bittersweet good-bye

on june 20th, the morris family bid farwell to the crown uptown dinner theatre as we have known it. the entire family celebrated aunt karen's farewell to the crown. we thoroughly enjoyed wonderful company (i mean, when you mingle with the morris family, it is always a party), fabulous food and drink, and entertaining performance of high school musical! hampton sat, absorbing each and every moment, wishing it would never end! she even sobbed (yes, uncontrollably for a bit) when troy was unkind to gabriella! too cute! my sister jen and me, along with our cousins dee & lisa and amy & sarah enjoyed many an evening at the crown...awesome shows (some of which my uncle ted and gaga performed in), star gazing, shopping the jelly belly selection during intermission, meeting the cast post-show, fru-fru drinks and many more little girl wonders. sad to see life at the crown as we knew it go away, but happy the show will go on!

thirteen candles

austin has ventured around the corner...to the teenage years today! the big 13! i am feeling oh so old now! we enjoyed a quick photo session at home prior to venturing to sumo for dinner, as that was austin's choice! we had a fantastic dinner as a family, but we enjoyed it even more because some good friends, the wernli's, were able to sit with us...what a treat! the day was fun, yet endearing. i clearly remember the exact moment austin became a part of our lives. funny thing is...i have hard time remembering where the last thirteen years went!?! can we have a re-do?

parkin' it

while dad and austin spent the day an hour and a half away, winning a basketball tourney, mommy, coleman & hampton spent the day at the park, followed by a stop at dq and pool time at the mueller's. coleman and hampton had a blast at the new andover park. hampton was not ready to leave, so i am quite certain we will venture there again soon! what a splendid day!

snippity snip

today was the day...age 3 years, 9 months...for hampton's first haircut. the "cut" was essentially a tail snip from the back, but a memorable event nonetheless! she sat completely still and thoroughly enjoyed the pampering, relishing in the ooo's and ahhh's by those who passed by her chair! priceless! she was able to select a ringpop once her appointment was complete, and boldly took 3 ring pops...of course, to thoughtfully include her two brothers who were absent for the "event!" while austin and dad spent the day out of town for a basketball tourney and coleman celebrated a friend's birthday, the girls shared a special day together. after the first haircut at "fringe," we ventured to lunch, where i will forever remember receiving a frequent thumbs up by hampton, as she savored her mac-n-cheese. she kept asking why i laughed every time she did it, because she was "not trying to be funny!" it totally cracked me up! we then headed to the library to check out a few books, before hanging out for the afternoon with friends ali and kiley. what a fun girly day! she crashed at 6.30 for a late nap, and has recently awakened. should make for a fun evening! oh well, dad should be home soon!

here fishy fishy

hampton runs full speed to greet daddy when he gets home from work each day...and usually with a request to walk, swing, chalk, or swim. today, she had different plans. fishing. hampton greeted him with pole in one hand, grabbing his hand with the other, to lead him to the lake behind our house. unfortunately, the fish weren't biting this evening. she came inside to tell me that we could fish again tomorrow. little does she know, i don't fish. my luck, she would catch one, and i would have to pull it off the line. eek! thinking this will be purely a father & daughter experience.

soakin' up the sun

we have been enjoying much fun in the sun with pool time nearly everyday since school concluded. it is wonderful to be without the early morning hustle and bustle, but rather, the occasional basketball practice, and choice of pool or movie time, which is predicted by the weather. austin joins in the fun when he is at home, but would honestly rather be playing basketball. coleman typically has a friend to swim and play games with, and happily snacks all day. hampton has become quite the little fish as she is finally able to swim floatie-free (with close watch), in addition to the fish out of water poses. wishing you many sunny summer days!

fly away home...

our precious baby robin friends have finally fled their nest...nature lesson concluded. coleman drew this pic in honor of their arrival and new life beyond our home! it is quite amazing how the christian perspective on this and life itself is so much easier to explain to my children with this "hands on" lesson. it honestly causes me to ponder how anyone could doubt the utter wonder of GOD!

season finale

hampton completed her final tiny tutu dance class of the season...it was observation day, so coleman was able to watch hampton in all her glory right beside me! he videotaped the entire class...and yes, i mean each and every little dancer in hampton's class, for the entire hour! thanks, buddy! hampton relished in a bit of the routine, however, enjoyed even more, the additions of costume and makeup, as mrs. sydney applied makeup, and encouraged them to dress in the many costume selections available! absolutely adorable, as always! hampton will actually take part in the production next year in the tap and ballet combo class. yeah! it has been unbelievably amazing to experience hampton's ballet skill maturation, in addition to recognizing her true love of dance itself! what a joy!

