Squadron Farewell to Ryan

Yesterday was Ryan's going-away luncheon. I cannot believe it's come so fast! As his flight commander, Michael was in charge of giving him his plaques/awards/etc. Here's a pic of the two of them.
We also made up a joke-award for Ryan (posted below). You can tell Michael is uber-pleased with himself here. I love this look!
Here it is if you're interested in reading it:

Ryan was the squadron safety officer, so they also gave him a hard hat (weird).
Brian intended to give him a coin, but forgot it at the office, so instead gave him a rubberband and an IOU. Wish I could have caught the look on his face when he realized it wasn't in his upper arm pocket! LOL!
We are sure going to miss this little girl!
And these clowns too! :)
Last night the girls all went out for one final time without the kiddos and hubbies. Here's a picture of all of us at dinner:

A Sunset Walk

***On a completely unrelated note, Colin clapped this morning when I went in his room!***

I took my camera on our evening walk last night. It was pretty warm still, but we had a great time together as a family, catching up on the day's events. We went to the little park across the street. Here are some pictures for ya.

A field of sunflowers we walk and drive by each day.The lake at the park.
And my three boys.
Colin was getting pretty sleepy by the end!

And a Monday on a Tuesday

Today was basically just another typical day around here. We got some groceries this morning and Colin got into stuff while I unloaded them.
You can't tell which direction he's going here, so you'll have to take my word for it: he's getting pretty darn good at going down the stairs.
And for dinner, we had some fresh crab meat left over from Friday, so I decided to use it to make some more sushi rolls. I apparently didn't get my fix the other evening and was still craving it. and Yep, you read that right...I did it all! I figured Michael probably gets tired of always having to make the sticky rice, so I had it done when he got home from work.
For dessert, we'll have strawberry, um, "pie". I guess I can still call it pie. I apparently didn't make enough crust for a 9" plate, so I made two individual servings in some miniature springform pans. Hopefully it'll look cute when we take it out and just set the little tart/pie thing on a plate. That will happen here in a bit when Colin is in bed though!

A Sunday on a Monday

So yesterday was nice because it was the 4th day of our weekend ~ I could get used to this! :) In addition to finishing staining the back patio (pictures when it's totally dried, but it basically matches the grey brick edging we put up a couple years ago), we went and had Colin and Michael's picture taken together for an early Father's Day. I thought about doing another surprise one, but Michael decided he wanted to be in them! Here are the boys waiting patiently for Annette.
What a difference a year makes...
These pics are still hanging in the studio. Big grin! My cutie!*sigh* Anyway, after that we mostly just played around here and enjoyed an afternoon of being a family.

For dinner, I whipped up some pad thai - shrimp for me and chicken for the boys. :)
Michael's chickeny plate ~ I barely got a pic snapped before he was digging in. Hungry boys.

Dinner and a Movie

LOL! Bathtime fun!

And for the dinner portion of your evening.

Last night's chicken satay, ready for cooking.

And tonight's fried turkey wontons. Very tasty ~ I seriously modified the Pampered Chef recipe, adding some veggies and additional seasonings, and fried instead of steaming them (Michael's preference).

Colin gobbled up a bunch of the filling and then kept pointing to the dipping sauce (a strong mixture of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, grated ginger and garlic). We finally poured a bit over his bowl and he happily ate everything it touched and then started pointing again. When Michael and I were finished eating, we let him stick his hand in it. The crazy child started dipping his fingers and licking them off! I'm pretty sure he would have drank it if we had let him! He has acted like he's wormy all day, but that was a bit too far!And for dessert, one of our favorite improvised "recipes": pastry filled with whatever fruit we have on hand. Tonight it was blackberries and raspberries. Yum-O!

She Shoots, She Scores!

We went to watch Brenna's soccer team, "The Princesses," play a game this afternoon. They were so cute! I love watching this age group play!

Here's Brenna in her cute purple shirt and socks!
And I love her shoes! Aren't they just the cutest things you've ever seen?
Brenna is great at handling the ball and definitely isn't afraid to get in there and snag it. She was often the one dribbling it down the field and the first one to grab it when it went out of bounds.
We even got to see her score! Yay Brenna!
Of course, she's competitive and doesn't like it when her team doesn't make the goal! LOL! But her head is definitely in the game and I was particularly impressed with how non-dramatic she is on the field!
Go team!Yeah, she's scary chica, just get out of the way of that Brenna! LOL!Yep, good game!

Breakfast with Friends

If the weather cooperates, we are going to seal the patio this weekend. Michael acid-washed it this morning and Colin enjoyed watching him out the window.
He also stayed inside and helped me make brunch. The Townsends came over and we all had some yummy cranberry pecan french toast, blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a delicious fruit salad Lauren made. (I think the fruit was Colin's favorite because he gobbled up some leftovers at lunchtime.)
Lily and Colin rode around in the wagon together before it was time to leave for Brenna's soccer game.

Morning Bath

Silly boy.
Best tooth shot yet.