Thanks to our faithful followers - this is Oliver filling in for Nicole. As you know, Nicole has taken a break from the blog - and she feels really bad about it; however, she is thankful to you for checking in periodically, and in some cases, asking if we are okay. Well, a lot has happened since the Canada post.

There was Chicago...(I will attach pictures from our other computer)

San Francisco - for my dear cousin Alexa's wedding to the extremely lucky Sean...he's a great guy, actually; Alexa is like my little sister so no guy is worthy, although if a guy was then it would be Sean. I suppose I've made my point! Whew - if I'm that tough on guys when it comes to my cousin Alexa - can you imagine what the guys vying for Lydia's and Molly's heart are going to have to be like.

Lydia and Molly spent two nights with Grammy and Poppy while we were in San Fran so there are no pictures of them. Here are some pictures from the wedding - I won't post many since you're visiting this blog to see Lydia and Molly - not us : )

The first picture is actually a very special picture because it includes my cousin Chris (2nd from the left) who we met for the first time at the wedding. He is a wonderful guy; married, with two daughters and we actually have a lot of other things in common. He is my Uncle Jack's (3rd from the right) son. They recently reunited after 40 plus years. Unfortunately we are on a slope and my dad is on the low part (so the fact that he isn't 6'1" plus like the rest of us is clearly evident); however, you can see where my brother Mike and I get our height. My Uncle Gene (first on the left) and Jack are my mom's brothers.

The wedding was awesome - outside overlooking the harbor in San Fran. Alexa and Sean are the perfect couple and their vows were awesome - definite made for Lifetime TV! I was in tears but that doesn't take a lot, which does not bode well with two daughters...I need to be tougher!



It was a great trip for Nicole and I. To get away without the kids. Sometimes the routine with the kids and chores consumes you; and the marriage unfortunately sometimes loses priority. Of course I love Nicole with all my heart and would love to be the romantic and thoughtful guy you see on Lifetime TV - not the crazy, unfaithful one on Lifetime - maybe I should have referenced the Hallmark Channel or a "chick-flick" - hopefully you get my point; however, this trip away with Nicole - and to witness a newly married couple was just what I needed to remind me how special my marriage is! How blessed I am to have Nicole as my wife! Nicole is awesome in every way. Here is a picture of us at the wedding.



Oh my - where am I going with this blog post. I better get to Lydia and Molly otherwise we will lose our following for good.

Here is a taste of what you can expect as I help Nicole catch you up on what has been going on. Have to run for now! Thanks for faithfully checking in - we love you all!

Finally, I'm back to blogging.  And with a lot of catching up to do... We may have to do this in bullet-form, because it's overwhelming otherwise! 

First of all, our trip to Canada in July was a lot of fun.  We spent 11 days there, and the weather was absolutely perfect.  A nice refuge from the Texas heat!  We visited Oliver's Uncle Jack and Aunt Mereille and enjoyed the french culture of Quebec. 

I made a movie with some of our pictures and videos, with musical accompanyment.  The quality of it is better when viewed on a DVD, but I did go ahead and upload it to YouTube for your viewing pleasure!  Because it's on the Internet, there's an excellent chance the video will pause to process here and there, but hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway!  (warning:  it's pretty long.  If the icon below doesn't work well, try this direct link to you tube instead: http://youtu.be/8wlZpPm1Idg ) 


Later I'll post again with updates/pictures from the last couple of months!

We're back!  We've been in Montreal with Oliver's parents (Omi and Opa) for the last week and a half.  I have a lot of pictures and videos to sort through, and I look forward to sharing the highlights of our fun trip with you all.  First things first...about 4 loads of laundry and a dozen other tasks related to unpacking suitcases, restocking the kitchen and re-establishing the kids' schedule.  Stay tuned! 

Swimming!

