no starving artist here....

Yesterday I decided we needed to have an artistic experience! Earlier in the day I mixed up a batch of vanilla instant pudding and poured it into 4 small containers. After mixing in some food coloring I left them alone in the fridge to set.

Later in the day, after dinner, just before bath and bed, it was time to PAINT! We moved his highchair outside on the back porch, took off his shirt and put on his biggest bib. I put a glob of each color on the tray and he got to work. At first he really wasnt sure about what to do....but after a little bit of coaching, he caught on...

to encourage him to get his fingers dirty, I let him taste his paint....and that was a BIG HIT!

YUMM YUMM!

After a while the colors blended and it became and ugly muddy brown....

Here I told him he was applying warpaint! You knew it was just a matter of time!

Silly Boy!

This is what Daddy was doing while we were playing....it was the only dry afternoon/evening for a while...too bad he didnt get the whole lawn mowed! We have REALLY thick grass in the back (as well as a garden that is way overstepping its boundaries!) But in the front it's not all that thick at all....so the front will just wait until another day!

Pops and Bertie come to town...

We were excited that Pops and Bertie were able to come to town on Sunday. We got to eat lunch with them and hang out for a little while. Everytime Pops was on the roll in his chair Jack would say "up, Up, UP!" so he could go along for the ride too!

He had so much fun with them that he didn't want them to leave! Bertie strapped Jack into the back seat and he was seriously ready to go, Go, GO! (Don't worry, the car didnt move with him strapped in like this!! We do know better than that!) We finally got him to evacuate the vehicle by putting him in his own little car to go for a "drive"

Shocking and Scandalous

On Sunday morning we walked outside and were shocked by what we saw in our yard.....

a bunch of NAKED LADIES hanging out in our front yard!!!

SHOCKING AND SCANDALOUS!

at least that's what my sister calls them.......

since they dont have any leaves on their stems.....

why, what were you thinking?

I've never heard of them before a few weeks ago when Rachel showed them to me in her yard...now I see them EVERYWHERE!!! It seems most yards in our neighborhood have Naked Lady flowers in them....it's like when you get a new car you'd never seen before, suddenly you see them everywhere! It's actually pretty miraculous that these have survived...I went on a rampage a couple of months ago weeding that front bed and pulled up what I think may have been some irises or lilies....bummer....but somehow these bulbs were spared...also when these were just pushing through the soil about a week ago Josh was using the weed whacker and cut off a few of them....thankfully somehow the rest escaped a similar fate.

Overnight Guests

This past week we hosted our first overnight guests since moving to Cooke-vegas! Uncle Jeff and Auntie Raychie came up for an event at Tech and stayed with us! They are so much fun! Daddy had to work all the days they were here...so he didnt get a whole lotta time with them, and Jeff was busy for a lot of the time, but we got some really fun time with Rachel. It just wasnt enough to get done all we wanted to do! We got out and visited several shops here in town that I hadnt gotten to see...but there are still lots more! Rachel also helped me make one of my first pot roasts....actually a LOT of people helped....I got the recipe from Bertie....I got some advice from Granny Ruthie.....Josh seared the meat because he feared I would set off the smoke alarms and freak out Maggie (which he ended up doing ANYWAY!)....Rachel made the gravy....and MiMi supplied the brand-new rice cooker that also steamed our veggies! It took a VILLAGE to cook a pot roast! I'll try to post the recipe soon....it was SOOOOOO good! Jack got especially sticky at dinner that night, so Rachel and Jeff taught him a variation of a song we've been practicing....apparently they are 2 of those fun aunts and uncles who teach and then encourage crazy things that mommies and daddies would NEVER do! :)

Here are some pics that Rachel so generously loaded onto our computer...at the very end are some of the pics from our birthday celebration as promised!

getting every last bite of that watermelon

cleaning up afterwards

hanging out with Daddy and Ma Fisher..we were so happy that she was feeling better!

showing us his belly button

not sure why he was making this face...it might have been after protesting about the party hat

that's better...

I will upload a few videos later....this laptop is WAAAAY too slow!

I wanna be like you....

Can I make these ZOOM like you?
I wanna be smart like you! (Daddy brought home dry ice for us to play with!)

I wanna be a silly Goober like you!

