A Month in Pictures

First, I have a confession. I still have no idea how to put a title on my blog. On that note, I also have no idea how to actually add a caption to my photos. I hate being computer illiterate, but I'll be honest, it's not probably going to change for a while. Life is busy, and computer literacy is admittedly not at the top of my to do list!

That said, it's been a busy month in the Russell household! I guess more like busy summer, so here's a quick update on what we've been up to. Since I don't know how to do captions, I'll just give the description & you can try to figure out which photo it goes with - what a fun game!

We have been to Austin and Abilene, enjoying time with the Walters & Van Staverns as well as having fun visits from the Walters & my family. Its so much fun to watch my sweet friends kids grow. I hate that I miss out on that day to day stuff with these guys, but the bonus is that when we are together, its 24-hour a day fun (or chaos, depending on the day!). But its always an amazing blessing being together.

Emma had an exciting "date" night with her daddy. They saw "The Wizard of Oz" at the Bass Hall & she thought it was the best thing ever. She still sings, "I'm following the yellow brick road..." regularly (obviously mixing up the words in many places - so cute!). We have enjoyed lots of time swimming in our pool too, whether on our own or with friends. Emma has told just about everyone this summer, "I can swim with no floaties & no goggles!" She is so proud! Addie is increasingly exercising her independence in everything, especially swimming. She likes to get in & out of the pool by walking directly into it, expecting someone to catch her. Needless to say, there have been numerous bumps, bruises and occasional scares for mom!

The latest happenings around these parts include Emma's first day of pre-school which she LOVES and her 4th birthday party! Her actual birthday isn't for a couple of weeks, but we're going to be out of town so we celebrated early. We had planned a swimming party (hence the hula girl cake) since every year it has been in the upper 90's at the end of September, but of course this was the day the cool front came in. So, we scratched that idea & went for a bounce house instead. All in all, it was a great party! One funny comment - I asked Emma last week what she wanted for her birthday & her response was, "I want a Belle dress. And a bra. A kid bra." Wow - not quite ready for that one yet(and by that I mean her dad & I)!

We are about to embark on an exciting and sure to be interesting adventure - a trip to the mountains with my entire family! Mom, Dad, 2 brothers, their wives & kids, my sister & hubby, and of course us - 10 adults & 5 kids 4 & under (and a pregnant sister-in-law!). I'll be sure to post some pics of our time together.

So there you have it. The Russell calendar at a glance. I'm working on some deep thoughts that maybe someday I'll share, if I ever get to complete them :).