Finally . . . a post with pizazz!

It seemed like the Truman's were in a rut for a while, but this weekend was actually jam packed with fun.

Friday evening we (Keith and myself) had a triple date with our friends while the kids played with their friends. Here's Clarissa getting ready. Yes, she's wearing one of Bree's shirts as a dress. That girl loves looking stylish. She had spotted the shirt and was determined it was a dress for her.



Saturday Joey had his second piano lesson and still loves the heck out of it. Mind you, his teacher (Mister Vic) is also introducing new instruments to him. I'm told the hammer dulcimer is one of his favorites. They just kind of dabble on the piano. Joey won't actually "learn" the piano until later. I guess this is more of a music appreciation class, but he's learning proper etiquette when playing the piano, learning rhythm and beats, and where some of the keys are on the piano.



Sunday was the funnest day of all! Our town hosts a summer celebration every year and it was fantastic this year. Joey enjoyed it last year, but had a BLAST this year. Clarissa was even able to participate this year. Joey rode on a horse (named Sugar) all by himself this year. Both Joey and Clarissa had fun in the bubbles. Joey wanted to do EVERYTHING. He wanted to do the rock wall, but you had to be five to do it. He had a blast trying to dunk people in the "dork tank." He actually hit the target several times, but the force wasn't hard enough. The night was ended with a marvelous display of fireworks. Joey loved them and Clarissa was a little apprehensive. Anytime a loud firework was popped she would plug her ears. It was hilarious and adorable.

What to do, what to do . . .

For some reason Joey only likes to take naps during the day if I lay in bed with him. So, the past couple of weeks I netflixed a favorite TV series of mine from when I was in junior high. My So-Called Life. I would watch them on my laptop while the kids slept. Then, I found out Hulu had them online.

Click on Jordan Catalano's face to watch.



Anyway, that's what I'm doing right now. Joey is sleeping next to me and I'm just wasting time doing nothing productive. I am bound to the bed, because if I move Joey will wake and he's not a happy camper if he doesn't take a full nap.

Ladybugs

Yesterday I had a horrible day. It was filled with school stuff for me and financial aid. When I came home I was just exhausted and frustrated. Suddenly, I saw the BIGGEST ladybug. Seriously, it was ENORMOUS. I wish I could have gotten a picture to compare it next to something. It stayed there HOURS.

Gosh, I miss Breezy.

Play me some rock & roll!

Have I mentioned that my husband is the best father? He plays guitar with the kids at night and they love it.

Thanks, Keith, for being so wonderful. Love you. . . even if you NEVER read the blog anymore.

Call me

Living 2,000 miles away from family means we spend a lot of time on the phone. The kids have gotten to know their grandparents through hours of phone conversations. Luckily, we have sprint-to-sprint and we talk daily and I absolutely love having my kids talk to their grandparents. I love that both kids recognize each grandmother's individual ringtone and will yell "Grandma" or "Grammy" for the appropriate ring. I love that both kids realize morning time is for Grandma and evening is for Grammy.

Yesterday morning Joey had his first piano lesson. While Keith and Joey were out Clarissa and I went outside for a bit and then came inside after melting. The first thing she wanted to do was call her grandmothers. Below are pictures of her talking to my mom:



Clarissa making her silly face. I think she thinks the other person can see her.



Clarissa kissing Grandma. Yeah, I always enjoy getting my phone after the slobbery kisses.



Apparently, my mom said something really interesting.

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I'm disappointed with myself that I did not get any photos of Joey before his first piano lesson, but it was because we were all too excited! Keith went alone with Joey and said he did absolutely wonderful. The teacher and Joey clicked and Joey truly enjoyed himself. The teacher had Joey do a few games and was thoroughly impressed. He mentioned to Keith that Joey was already doing things some of his six-year-olds were not able to do. Joey has always been musically inclined. He even attempted to play twinkle, twinkle little star yesterday. Obviously, he's still got a lot of practice before he can play himself, but just the fact that he tried was amazing.

I promise to take pictures next time and have a better, more appropriate blog entry for Joey.

Ice Cream

My kids love ice cream. In fact every morning when I ask what they want for breakfast they promptly tell me ice cream. When I ask what they want for lunch or dinner they tell me ice cream. Yesterday was a bribe. Neither were in the mood for dinner so we told them we had dessert. Oh yeah. Ice cream. Nothing is better on a sunny day.

Five Years

Five years. It is hard to imagine! Today, five years ago Keith and I arrived in Massachusetts.

