she doesn't procrastinate so badly as to only give herself 5 minutes to do a pile of homework...she leaves at least 10. 

Familiar Pose

When I saw Lucy melt onto the ground after a vigorous round of "chase absolutely nothing in big circles until you pass out" a.k.a. "catch a case of the zooms", I knew I had seen it somewhere before.  After staring at her for a few minutes I realized where....

Lucy after running suicide sprints around the back yard....

Amelia after her first day of high school a few weeks ago...

As they say, ball 'til you fall. 

Happy and Sad

Middle School and High School.  No Elementary School.  No little kids.  No babies. Looking at these photos makes me equal parts happy about the wonderful people they're becoming and sad about the awesome little munchkins they'll never be again.