I made this slideshow for Bryan today to honor his three obsessions–Ava, Olivia and, more recently, Steve Perry.
Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads in our lives. We love you!
Archive for June, 2009
20 Jun
UPDATE: Tom and the Tinman
Our friend Tom participated in the Topeka Tinman Triathalon today, and the Smith girls were there to cheer him on. We missed the swim, which started very early this morning, but we did see him from afar on his bike.
We stationed ourselves near the transition area, where the athletes ditched their bikes and started the run. Tom was definitely in the head of the pack of more than 150, and he took a few seconds to give Ava a high five as he passed by.
We spent the rest of our girls’ day out playing at the park, having brunch at Lulu’s Cafe, riding the train at the zoo and hitting the mall.
UPDATE: As we expected, Tom did very well yesterday! He finished fourth in his age group, and was only two minutes behind second place. He placed 34th overall. Way to go!
16 Jun
Eyes on the sky
We’ve seen a string of storms since I shot this bit of sun on Saturday. Nothing too serious–just a fair amount of wind, rain and lightening.
15 Jun
Old fashioned tweets
We have two nests of baby birds—a robin has at least two fledglings in our front yard, and a wren has a couple in her house in our backyard.
We can see the robin’s nest from the landing on our stairway, but they were hiding when I took the camera outside tonight.
As for the wrens, we’d never know they were there if it weren’t for the cacophony that rises upon their mom’s arrival. I didn’t want to get too close to the house, but here’s a shot from a few feet back.
The birdhouse in on the side of our house—right between our kitchen window and patio door, which may very well be the noisiest spot in the neighborhood. I saw a wren checking out this new house that Ava made, probably thinking the locale might be a tad more spacious and quiet.
Maybe they’ll move in next spring.
14 Jun
Ava Fix
Thanks to Doug for today’s Ava fix. You can check out his other photos from their recent visit in his gallery.
11 Jun
A new hobby
Ava started pre-ballet this week. I think you’d be hard pressed to find anything cuter than a group of 15 three- and four-year-olds in ballet slippers and tutus pirouetting across a dance floor, but then again, I realize I may be slightly biased.
There’s a chance she may be just a coordinated as her mother…
Here’s hoping otherwise!
10 Jun
Strawberry Basil Martini
I know there are those that believe the only thing that belongs in a martini glass is gin and maybe an olive, but humor me for a moment, please.
We have an overabundance of basil (already!) this summer, and I decided to try it in a cocktail. Food and Wine had recipe for strawberry basil martinis, and I made a few tweaks to arrive at this:
3 basil leaves
3 strawberries
2 oz vodka
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
Muddle the basil, strawberries and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Top with ice, add vodka and lemon juice. Shake and strain into a glass.
This one is quite pink—not because of the strawberries, but because I am completely out of sugar and I had to use pink sanding sugar to make the simple syrup. (I have been out of sugar for two weeks now, but twice in a row, I’ve accidentally bought flour instead. So, I have 15 pounds of flour, and still, no sugar. Perhaps I need to taper back on cocktail hour…)
9 Jun
Thank goodness for grandparents
Ava’s preschool was closed last week, but thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa Smith were willing to take the kids to their house for a few days. The girls had a blast playing, taking trips to the zoo and safari park and spending time with Leo and Wyatt.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Bryan and I behaved like responsible adults and spent three days cleaning, organizing and finishing projects around the house.
I am totally kidding. We actually played golf, stayed out far too late every night and generally acted like we were 24 again. I think we may have had more fun than the kids.
I was quite happy when they returned on Friday, though, and Doug and Karyl stayed with us through the weekend.
Ava managed to talk Grandpa into bringing this “princess” pool home:
Grandpa took many fabulous photos (and speaking of, you should become a fan of Exit 426 Studio on Facebook):
Olivia showed Grandma the intricacies of the iMac:
We also spent a bit of time downtown, where we stumbled onto a 600-bike Harley Davidson parade.
Thanks for another fun weekend, Doug and Karyl!
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