Hey, hey with the monkeys

I have some disturbing news for you. I am sorry to announce that I have become New Englanized. I am sorry and apologize to my family and friends from Texas. Please don't report me to Big Brother (and you know what I mean). I know this post sounds fishy. I still love Texas and if we had a flag pole in our front yard would proudly wave the Texas flag nice and high. It's just that I ENJOY the weather here and cannot imagine that at one point in my life loved the 90-100 degree weather. The past few days have been horribly hot. Awfully hot. Just plain hot. The high one day was 88 and the next 90 or in the area. The humidity is intolerable. However, today the high was just 70 and cool. It was drizzly and I actually enjoyed wearing jeans in summer. Did you hear me? I enjoyed it! Anyway, I let the kids play outside and I just couldn't resist taking pictures of them in their raincoats. FYI: It was not raining. It was just cool outside and the kids looked adorable in the jackets.

What happened to moderation?

I feel like I am in a tropical island. There is an abundance of an assortment of green plants and trees. Sweet smelling lilies cover our front yard. You can chew the air. That last statement is the reason it feels tropical. The last two days have been either in the 90s or close and anyone who has texture to their hair is doomed to huge hair. What happened to moderation? I like the low 80s! I like the dry heat!

Regardless, the kids and I have tried our hardest to enjoy the outdoors. Soon leaves will turn to bright yellows, oranges, and reds. Soon leaves will fall. Soon those lilies will disappear.

A whole lotta nothing

Not much has been happening in the Truman household. Keith and I had our birthdays last Saturday and celebrated it by going to a nice breakfast and later a nice dinner. It is convenient having the same birthday as your husband but a bummer that both want the other to baby them on their birthday. I am super stoked about my gift from Keith, though. He went clothes shopping with me! That alone was great but I got some flannel stuff. I LOVE flannel right now. I just can't get enough of it. I remember in junior high loving the heck out of it, too! Some fashion fads should be brought back into style. Debbie just told me not to wear flannel pants. Done. I wonder if bell bottoms and ruffly shirts will come back in style. I hope not. How about platform shoes? I'm digging flats so I hope that stays for a while. I remember in high school wearing four-inch platforms. Crazy. I'd never do that, now. You just hit a certain age where fashion really doesn't benefit you more than comfort. So, in honor of turning 28 I'll tell you 28 random things on my mind right now:

1. Why do I let people borrow stuff? There's like an 80% chance I won't ever get it back and that's annoying.
2. How can I get so attached to baby clothes? Keith and I are definitely not having any other kids and I'm excited to give the clothes to someone who needs them but can't help feeling emotional about it.
3. I'm super homesick right now. I want to live in Texas. I miss the people, I miss the friendliness, churches, food, . . . I miss Lubbock most of all.
4. I'm surprised at how rude people can be.
5. I wish our house were finished. I'm tired of not having floors and half-walls. Keith is trying his best but I'm sick at how three inches of water can ruin a house.
6. I'm still thankful that the flood was not more serious and I'm trying my hardest to keep in mind that God allowed it to happen. Since I am his child and he is constantly at work for the good of his people I know it's blessing to me. Give thanks, not ask why . . . just repeating it to myself.
7. I'm really excited about the season premiere of psych tomorrow night. Keith and I love that show.
8. I'm sad for Keith that he's only got to drive his trans am twice this summer. He works too hard and the weather has been crummy.
9. I love Twilight (and Robert Pattinson for that matter).
10. I'm still also in love with Jared Leto and he's been my celebrity crush since junior high.
11. Twenty-eight random things on my mind are difficult to write.
12. I don't like tea.
13. I wonder if you're still reading this list or wish that I was just five instead of twenty-eight.
14. I think I'll stop aging soon. Thirty scares me. Keith tells me he'll take all five weeks of his vacation next year to mourn when he turns thirty.
15. My husband is old. He's just a year older, but I like to remind him it's 365 days older than me.
16. I don't think it's fair that when guys get older they get more distinguished. When girls get older they get saggy boobs.
17. How old are you? Seventeen. How long have you been seventeen? A while.
18. I miss my friends Terra and Tina most.
19. I wish my sister Cindy could come visit.
20. I miss Breezy so much.
21. I have to take a language class and unfortunately FSC does not have ASL. I think sign language is a beautiful thing to see and hope our kids are able to learn it. It breaks my heart that the few signs they know were taught to them because of Bree. I hope our kids are able to know Bree accurately through Keith and me.
22. I like chocolate too much.
23. I wonder why Clarissa loves ducks so much.
24. I have to call and see if I can get Clarissa into a playgroup.
25. Joey's train clock is super loud and is never set to the right time since Joey will rotate the clock hands to make it go.
26. I just called and got Clarissa on a list. I hope she's able to get accepted.
27. I need to read my Bible more regularly.
28. I get frustrated that I don't know all the weird shortcut keys my laptop has. I sometimes delete things without trying or open new tabs all of the time.