Molly, on a walk with Mommy last week.  Cutie-pie.  (She loves to wear hats.)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!  You are the best Daddy in the whole world!  Thank you for making us feel so special and loved every day.  XOXO 
Love, Lydia and Molly

Well, last week we discovered that Lydia has strep throat!  Poor baby.  She's been on antibiotics for 5 days now and feels like her normal self again.  Last week, however, she had a fever every day and had to miss 3 days of her new summer camp program.  Thank goodness she now feels full of joy and energy again! 

At the end of last week, once Lydia's fever had fled and she had her antibiotics, the girls and I went to Half Price Books in search of a book that we had originally checked out at the Library and Lydia adores... It's due this week, and I've already renewed it twice, so I decided we'd just buy it.  I found it at HPB for $2.98!  Perfect!  Here's Molly shopping for books.

On Saturday, we went swimming with Uncle Mike, Aunt Katie, Warner and Miles. That was super fun! If only I had my camera wtih me that day! Then, last night, we went out to dinner with Omi. Here are a few pics.

We had a fun Saturday last weekend!  First, I took Lydia to the splash park.  She was super excited to go there, but once we arrived she chickened out and didn't want to get "splashed" by the fountains and sprays.  The water was a little bit cold, but not too bad considering how hot and humid it was yesterday.  We bumped into some good friends, though, so it wasn't a total loss!  After she ate her snack and we hung out awhile, I decided it was time to stop baking in the sun if we weren't going to get wet.  She was warm and sweaty, so for plan B, we stopped by the pool in our neighborhood and went swimming for a little while. She was very excited to do that!  (Molly and Daddy missed all the fun, because Molly was napping.) 

Once we got home, it was a bath, then a nap and then....we got to go out to eat with Daddy's friend Jimmy, and Omi and Opa!  We went to Osaka in Plano and had a great time.  After dinner, Lydia got to sit in Opa's new truck!

The evening before, Oliver and I got to go out for a rare and much-needed date night!  Thanks, Omi, for baby-sitting the girls!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!  I haven't taken any pictures in about a week.  Sometimes I just need a break from bringing the camera everywhere we go... I can just focus on the fun at hand and not worry about capturing every moment.  We DID, however, capture a special moment in Molly's life today!

She no longer has to sit rear-facing in the car, but instead gets to sit forward in a big seat just like her sister!  Yay Molly! 


What else have we been up to the last couple of weeks?  We went swimming at Grammy and Poppy's place two times, we went swimming at our neighborhood's community pool one time, Lydia had field day at school and fun playdate at Warner and Miles house, we had Warner and Miles over to play and dinner at Omi and Opa's house.  Today, for Memorial Day, we spent the afternoon at Grammy and Poppy's house.  So, we've been busy!  Now, Lydia just has 4 more days of school until Summer! 
Here are a couple of pictures that Aunt Katie took when Lydia was playing at their house (Omi picked Lydia up from school one day and took her out there).

Yesterday after school, we picked up Liam for a playdate.  It was so much fun!  It also gave me a glimpse into life with three kids, and I have to say...I'm not so sure that I have what it takes!  But really, the kids were very good, and they played together well.  (Only 1 injury and 2 brief meltdowns...not bad!)

First we went to the Library, where Liam picked out 2 books for himself, 1 for his little brother, and a movie to take home with him.  From there we stopped by the McDonald's drive thru to grab a couple of Happy Meals (which Lydia didn't eat.  I thought she might try it with Liam around - nope.)  They played at our house for a couple of hours before we took him back home.  The giant bean bag chair was a bit hit (running and jumping onto it), and we built a fort (albeit, not a great one, but I tried) and Liam really liked the kitchen and shopping cart in Molly's room, as well as our toy vacuum cleaners.  Liam has an awesome imagination and he's really smart. I'm always impressed by his sharp understanding of things.  He's almost a year and a half older than Lydia, so they're not totally on the same wave-length where play is concerned, but they really love each other and like to be together. 



Last week the girls went swimming in their blow-up pool.  Well, actually only Lydia went swimming, and Molly relaxed poolside.  She thought the water was too cold, despite the 4 kettles of hot water that I added to the water from the hose.  She was perfectly happy to just play with water in a cup while Lydia "swam".