Potty Party!

Both Logan and Ashlynn have had there potty parties. In order to receive their party the kids had to fill there potty charts with stickers. They would receive one sticker for a pee pee and two for a poo poo. Their party included cake and a special balloon and a toy that they picked out months before and had sitting on top of the fridge for motivation. Since receiving his toy Logan has lost interest and now is back to wearing diapers and loving wallowing in his nastiness. Ashlynn took a lot longer to fill her chart but since she decided to she has done great. She has had on average 1 accident a day if even and is doing pretty well staying dry at night. I'm hoping this will motivate big brother to get with the program. Fun times!

Welcome to the family!

We have a new addition to our family. Diego the kitten. We went to the animal shelter and let the kids pick out which cat they wanted and they picked Diego, the cat and the name. He is 8 weeks old. The plan is to have him be an outside cat. He gets along well with our dog Sammie. We have him set up on the back patio in a box for now. He is using his litter box and loves his friend the Teddy Bear. Ashlynn is completly delighted to have Diego and is very gentle with him. Logan has found a new playmate to torment.

Washington

The four of us went to the Pacific NW for a week for Amy's wedding and to visit family. We had a lot of fun and so enjoyed the sights and weather. Amy's wedding took place in Portland, OR. We enjoyed the beautiful drive from Seattle to Portland and back. It is amazing to see some of God's amazing creations. That whole area is like eye candy, I could not get enough. It was bitter-sweet, I loved what I was seeing and the weather was AMAZING, but I got a little depressed thinking that there are actually such places out there and other people actually get to live there and enjoy and I get to return to the depths of Hell, aka TEXAS. Texas is not all bad but scenery like that is nonexistent in TX. The weather was a breath of fresh air and so needed after suffering 107 degree temps in TX the week of our departure. Our family had a blast in downtown Seattle, such a fun place. We also enjoyed a couple days in Vancouver, BC at Stanley Park. We had so much fun visiting with Dustin's family. Both of my kids enjoyed being with their cousin's. My kids talked about their cousin's for several days after our return. We really had a great time and I am totally keeping my eyes open for an opportunity to move to the Pacific NW.

Mamma Mia!

My good friend Kristina and I went out last night for dinner, at On the Border and a movie, Mamma Mia! What a fun night. Of course dinner was great but the movie was AWESOME. I laughed sooo much and was so completely entertained! I give the movie 2 thumbs way up! Thanks Kristina for the way fun evening! Kristina is one of my old college roommates that now lives here in Fort Worth. She is the one that introduced me to the Twilight books, which I love. This coming weekend the 4th and last book in the series is coming out and there is a coming out party at Barnes and Nobles the night before with fun activities and all that jazz and then at 12 am we can buy the book. So Kristina and I are going to go. Kristina's husband made us these way cool iron-on transfers to put on our t-shirts that say "Bite me Edward" which may sound bad but is pretty funny if you've read the books (it is a vampire series). So we are totally planning on reverting back to out 14 year-old selves for the evening. It will be loads of fun!

More Loganisms

Hopefully no one is too terribly offended. This was a quote from big brother Logan. Ashlynn has been sick the past couple of days and Logan approached me last night to let me know that "Ashlynn's got a beaver." I laughed hysterically and then explained that she has a F-E-V-E-R. Logan went to Grandma's house today so that Ashlynn could get some rest. Grandma called me and told me that Logan was on his way home. Apparently, Logan was playing with Uncle Tommy's guitar and Uncle Tommy told him not to touch it. Grandma said that Tommy wasn't mean about it or anything but Logan took off out the door huffing and puffing and went to the gate, turned around to get Sammie (our dog) and went back through the gate, across the pasture, back home. When I opened the door his little face was scrunched up and he said, "Uncle Tommy is being mean!" I had to laugh at all of the drama. This past Sunday I received a call from one of the little girl's moms in Logan's primary class. She wanted to know if the primary teacher had talked to me after church. I told her she had not. She told me that Logan had taken a pair of scissors to her daughter's dress in class and cut through 2 layers. Of course I was not happy. Logan has had VERY little experience with scissors and the little experience he has had has been helping mama cut something and putting the scissors down. So, I had to have a little talk with Logan about the proper way to use scissors and the proper way to treat girls. Logan called up the little girl and apologized to her. I am going to have to talk to the teacher and let her know that Logan needs very close supervision if she is going to give scissors to him during class. Fun times. Logan keeps us on our toes, that's for sure. He is soo excited about his swing set. It is not quite completed but is looking like a swing set now. If I am out there working he wants to be at my side "helping", the only help that he is doing is helping me to the mental hospital! It is fun to see his enthusiasm. When Grandma was about to leave our house today Logan told her she can't leave yet because she hasn't worked on the swing set yet. Whenever Papa comes over for any reason, Logan gets soo excited and asks "Papa, are you going to work on my swing set?" He's a crack up!

4th of July Fun!

Dustin and I decided to invite some families over at the last minute for a 4th of July party. We set up outside in the backyard so that we could watch the fireworks going off all around us and set off our own fireworks. We had a nice little show. It is fun to live up on a hill and look over the horizon and see several different firework displays. We did a bunch of the little stuff and the kids enjoyed that sparklers and pops. We had 3 tricycles and Logan's jeep, the little tykes car and a giga ball (hamster like ball for kids), along with the play set and playhouse. I think that the kids enjoyed themselves for sure. We had lots of good food and great company.

Dustin's Back!

Talk about lonely! I don't know how people can deal with a traveling spouse. I missed Dustin so badly when he was away at his family reunion. I didn't sleep very well, every little sound I would hear (which is a lot when you live in the country) we wake me with a start. It is so good to have my husband home. Dustin had a terrific time and so enjoyed being with his family. Dustin would have loved more then anything for us to have been there with him but admitted that it was nice to be free as a bird and do the things he wanted to do for as long as he'd like to. He did a lot of fishing which he enjoyed thoroughly. He caught a 22 in. Trout (approx.). I am so glad that he was able to go and spend such quality time with his family. I was very sad to have missed the reunion and seeing all the family. The day I dropped him off at the airport, I cried several times, wishing that we were going with him. Dustin's sister Amy is getting married in August and Dustin and I are planning to go to Portland, OR for that. We will be able to see a lot of the family at that time. Dustin's brother, Clint, just became engaged this past weekend. Congrats to Clint and Shannon! We are so excited because Shannon is a wonderful girl and we can't wait for her to be part of the family along with her adorable son Phoenix, whom Logan absolutely adores. The pictures I've included are of all the Parker Grandchildren, minus my two and of one of the fish, Dustin caught, not the BIG ONE. Well, that is all for now!