Shhh, can you keep a secret?

Rebekah tagged me with this little number...I have to reveal 7 random secrets about me. Some of you won't be surprised, others might go wide eyed!

1. I often wish we had planned on having more than 2 children.*photo from 2003

2. I wish I lived within walking distance from my brother and his family in Pasadena.*photo from last visit to California

3. I'm finishing up a 2 year stint as the Arts Chair on the PTA of my kids school.*photo from last years Hootenanny

4. I had braces as a child and ended up with pretty straight teeth. I kept up with the retainer until it got stepped on and I was too embarrassed to get it fixed so I simply stopped wearing it...and guess what? My teeth got all wonky again. So last year I looked into invisalign braces and decided to take the leap. I should have straight teeth again in a few months.*photo from before invisalign

5. Growing up I wanted to be a Contemporary Christian Singer just like Amy Grant.*photo from http://www.wcjw.com/lee.html

6. I've never wanted to travel outside of the U.S.
Never had the desire. Always found it strange when my friends mentioned wanting to see distant lands. After reading Eat Pray Love and reading Dana's website I know have the desire...and it might even be a burning desire! A few months ago I jumped through the hoops and got my Passport. Trey and I will be traveling to Mexico (I know...it's just Mexico...)for our 10 year anniversary this year. Next I want to go to Italy and New Zealand!*photo from Pedro the Lion tour

7. Sometimes I sound like my mother, who sounds like her mother. So really, sometimes I sound like my grandma!
*photo from 2005

Not Much

I've been busy getting ready for the Hootenanny and haven't had much time to post anything. I've found myself checking up on everyone else out there in bloggerville and thought that maybe I should post a little something just in case any of you were trying to pass the time on line.

So...Hazel is sick again. She had her teacher call Trey this morning to have him come pick her up. I had my doubts that she was actually sick...until she started vomiting...then I believed her...and started cleaning the bathroom to get the stink out. While I wait for the next round of projectile puke I've been snapping some pictures:Tank has been really cute lately. He's farting A LOT and those farts have been clearing the room. I've got 4 candles going right now in an effort to combat the stank...ha, tank-stank!
He will sometimes even look at his back end after letting one fly as if to suggest that it couldn't possibly be from him.

That last picture is one of my favorite new things. I can't remember what online store I found it on but it's super cute. Hazel enjoys drinking "ice cold water" from it when she's sick.

Pussy Willow

Found this at the dog park the other day. Wonder if the dogs growl as
they pass.

And....Action!

Ok, August, so I want you to pretend that you're at a table full of candy and ice cream and your mom and dad have left the room...what would that look like?
Cut! Print! Perfect!

Benches

They meet on Wednesday nights while their little girls do gymnastics. Checking off the days, they wait impatiently for the hour to arrive. For the other parents, it is an endless hour, on hard wooden benches that smell of feet, but for them it goes too fast. He sits next to her, wedging his body around hers, giving her his full attention. His eyes looking into hers, their legs barely touching getting as close as they can without drawing attention.

This night she came bearing gifts, a small bag with dinner- turkey sandwiches with avocado slices on whole wheat. She packs a bowl full of sugar snap peas hoping he likes them. His eyes go wide as she takes the lid off revealing the vibrant green.
This is the only way they can eat together. The thrill of being in public without being revealed is pure bliss.
It is not yet time to reveal their love for one another, the girls have already been through too much.
They will wait. There will be more months of gymnastics, further time to talk and listen and grow their relationship.

His hand slowly wraps around her small forearm like ivy up a brick wall. She glances around the gym looking for her daughter. Upon finding her she smiled and waves and returns her gaze towards her new found love. This small touch will hold them both over until next week when they will sit together on the hard benches again.

Days

We've got a lot going on in our lives right now...August is in 3rd grade this year which means that he gets to go to camp with all the other 3rd graders at this school. It costs real money to go to camp and not everyone can afford it so the parents get together every year and do some sort of fund raiser to make sure that every child can go (yes...yes...no child left behind...) this year we're doing a BINGO night. Trey has signed up to find prizes for the winners and to clean up...He'll learn sooner or later that you really should just pick ONE thing to volunteer for. And because Trey is cleaning up, I am cleaning up. I didn't volunteer for much because I'm putting the 2nd Annual Hootenanny together. This Hootenanny is taking up many, many, many hours of my life. In the end it's so cute though. We've got at least 20 acts full of singing, dancing and skits. The Many Family Singers will be performing a Beatles song this year...if I can get it on video I'll try to post it here.
Tonight Trey has a friend from High School making a stop on a business trip. We're all going out to dinner to play catch up. Then another old friend from Velour100 days is in town and will be spending the night.
I'll leave you with a few pictures from our visit to the aquarium during Mid-Winter Break (thanks Chee Chee and Wick!)

The sleep over is over

Yummy French Toast Bake for the kids...except they didn't like it. I believe they all agreed that it was "too eggy". Oh well...had to try!
Bowls of fruit salad all around instead.
The gal pals watching cartoons before they got dressed. Hazel's friend lives across the street from us...I see many overnights in our future as they got along perfectly and yes, they fell asleep with no problems AND they slept in until 9am. Not bad!