Build-a-Bear

When Molly was born Brent, Lindsay and Jackson brought a cute little Build-a-Bear froggie named Fiona to the hospital and before Julia was born Molly made her sister a cute little monkey named "Monkey Mae". Last Monday we took Molly to the mall to build a stuffed animal for her brother. It was hard to decide on just one animal since there were so many from which to choose! Molly finally settled on a cute little puppy dog that she named "Pup-it-Up" (her last birthday was at Pump-it-Up, so maybe this was the inspiration?)

Daddy trying to help narrow down the selection:
Stuffing the puppyDaddy picked out his cute little camo hatMaking sure the stuffing feels just right!Making a wish before putting the heart into the puppyGrooming timeAll finished!
I had to include these pictures of Molly and her froggie, Fiona:

One Month
Four Months

Six MonthsOne Year

Molly & Shiner

Paul's sister has officially declared her dog, Shiner, a member of the family and as such, feels he deserves as many framed pictures as PawPaw's other grandchild, Molly. This past Father's Day Cyndal gave her dad a framed picture of the pooch, which made me realize he needed a framed picture of Molly and Shiner together.

The photo shoot went pretty well, luckily Shiner is a VERY sweet and laid-back dog. It only took about 75 pictures to get the best shot... (Thanks to my cousin Jeremi for his photoshopping skills)

The Out-Takes:

Flippin' Fearless!

Molly and Paul have been having a blast in the pool this summer! Last year I taught Molly how to do "Big T" while standing on my hands and this year, Paul has taught her to do all kinds of crazy-looking flips and jumps while he throws her in the air. Sometimes I just can't watch. She's done so many back and belly-busters that it makes me cringe, but she always comes up laughing and screaming for more. Revenge for all the belly-busters?

4th of July

This year we enjoyed a "simple" 4th of July fireworks display in the parking lot of the Tomball HEB. There were plenty of fun celebrations to enjoy around Houston, but it's been so hot that we were in no mood to partake of crowded festivities this year. The HEB parking lot was perfect - Burger King was open and within walking distance in case I needed to tinkle, we had plenty of room to set up camp for the kiddos and there was a snow cone vendor open for business near by!

We planned to meet Molly's friend, Davis, and his family in Tomball and as crazy as it was, we just happened to run into Kiera's family at the snow cone stand, so we ended up having a pretty fun-sized group!Davis and his new ride... he LOVES Mommy's new car...which is why he's not in this family picture - he insisted on getting in the car the moment the fireworks were over!

Brent's Graduation Party

Our good friend, Brent, is graduating this summer with his MBA from a school we'd rather not name... his loving wife, Lindsay, threw him an AMAZING party a few weeks ago to celebrate. Despite the heat, we all had a wonderful time!

Brent and his dad. I have never seen a father and son who are so exactly alike - they not only look alike, but have the exact same mannerisms! It always amazes me!!! Talking to Brent's dad is like looking in a crystal ball... you can tell exactly how Brent will be in 20 years!The Owen boys with a friendScott and EmilyThe kids had a BLAST on the blow-up water slide and obstacle course!
Molly and Jackson B.Brent set up a projector in the backyard so that the adults could play Rock Band outside... the kids ended up having a BLAST making shadow puppets, dancing and watching their shadows on the wall!Since the kids weren't allowed to play any instruments, Molly set up 'Kiddie Rock Band' at the table with cups and spoons.

Father's Day

We had a wonderful Father's Day with Paul's dad and mine this year.

Molly gave her Daddy a decoupage box we made, it's decorated with pictures of all the fun stuff that the two of them have done together since last Father's Day. Now he has somewhere to store all of Molly's cards and pictures! Paul also got some golf-related goodies since he swears he's going to start playing this fall...Paul's dad with a picture of the son he always wanted... a fly fisherman!Cyndal and Jill at lunch with PawPawGroup shot, minus Cyndal behind the camera, after lunch.