Can you hear me now?

She sashays in…. She takes over… In front of the masses-all 200. ....And so that’s how our Monday nights have been in June. She's funny. I don't know where she gets this crazy behavior. I would rather die a slow death, I think.

Dear daddy....

If I could pick any dad, I’d surely pick YOU!

I love you. Happy Father’s Day!!!

It's 90+ degrees....

Isn’t life fun? Sometimes we need to just get our skirts wet…… So wet that they just droop….or is that our diaper?! Sometimes it does us good to get our leather shoes drenched, after all, they are just shoes. Sometimes we just need a good splash of water to SPRAY us in the face. So, I guess….well….that means we need to act 1 occasionally. For some of us, we just need to act our age every now and then!

Summer

Summer is busy at the Blacks, but it means we get to spend precious time with this group. With that said, Orientation 1 is now a memory. These guys now have [VERY] wet feet and are geared up and ready for another lovely session with…shall we say….inquisitive incoming freshman. Ohhhh, if this blog wasn’t so family friendly how I’d love to give you a taste of the questions they “entertain.” They work so hard. JB slung a curve ball their way. It went a little something like this: Months ago he sent a personal letter to all of their parents (I really don’t know all of the details). Basically telling them how incredibly vital they are to the unversity, but also how important their students are too and how hard they are about to work.He’d like for them to pay a visit, watch them in action, shadow them and get a glimpse of what their hectic summer life will include…AND…. this would all start out as a SURPRISE- these poor cats work like dawgs (no pun intended since they are “bulldogs,” mind you) and had NO idea. The plan would be for them to walk in and surprise their students in the caf. Is that not cool? I think so! All but one of the students are from lands far far away and probably won't have a chance to get home any time soon. So, it was done. 100% attendance. Very cool. Earlier in the week it was my pleasure to spend time with these families and meet the folks that make these students uniquely wonderful and talented. Fun week. As for this child, she played in the grass partially clothed, was NOT invited to dinner and stole the karaoke evening at Orientation 1 with her mad dance skills from the incoming freshman…more on that later. Sigh. She REALLY (it was confirmed this week) is no child of mine- I rarely play in the grass in my underwear, dance on stage in front of a couple hundred and I don’t mingle with plants-TYPICALLY. So, here’s to a fun, busy and wonderful summer with a fun fun group.

18 months

Wow. You probably know I’m about to go on and on about how quickly time has passed. Well, it has! I CANNOT believe my baby is 18 months. I cannot believe she’ll be TWO (!!!!!!!) before I can blink. I cannot believe she is OFF the charts for height, and holding her on in weight. Everyone tells me she is tall, but she’s mine so I don’t realize it. Well, I got the stats today. Her doctor was shocked- yeah tell me about it… I carry her big ol’ self around. Sadly, I’m not in better shape.
I want so badly to freeze time. I want so badly and I try SO hard to soak in EVERY second, but it’s SO exciting to watch her grow. It’s so exciting to hit milestones and just praise our Father that she is so healthy (in all senses of the word)… and thriving… and flourishing and….well…just growing like a darn weed. It’s unreal. Babies are truly a miracle and it’s amazing to sit and watch them- be it an hour or over the course from womb to 18 months. Evie, bless her heart, is clumsy like her dear ol’ mother I’m afraid. However, she isn’t afraid of anything and thinks she can scale any height. So, she doesn’t let her clumsiness deter her-unfortunately. Her hand-eye coordination is fine, but really, in my mind, I equate this to sports because that’s all I ever heard growing up… So, with that said, she wants so badly to dribble her ball-we’re getting there. She throws balls both left and right handed- a switch-hitter, perhaps? Her vocabulary, while not crystal clear, is definitely growing. She said “buff-wy” (‘butterfly’ for all you who don’t excel in one year old jargon) to her doc today. We read a book about a “buffwy” and I didn’t think much of it, but her doc was proud and, of course, my heart then swelled with pride. She adds to her vocabulary daily-we won’t mention what her dear ol’ dad has taught her to say- and it’s fun to listen, but not so much fun to try and decipher in the midst of a battle.

I’ve finally hit the point where I see the inevitable change into toddlerhood. I’ve (you’ll find this shocking, I’m sure) ignored this for some time. At church she’s in the “toddler” room. Last August I saw “toddler” on her door at school and I cried. I’ve been known to cling to words that keep her my “baby,” but she’s doing things that indeed sway more “toddler” than “infant.” However, it’s been fun….. Yes, it has been fun. AND… I realize, it’s a blessing. This transition from sweet baby breath to stinky “wake up from a nap” breath is all a big blessing. Eczema one day to Hand, Foot and Mouth (again) the next… it’s all good. She keeps us in stitches (with the words her dad taught her… I’ll spare you)….. 18 months later, I still can’t believe she’s ALL mine…ehh…ours.

The bar that is red

A week ago I was not here… I was there…. I was getting warmed up for my MOST favorite place on this planet, I do believe. Three simple words that make my taste buds explode- THE.RED.BAR! Do you love it like me, probably not, but I’ll respect your love for it too. So, we went on Friday night because THAT is THE night they serve their crab cakes (and Saturdays too if that works best for your schedule, but that’s it. Only two nights unless they have leftovers for Sunday lunch-that’s rare). There aren’t words for this delicacy. No, no place compares. No, they weren’t topped with BP oil. They are/were just sheer deliciousness that makes me giddy. I heart The Red Bar with a huge part of my heart, you see. It isn’t ironic, I don’t think, that our little relationship began way back at the ol’ bar they say is red, and it has woven itself into important parts of my mine and Jason’s relationship.

This post is all out of order in line with our trip, but it TOTALLY deserves going first…well, I guess, it’s technically second. And, too, it’s only fitting to go to the opposite extreme of emotions after my last post, right?!

So, seeing that we LOVE The Red Bar like we do, it was ONLY fitting for us to share this piece of heaven on earth with the tiniest one. She didn’t quite feel the love at first, but oh….she loved The Red Bar. It’s in her blood…she has no choice and couldn’t help it if she did. If I’m being real honest, she just liked their ranch dressing and rolls, but that’s neither here nor there. You gotta start somewhere, right?! However, the wait for The Red Bar...well...isn't conducive to hungry, impatient roamers. SO…we improvised with a little “shoot.” Yet, not sure why I thought that was a good idea since she runs from my camera, but we did it anyway.

So, with a night at The Red Bar in the books (that's all I frankly care about when at the beach), a FULL and content belly, I was happy to ride into the sunset. The sunsets were pretty at the beach--not that I'm capable of capturing them. Here it is...no editing. Ahh...peaceful!

Hello reality!

We had fun at the beach….

A

whale

of

a

time.

Can you tell?

JUST KIDDING. We had an absolute blast. My child had the best time of her life it’s safe to say. I just laughed as I combed through our pictures-all 300 of them-because evidently I LOVED to capture her crying screaming. BUT…. all good things must come to an end. We are back amongst deadlines, projects, meetings, laundry, humidity and grass up to our knees since it rained all weekend at home. Bah!

More to come...