It's Sunday and a lazy day. We went out on the boat earlier, had lunch with Lee and Tommie and their kids and are going over to Mark and Brit's in a little while. What a beautiful day, even though it's hot! It was 103 yesterday, and Harold, Layne, and Melissa worked the bike race. Kathryn and I went to Annun's birthday party and then we all went to our new neighbors' house down the street for an open house. Jerome and Lynda Begnaud live in Houston but built a beautiful weekend home here. This picture of our house is several years old, but I still love it. It reminds me when I used to ride a jet ski past it wondering if we'd ever get it and live on the lake.

Other updates...

I can't quite figure this out yet, but I posted more than showed up on the last posting, so here are other events that happened last week:

* We went to Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday and Kathryn and Dad played air hockey among other games.

* We went to Joe and Annette's for Father's Day and played in their pool.

* Brenna did a 180 in her bed and was discovered mysteriously on her tummy this morning - wide awake and quiet. Did someone have a BYOB party at her crib last night?

* We had our Meals on Wheels fundraiser on Monday night.

* Michael Jackson and Farrah Faucett died yesterday.

This week....

Most important updates for the last week:

* Kathryn finished swim lessons at the Y and they suggested that she join the swim team in the fall.

* She went to NC's Kid's College this week - not so excited the first part of the week but loved it later. She particularly loved "Miss Vicky." I've got to go by and get their picture together. A big highlight was taking her friends, Morgan and Laura, by her dad's office on Tuesday and seeing Daddy and Ms. Pat.

* We got a new (and temporary) addition to our family this week - a female mastiff puppy found her way to our flower bed. I took pictures by the vet's office, both feed stores, and Animal Control and called the SPCA. Animal Control said they could get her adopted out. She's just SO big!

Kristi

It's hard to start recording your life in the middle, especially when so many important things happened in the past. I'm putting in a few photos of Kristi and will write more about her later.

I'm struck by how much Kathryn as changed in the last 2 1/2 years. Hard to believe it's just been that long since we got her. She's grown from a shy toddler to a confident young lady already. It's also amazing that the rest of us haven't aged at all... :). The first pic is one of Harold and and Kathryn at the orphanage in Russia. The second is one of her and Layne the night we got back from the airport. The third is of her and Melissa around February of 2007, and the fourth is of her and Melissa at the Russian New Year's celebration we went in January of 2009. The last is of her and me at Christmas in 2008.

Kathryn and I went home to Center a couple of weeks ago to help Kathy and Chuck with their garden. Ally, Lauren and Whitney were just finishing up their "art camp" with Debbie in Joaquin when we got there, and I got to see their creations. This is Ally and me standing next to her projects. I could not believe the quality of all the kids' projects. Debbie is a genius.

Brenna's first food

Travis and Kristi sent me pictures of Brenna's first "meal" last night. She ate rice cereal from a spoon on Tuesday night. So cute!

Now to Kathryn

She read her first word from a book when we were at Kristi's. It was "red." Granted, the book was called The Color Kittens and the word was on a can of red paint, but she pointed right at it and said, "That's red." I was thrilled. Obviously, she's a genius. She's taking swimming lessons now, and we're headed to Hawaiian Falls today. It's going to be 98 degrees today, so we'll probably need the water. She's been enjoying the four wheeler that Uncle Layne bought when the weather is a little cooler.

Brenna

Lest I seem to have become the ever-doting grandmother, let me say that she has flaws. I just haven't found them yet. She appears to be as headstrong as her mother was as a child, which is pretty funny hearing how her mother is going to deal with her idiosyncrasies, such as waking up seven times a night. But anyone can see that she is beautiful. This picture is a few weeks old, so picture her with a five pound sack of flour on each cheek and you'll see how she looks now. It's hard to believe that she's still just on breast milk. I'm buying a new camera and will be able to post more recent pictures soon.

Got back from Kristi's on Monday night. Had a good time with Brenna. I can't believe how much she's grown in such a short time. She's just over four months old now and smiling and laughing! She's learned to turn over to one side and is working on rolling over completely. They bought her a new "exerciser" that she's very capable of spinning completely around in. She and Kathryn were funny together.

Chapter 1

Well, here we go. I keep trying to put down thoughts about things on random pieces of paper to remind myself of things Kathryn said, Harold did, or Kristi tried, and can't keep up with the papers. Now maybe I'll keep up with things this way. This may also give me a chance to actually "compose" my thoughts and analyze my feelings.... whoo hoo.
A few to start:
I'm getting a new camera... probably a Canon Powershot SX10 IS. Considered an SLR, but I may not be ready for all the extras on those.
Kathryn's funny sayings of late: "Just now-ago"
Brenna just starting laughing and I get to see her again next week!
Just finished up the El Centro job, getting started on the Eastfield one, and trying to catch up with paperwork on the DCCCD Foundation grant. Had to introduce myself the other day to a group by name, location, and company and, first for the first time, wasn't sure what to call myself. That was strange...

Chapter 2.5

Working on doing a better job of journaling this year. Kathy suggested it would be good for Kathryn to have when she’s older, and she’s right. And since Kristi is a mom now, she probably needs to know what to expect! I posted one item this morning early (my first blog posting), and I've already lost it! So I'll start back a little further with a journal entry I made in January of this year with edits and additions to bring it current, then I'll add on:

January 7, 2009: I started officially at the YMCA on Monday, and I’ve taken three classes so far. Already feeling better. Update: It's now June and I've averaged about 2-3 days a week, although I took off quite a bit when Brenna was born. When I can figure out how to add pictures, I'll do that so readers can see how beautiful she is.

Ms. Susan wasn’t at school on Monday. Kathryn told me that she was at the doctor because she had a wreck but she didn’t die. I started to call her at home on Monday night but decided to wait to see if she got back on Tuesday. She was back and I asked how she was and that K had told me she’d had a wreck. Her look was priceless. She said, “I didn’t have a wreck, I had pleurisy!” I then told her that K had told me that morning that Ms. Tracy (another teacher) said that K “always had a headache,” and I wondered if she’d been complaining about headaches at school. She said, no, that K sometimes had them but nearly enough for her to be concerned! I told her I kind of doubted that one, too, given the story I got from K about Ms. Susan’s wreck. What an imagination!
Update June 12, 2009: School is now out, and we're lucky that K is going to have Ms. Susan again next year. K's newest phrase is "just now-ago" to indicate something happened recently. She's a trip.

That's it for electronic journaling so far this year. I'll go back and add in what I wrote in a book another day.
Highlights so far this year:
Brenna's Birth - Feb. 9
My new career as a part time project manager - it's been pretty successful - and as a full time mom - mixed reviews there.
Starting to work out again.
Kathy and Chuck getting married.
Harold's about to turn 55!