Mom, I need to eat some vegetables...

Music to my ears. We finally figured out a way to convince Sara to actually eat at mealtimes- the same way we convince the child to do anything-Bribery. At least this time I feel like I am teaching her something at the same time. Jason made this handy eating chart and she gets a star each time she eats something that is in a food group. At the end of the day if she has eaten all of the food groups then she is able to have a dessert, and at the end of a week if at least 5 of the days she ate all food groups then she gets a super special surprise! It seems to be working. Some mornings she actually will wake up asking to eat vegetables. My hope is that in time she will learn the importance of eating a well balanced diet, and it also allows us as parents to monitor what we are feeding her. Great idea Jason!

First Haircuts

Today I took both kids to get their first professional haircut. It has been quite a debatable subject as to whether or not to cut Clayton's adorable curls, that his dad claims make him look too much like a girl. Thanks to some great advice we compromised and he got his hair cut, but he still has his baby curls- yay! Jason doesn't think that you can tell that it is cut, but I like it.

A Day at the Aquarium

Friday I took the kids to the Dallas World Aquarium. The kids really had a fun time! I was hesitant to take them anywhere since they were having a rough morning, but I was certainly appreciative that they seemed to cheer right up once we got there. The day seemed to be going fairly well, and just when I thought to myself- see I can handle taking the kids to exciting new places- I lost Sara. Yep, you heard me right I actually lost my child in a large 3 story aquarium! I have never felt so panicked! Those people that tell you to just stay calm obviously have not been there. Luckily after several minutes of searching and alerting the entire staff at the aquarium my mother-in-law,Karen, found Sara on the 1st floor, we last saw her on the 3rd floor. When Karen found her she was as calm as can be and just said, "Mia I'm lost." Well I was very grateful that she was safe, and I will definitely try to keep closer tabs on my children in the future. We still had a very nice time, and Sara told me the whole way home how much fun she had.

Yee Haa!!!

For the first time ever our family went to the rodeo! We had sooo much fun! Sara and Clayton both rode a pony for the first time, and they loved it! The petting zoo was also a big hit of course. Clayton kept mooing at the bulls all night- he would also laugh when the cowboys would get bucked off. It was a great evening!

Working in the Yard.

Saturday Jason worked on trimming all the trees in the front yard. We were very fortunate to have nice cool weather- it was only in the lower 90's all day. Sara had the most fun out of all of us. She found a giant tree limb and carried it from one side of the yard to the other.

Around The House

Since it has been so incredibly hot we have not been out much. The kids have had to get a little creative in order to find things to do. First they played dress-up. Sara danced around in her pink blanket as a princess (since her princess dresses are now too itchy for her to wear); and Clayton thought it was the neatest thing when he got to wear one of Jason's t-shirts. Next they turned the couch into a slide. They would climb up the back of the couch and then slide down. Normally we try to discourage them from climbing on the furniture, but when they are cooped up inside you can't be to upset when they find ways to have fun all on their own.