it's ok dodger

 a pic of dodger following his "fixing," collar and all, to help him avoid licking his wounds! it was so difficult to get up with him that morning, knowing we couldn't feed him...and even more so, taking him to the vet (at same place he had gladly attended doggy daycare the previous week). he was sooo excited at 7:30 am...but sure sported "the look" upon his pickup time at 4:30 pm that afternoon! poor baby...and the ugly collar made it even worse! thankfully, we can post that he is now collarless, healed and happy! good boy dodger doodle!

amazing grace

hampton sings her new favorite song...we hear it many times each and every day. the actions change as the wind, i mean, her attitude, blows! this was the first and true take...no practice session, no coaching...just pure hampton doing her thing! mmm...grace...ain't it amazing? thank you JESUS! (sidenote...i would never intend to offend anyone with my lowercase living...purely a habit, and honestly it has proven quite fruitful in my blogging attempts! less time...my style...please don't read any deeper!)

preschool farewell

hampton bid farewell to eastminster preschool, and her "young three's" teachers mrs. lisa & mrs. susan, during her final spring program...at precisely the same time coleman received his citizenship award at martin. divide and conquer we did...dad and papa went to see coleman, and mom and mema found front row seats to watch hampton (considering we were at least 45 minutes early...there was an abundant supply)! hampton sang an extensive repertoire of selections, most with actions. she did not disappoint...we easily distinguished her voice from the group of 3 and 4 year olds, and standing front and center, it was fairly easy to recognize hampton's dramatic interpretation of each. absolutely adorable, i must say! it was fun to hear a full "concert" of the songs she has been chanting for the last few months! a sample of the selections included the "firetruck song," "skinamarinkidinkydink skinamarinkydoo, i love you," "beautiful butterfly," and a newer rendition of "itsy bitsy spider" (including a "GREAT BIG SPIDER" and a "teeny tiny spider"...with voicing to match). hampton is my singer (woo hoo)! she sings from morning til night...dancing here and there as well! to everything (yes...every little thing), she puts a song. her newest accomplishment is one of my fav's..."amazing grace." i plan to take and post a video soon (while she still says "wrench" instead of "wretch"). oh the memories! i must say it is much more difficult, now that the kids are all so busy in three different schools, to be there for EVERYTHING, but i know in my heart they all realize i would gladly clone myself for these days, if possible! next year, austin, coleman & hampton will be entering 7th grade, 3rd grade, and 4 year old preschool. oh my, how the time flies! happy summer to all!

coleman wins award

in recognition of coleman showing in attitude and actions that he has been an exemplary student at robert martin elementary...he proudly received the citizenship award today! yeah coleman! principal, dr. hummel posed for a pic after the program, as he exited the stage too quickly for dad to snap a pic! i was unable to attend coleman's award ceremony, because hampton was performing in her final spring preschool program at the same time! it broke my heart! dad and papa were present to watch his award acceptance...and i have heard that his smiling dimples could be seen from far away! way to go coleman! we love you and are so proud of you!

fine feathered friends

we would like to introduce our newest friends, courtesy of momma robin, who has chosen our home as her own for the past three years. each year, she carefully constructs a beautiful nest in one of the trees in our landscaping. this year, she chose the holly tree right outside our front door, so i have truly enjoyed trying to capture the perfect pics when she isn't looking! as you will see, momma robin is camera shy...and scared of my big dog, who has a hankering for busy birds. to date, the pics show the perfect blue eggs, the teeny, tiny, fuzzy birds, and yesterday, i caught feeding time! the babies make this very funny noise when they know momma robin is close by...oh so cute! the kids have all thoroughly enjoyed this "at home" nature lesson.

coleman as "mr. twee"

we spent a wonderful evening at martin elementary, enjoying drama and desserts...as presented by the second graders. coleman played the part of "mr. twee," in "the emperor's new hair" presentation, and did a fabulous job as one of the emperor's trusty advisors! he was very easy to understand and made the audience laugh with a few lines and during the concluding bow, when his hat fell off! mema, papa, uncle t, aunt juju & evie joined our family for the fun evening of great memories in the making! we are so proud of you...our sweet, cute, and silly coco!