Is he five?

Can you resist a smile that brilliant....you can't even see it but the eyes tell it all!! Happy 5th birthday Gunnar Carlson!!!!! We love every sillly inch of you. And your batmobiles!

Backyard BBQ

One of the pleasures of our new home is the expansive backyard. IT makes a treat to have family over and this past weekend we got to share meals with Chris' parents, his sister's family and her in-laws who are very dear to us. Just making meals and being together without feeling like you are on top of one another is a real gift. We enjoyed good food, sweaty backs (105 heat index) and the sound of children running aimlessly between the AC and the outdoors.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Happy Father's Day....Chris, to my dad and Chris' Dad (who we actually got to have here for FAther's Day this year).
WE love you all and celebrate you.....along with the countless other amazing Father's in our lives. Hope you had a relaxing day!

Freedom Trail (a.k.a...graduation!)

Boston, MA
The new graduate and his stunning, pregnant wife....
I made D put on his quite obvious graduation gown. Looks good huh?

We just returned from SUPRISING DAna for his graduation weekend! IT WAS SO fun to have it be suprise... We enjoyed every second we were there. Good food, good conversation and fun celebration!!!! Happy Graduation!!

Happy Birthday TYRA !!!!

A little behind still! Happy Birthday precious girl! TYRA turned....astonishingly 15 on the 1st of JUNE!! When tyra was born I turned 20 so I mark my years by her birthday....we've always said when you're 5, then I'm 25 (ok...that was fun!) now this year...ok you turn 15 so I turn...oh I'm sorry I think the rule doesn't apply anymore!!!!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYRA ELISABETH!!! Love from all of us!!!

New Life

We have had this ugly cactus since we moved to Texas. I'm almost certain, if not longer. It's in an average terra cotta plant holder and there are two very ordinary cacti that have lived with us forever. They get little attention. In fact I water them often only during my gardening season of Spring through early summer and every now and then I think they're dying and I should just throw them away. Their planter has weeds in it, they look sad and out of place next to the lush green when Spring comes to Houston. Most recently as we moved from our old place I made a mental note to toss them. They even got left behind in the move. We haven't closed on our old place and so I've been going back to water the garden and pull from it bundles of cherry tomatoes....a great crop this year. I noticed two unsightly brown bumps on top of the cactus and thought....do I scrape those off?? NO Amy....just throw them. I forgot (again) until last week I went to water the garden and what to my wondering eyes did appear!!!!! BUT TWO BEAUTIFUL YELLOW FLOWERS ATOP my very ordinary cactus!!!! GLORIOUS!!!!! These pictures don't even do it justice. THese flowers were the most yellow thing I'd ever seen. CAN you hardly stand it?? The coorelation to our lives....oh these ordinary cactus where just doing what they were made to do, with no great fanfare for 10 long years. And the pivitol hour, I was going to throw them away......and they bloomed, gorgeous, lovely blooms. Would they have bloomed for no one to see? Would they have still fulfilled their purpose had I tossed them in the field behind our house? I suspect so... I imagine they would have been just as beautiful but OH I would have missed something!