concerts for dessert

after dinner tonight, jack asked what was for dessert. when i told him nothing, he looked puzzled. after a few seconds he said, "whats a concert, can i have that for dessert?"

so we had a concert for dessert tonight.

they made their own instruments and asked charlie and i to sing.

we are heading out on tour this fall, so book us now if you're interested before its too late ;)

oh, and our band name is, of course, dessert.

completely irresistible.

white chocolate and dark chocolate

charlie and sophie are too sweet for words.

larissa posted this on her blog and i just had to borrow it... their cuteness deserves to be shared with all :)

what's up

we have been missing daddy this week.

chris left for port st. joe on sunday. we have been able to skype and talk on the phone so it hasnt been too painful thus far... but there's still two weeks to go.

this post is for you chris :)

while you have been busy studying and working (aka- trying oysters, seeing the sights, eating bbq, and hanging out with docs), here are some of the things we have been "into" this week:

MAMA

making truffles

thinking about your birthday that we will miss

and hoping you have enjoyed your b-day countdown via email

latest book club read

(for those that have read the book, we had chocolate pie and co-colas y'all. i even dressed up in my best 60's hair and make-up... have i mentioned i love book club? oh, just checkin!)

JACKSTER

animal crackers dipped in left-over chocolate from truffles

his first loose tooth!

school school school (starts in august!)

getting excited about special reading lessons starting next week.

today he picked out a new backpack and a binder and pencils.

not just superman,

clark kent

being "the man of the house" while you are away

ELLIE GIRL

forget the animal crackers,

she went straight for the fingers dipped in chocolate...

just like her mama

obsessed with owls all of the sudden.

she checked out books at the library and decided

she likes the snowy owls best.

painting her nails in "tart deco" and "cajun shrimp"

and showing off those stylin' tootsies and digits!

CHARLIE MAN

playing with his TWO new teeth!

... but he's still smiling!

and he's decided he is a side-sleeper

and, of course, milk

we miss you so!

hope week #2 goes as well as #1

... for all of us :)

rikki, it's your birthday!

happy 29th rikki!

we had a great time celebrating aunt rik's birthday this past sunday!

we had a fiesta dinner complete with homemade tortillas. then we dove into a most scrumptious 'thin mint' cake courtesy of larissa.

happy birthday rik, we are so glad we get to be with you so often and hope 29 is your best year yet!

what better way to decorate for a photographers b-day then with pictures of her through out the years?!

onto less exciting things.

the kids recently tried to play a trick on chris when he got home from work. this plan was schemed up by jack. he is usually the mastermind behind most of their grand adventures. their plan was to hide in the pile of clean laundry on the guest bed and jump out at chris when he walked in to set his stuff down after work.

i said this was a trick they tried to play because ellie jumped up shouting surprise at the top of her lungs before chris was even in the room... it was a good try though, we certainly enjoyed their efforts!

i have a cute video of them getting into position in their "disguises" but blogger isnt letting it upload for some reason. i guess this picture will have to do

yesterday while getting ready, ellie put on some make-up and then asked if we "mamas" could take a picture. i guess wearing make-up automatically makes you a mom.

anytime she is told to make a funny face, this is what ellie does.

other than that, we are just enjoying our summer with swimming and indoor activities like drawing and baking. charlie is really enjoying the pool and its so fun to watch him kick his chubby little legs like a frog.

chris leaves on sunday for a 3 week clinical rotation in port st. joe, which is 8 hours away. he will come home for 2 weeks and then leave again for 8 weeks to sebring, which is only around 2 hours away. he will be able to come home on the weekends during those 8 weeks.

needless to say, the kids and i are not thrilled about the next 13 weeks. chris, on the other hand, is excited to see some new cases and work with a few new doctors.

ahoy, it's a boy!

larissa and i put together a baby shower for a sweet friend of ours from church, alicia. it was last tuesday (may 30th) and was held at the clawson's home on bonita beach.

alicia is one of those people that is good at everything. no, i take that back. not just good. excellent is a better word. she can and does do everything you could imagine. she sews, cooks, teaches, remodels (and im talking about laying tile and putting up crown moulding), she is the first one to volunteer when someone needs help... you name it, she does it! i am very lucky to be her visiting teacher because every time i leave her house, i feel like i was the one who was just taught something. it really was fun to do something for someone who really deserves a shindig!

because it was for a little boy (alexander!), we went with a nautical theme.

lari and i were very excited about this theme. we loved the colors. the patterns. the food. oh, the food!

making and putting together all of the details was so fun. i wish i could do things like this everyday.

check it out:

because this is alicia's first, we thought we should play a couple games.

first, was one that my sister-in-laws did for me where there are a few baby essentials and every one tries to estimate the total of the items. the best part, it doubles as a gift for the mom-to-be! the second was matching celebrity baby names to the celebrity- SO funny! larissa can always come up with fun things to get a party going!

after searching everywhere for fabric... yes, everywhere... i finally found the perfect stripes and polka dots on etsy, imagine that!

oreo truffle pops- super tasty (and easy!)

coconut cupcakes

(just add a touch of coconut extract to a white cake mix and a little toasted coconut on top- scrumptious!)

not a shabby backdrop for a party, eh?

this last photo is gorgeous of alicia! we had been laughing really hard right before the picture because we just happened to be sitting like it was an engagement photo. im just glad rikki angled it so you couldnt see all of the smudges on my white shorts. fyi- setting up a baby shower in white shorts isnt the best idea in the world.

many thanks to rikki for taking the incredible photos. and lari, i cant wait for the next one!