Great Mall is almost dead!!

Charlotte and I went to a movie at the Great Mall this afternoon. 

They had the corridors by the mall blocked off.

It was like being in a place where the world had stopped. No one around. One girl was the only one working in the theater. There was only one person in our theater watching the movie.

I think it was our last time in that theater.

It was a spooky place today, but good movie and good company.

Reunited

After being gone for 5 days this boy was more than ready to see his daddy - and his daddy him!

Right before I took this picture, Cole was inches from Marc's face just talking to him. It was like he couldn't get close enough. 

Cole had a lot to tell him - about swimming and kicking his feet and jumping in and playing ring around the rosey and grandpa driving and dancing and playing at the park and grandma building towers and all the fun he had!

#reunitedanditfeelssogood

Grasshopper

Cole had fun chasing, catching and finding a home for a grasshopper this morning - in his pajamas, no less!

I like that he's brave around bugs!

Pizza Shoppe fun posted by Cindy

We ate lunch with the Puryear girls the other day and it was full of laughs. First Elsy had us raise our forks in the air and shout "Jesus". She stopped when I turned the video on.

We let her shake out her own cheese, and all of a sudden she was licking the top of the shakers!!

We warned the waitress so she could wash it.

Conversation the entire meal was a hoot. I wished I had a video on the whole time. Moments like that are priceless!!

Wedding Outfit

After Cory's wedding, when I wasn't prepared with much of an outfit for Cole, I told myself I'd get something together for Joel's. I mean, I had over a month, right? But it never happened and I think I missed my window to get something online. 

So my solution: call on aunt Kathryn! She mentioned the last time that she was here that she likes shopping for kids clothes and she has super cute style. (She got us a really cute "little sister" onesie!) So, I gave her some thoughts and sent some pictures of what we have and she went to work!

And this is what she came up with! I love it! 

We'll pair it with a pink bow tie we already have and call it good. Cole will be stylin'! Now to figure out what I'll wear...

Thanks Kathryn!

Summer Reading Program

Cole completed the library's summer reading program so he got to participate in the hot dog party. He's not a big fan of hot dogs but downed the juice, chips, and cookies. 

New Carseat

We bought a second car seat to be mobile enough to put in Marc, Shirley or a friend's car at a moment's notice. We had found ourselves in a predicament a number of times recently when we couldn't (or weren't wiling to) move Cole's current car seat for short trips and had to take a second unnecessary vehicle. 

Today, it made its maiden voyage to Lakin to meet baby James in Shirley's car. 

I was really happy with it. It is super lightweight (like 9 lbs), very easy to install securely and easy to get Cole in and out of. Pleased with our Amazon purchase!

Also, Cole had his first taste of a Starbucks frappucino that we all three shared. I was hoping he wouldn't like it. Who was I kidding?

Another Voth Boy!

Michael and Chelsea had their baby yesterday - James Aaron, 5 lb 11 oz.!

Chelsea was due the beginning of August, so she ended up having, what I would call, an "emergency" c-section after some monitoring by the doctors turned up questionable. And, I think all who were involved were glad she did! Baby and mama are doing well. James is still hooked up to a few monitors and such, but they hope to go home on Thursday.  

Cole and I got to go visit today. 

Cole loves babies!

Cole's Newest Trick

Here's Cole's newest trick

Hanging and swinging from a perilous 2.5 feet. What a brave boy!

Getting Rid of Stuff

I continue to faithfully plug away at getting my house in order before baby #2 arrives. I took a little unintentional hiatus during June with all our visitors but got back on the bandwagon this past week. 

Around sublette we have two groups on Facebook - the Haskell county trader and haskell county classifieds - that you can buy and sell your stuff. I have observed all the goings on in these groups from a distance and have bought maybe one thing from a friend I knew. Otherwise, I just am a casual observer. 

But, we had some big things in our garage that were taking up space and still had lots of life in them, so I thought I'd try my hand at selling - all the while being nervous about who would 'show up at my house' and if it'd be worth the hassle of trying to meet up with these certain to be hoodlum strangers. 

But, my experience was more than pleasant!

Cole and I took pictures last night while we hung out on the patio waiting for Marc to come home. Notice I staged it in our beautiful, plush green lawn. I told Marc I think that helped. :)

So, I had three things to sell, put them on around 11 last night and two were sold before I went to bed. They got picked up this morning and the third one was sold by 2:00 this afternoon. 

Money in my pocket! Stuff out of my house! Win win!

Oh, and two of them were bought by people I knew and the third was bought by an upstanding sheriff deputy new to town. Perfect. 

My first experience  = success!

4th of July

Marc had to work all day on the Fourth of July but he made sure to be home in time to eat some grilled hamburgers and pop some fireworks - one of his favorite things. Michael and Chelsea came down to celebrate with us. After supper we joined some friends in town at their house and Michael and Marc put on a SHOW to beat all shows. 

Thoughout the evening you could see fireworks going off all around town, but when Marc and Michael started popping there's, the sky got reverently silent. :) They didn't mess with popping them one by one but rather chose to go out with a bang. It was fun!

Here's the only pictures I got for the night. Cole watching his daddy's handiwork in awe. 

Cole did really well with all the loud noises and bright lights. He stayed surprisingly close and sat in one spot longer than normal. This was his first time to really experience fireworks. Marc had fun showing off for him. 

Angie Came to Visit

Angie and her family came to visit all the way from DC! We had a fun time. Cole really liked baby Olivia who turned one last month. 

Of course, we are still working on his aggressive tendencies that come out every so often. Being around such a low key "baby" was good practice. And Angie was very gracious and understanding, like only Angie can be. 

Brian spent an afternoon with Marc in the fields. He loved it and Marc appreciated his interest. Brian grew up on a farm in Iowa, so he had some intelligent questions and was easy to talk to.

We went to get a snow cone...both nights - at Brian's request. "Why not, they are only a DOLLAR!"

What a fun thing to have good friends come visit!

New Patio

Maybe a year ago Marc approached Roberto while he was working on another concrete job and asked him to come talk to us when he had time to do some work around our house - fixing our front porch and putting in a patio in the backyard - both things that would help with water coming in the basement. 

Well, about 3 weeks ago, Roberto showed up on my porch ready to work! Ha! Well, we'll take it!

Marc and him got to scheming and decided just to do the back patio for now. Marc found some "skins" that he could order to put some texture in the surface and also some gray dye to color the concrete. And Roberto and his crew got to work!

The big cement truck arrived!

Let me have Cole, Marc said, he has to see this. 

There were three guys running wheelbarrows full of cement through the garage and back to the patio. At some points they were running to keep up with the demand. Time was of the essence. 

Marc (and even Al) took some turns with a wheelbarrow and got in on the action. They were done in less than an hour. 

The finished product. We plan to put the grill out there and enjoy the evening shade from the house. Wanna come for a BBQ?