Scenes from a trip to GA

Hide and Seek- Not a core competency. 

On the other hand....Picking leaves and fresh flowers from a garden- strength!

The Atlanta Aquarium

And the shot of pure "amazement"

Flower Girl?

Josh (about 8 months ago, immediately after informing us of his wedding plans) – Rachel and I thought it would be great to have LB in the wedding too. 

Dave/Ash (looking at each other, then back to Josh…) – Flower girl?

Josh – Yes.

Dave/Ash – Josh…absolutely honored, but you realize this request has serious risk/reward implications.

Josh – Such as?

Dave/Ash – Let’s see…Confidence is high that she would make it down an aisle.  As for distributing flower petals down the aisle, there is a better chance that LB stops to count every petal that is dropped, and then returns to pick up every petal.  Perhaps calling for an ovation after a couple circuits?  She is an enigma…you never know. 

Josh - How about the ceremony?  Can she hold steady?

Dave/Ash – With a year of training, and I am talking ninja/samurai like conditioning, she might last 3 minutes. 

Josh – I guess we’ll just see, won’t we?

Dave (6 months later, 2 months before the big day) – We should probably start getting her ready for the ceremony.  Start checking out you tube.  See if you can find some instructional videos.

Dave (day of ceremony) – OK Ash, what’s the play? 

Ash – We’ll play it by ear. 

Dave – Freestyle…I like it.

Ash – We have a babysitter to pinch hit too.

Dave – Contingency plans are critical with any effective risk management strategy.

Ash – Nerd.

Post Game Analysis- LB made it down the aisle (she raced ahead of the pace car with no wrecks).  When the bride and groom arrived, she had to announce “Josh!” and “Rachel” about 10 times (keep in mind, the crowd was silent).  Once the ceremony began, LB wasn't about to stand still.  She played soccer with the flower arrangement.  Yes, you heard me right…She tossed and kicked the bouquet.  And that was the end of her participation.  

Sweet shots!

This is how we dress for school.  

Ballerina attire for lunch.

 Dad's favorite outfit: Dress + Galoshes

Camp's come to TX, LB goes to Bass Pro Shops.

Pizza!

Hide and Go Seek!

Shopping at Whole Foods.  Banana's are a staple.

Headband or Dog Collar?  Dog Collar.

Rock Star

Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

Baaaaaaaaaarrrrrk.

On the courts, with a soccer ball.  No big deal.  

Capturing the Christmas Magic

That is the look of surprise, joy and freedom…LB turning the corner only to see a shiny pink bike peeking out of her first playhouse.

I receive the same look from Ashley every time I walk in the door. She eagerly awaits my arrival at the front door- pretending it is all about me and not the hand off that is about to occur.












Celebrating Xmas takes on new meaning with children. It always starts with Sesame Street Christmas and prepping LUX, only to continue with preparing for Rudolph’s arrival by sprinkling reindeer food all over the front yard.

We haven’t graduated into the Elf on the Shelf yet, but Xmas 2013 is a must. We won’t be the overzealous parents that trash the kitchen to reflect a mischievous Elf. I see more creativity and coordination with fewer cleanups.

My favorite part of the past holiday season was watching LB take the time to play with every gift before tearing into the next; textbook patience. I don’t remember taking that kind of time. I remember using my X ray vision to pull out every video game in the pile, despite Santa’s trickery with changing box sizes and positioning.

P.S. Almost forgot to mention our love for holiday cards. I had to share one our favorites.