I wanna like the toys you liked...(Daddy's pinewood Derby Cars)

I wanna play with your stuff (remember those trolls and pez dispensers from your childhood?)

OOOh, was this Daddy's too?

I wanna hammer too!

I wanna be loud and strong too!

I wanna help Daddy!

I wanna eat like you

I wanna be tall like you!

I wanna drive like you

I wanna ride like you

Just my little homage of pictures from the past month where Jr. really loves to be like Sr. I love these guys more than I can ever describe! Words just arent enough to explain. I wont even try!

Eating Pizza...like a big boy

While I was away at a meeting Daddy decided that my baby doesnt need his food cut into little bitty microscopic bites anymore....he needs to eat his pizza like a MAN!

Fun at the Henry's House

This past weekend we had our first Fisher Birthday Bash...

now it sounds funny to say first annual...since we celebrate birthdays several times during the year over the year....but it has gotten SOOOO hard to get people together (this gathering alone took countless emails....and at least 3 or 4 reschedulings!) that we just decided to celebrate all the birthdays for the whole year at this one party....so those of you who werent there...too bad!

We had an AMAZING spread of food! To steal a quip from Papa John we had "kosher hot dogs, gentile hamburgers, and heathen buns" and also grilled corn, potato salad, baked beans, homemade pickles (!), all the fixins and hummingbird cake and homemade ice cream for dessert! Then afterwards we got to play outside and enjoy the absolutely positively gorgeous weathe!! Papa John, Jack, Josh and Jeff (try saying that a times fast) played with Jack's t-ball game and cracked us all up. Jack just doesnt quite understand the running part after he hits the ball....he thinks everyone should just cheer after he hits the ball....then repeat....he's truly a child after my own heart...as little running as possible (unless it is to go watch ELMO ELMO ELMO!)

Jack made us all laugh because he has discovered a new body part....his BELLY BUTTON! I think its because most of the time I have him in little one piece outfits or onesies, so he doesnt have access to his belly button...but they dont make as many of those in his bigger size, so he is wearing more shirts and shorts...thus easier access and more interest. He would just pull his shirt up and tickle his belly! It was so cute....I'll have to get a picture sometime!

We had a lot of fun! Of course I didnt get any pictures taken at all (RACHEL, IF YOU SEND ME SOME, I'LL POST THEM, HINT HINT!)...and I even had the camera out! Her e is the only one that was taken with our camera...only because a certain someone wanted to take a picture...I'm sure Auntie Raychie loves this viewpoint or her newly renovated house (with a few finishing touches caught by Jack):

We had such a good time, and got some neat presents too...as a house warming gift Papa John and MiMi gave us a rice cooker and a bag of really nice rice.....and we got a book about a semi-famous relative:
It's about George Fisher, the first Fisher in America and my great-great-great-great-great-great great grandfather (give or take a few greats)....I can't wait to read it...he sounds like a fascinating man....did you know my family was apparently one of the founding families of the state of Texas...or something like that! How Cool!

And Now, a special performance from Jack....

he saw I had the camera, and plopped himself down so I could take some pictures and videos....



so I did.....

and I did....

and for a grand finale....my favorite....

such a little ham, but I can't help it...I love him!

fun pics from Granny Ruthie!

Here are a few pictures or summer fun courtesy of Granny Ruthie. They are in no particular order because I am feeling too lazy to rearrange them correctly!

Jack's first watermelon of the season...he LOVED it!
Mzee playing marbleworks with some of the Kise Kids

POOL TIME!

Mzee and Mercy

Hope and Mercy lounging around

Awesome Uncle Daniel and some of the Kise Kids

Granny Ruthie and Hope and Hannah

Granny Ruthie and little Mercy Mae

The first time all 3 June Birthday girls were together to celebrate in probably a decade! fun!

Jack reading the paper with Mzee. We didnt set this pose up....Jack saw Mzee reading the paper, grabbed the previous days paper, brought it over, climbed up on the sofa and proceeded to read too.....thank goodness Granny Ruthie caught it with her camera!

snuggles with Mzee

Jack and his awesome Uncle Daniel! Have I ever bragged about what an amazingly awesome help Daniel is when we come into town...he is is so willing to help with Jack, Maggie or whatever else I need help with during our crazy visits!

Staying cool at the farm on the 4th

Jack is rehydrating! We've got it made in the shade!