School, glorious School!!

We went to school today. Ahhhh. Even though we were only there to drop off the first month's tuition (insert sound effect of Jennifer and Brett getting punched in the gut), it was a much-needed reminder that I only have a month left before I gain two whole mornings to myself each week! I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it.
We really haven't been up to anything too terribly exciting. We're currently battling a combination of summer colds and 95 degree heat which translates to grumpy children begging to go outside and a mommy who would rather do anything than play in the oven that is the back yard. I'm going to have to get creative soon because their grumpiness plus my unwillingness to go outside results in our version of the WWF. I guess that matchup would be "The Terrible Three Year-Old versus The Redheaded Drama Queen". They're actually pretty equally matched. The unfairness comes when they involve the dogs. Poor dogs.
I noticed my age again this week. Some girlfriends and I went to the Counting Crows concert thinking that we'd be surrounded by people our own age. I mean, they busted onto the music scene 15-ish years ago, right? Somehow we were still surrounded by high-schoolers and oh my! aren't these young girls dressing like hussies these days?!? What are we in for in 15 years?
Thus concludes my random thoughts for Thursday's naptime.

Vive le Tour!

Let me begin by admitting that I am well aware of the fact that I embody the stereotype of the stupid American once-a-year cycling fan. I don't follow the sport throughout the year and I don't keep up with the riders (I've had to pick a rider at random to cheer for for the last two years)...but still...every July I get excited about the Tour de France. Maybe it's a carryover from my maternity leave with Makena (she was 2 weeks old- she didn't care that I watched the live broadcast from 8:30-11 every morning and its repeat airing at 2 and again at 8 each day- what else did either of us have to do during hour-long nursing sessions anyway??). Maybe it's the fact that I still desperately want to hold up a sports personality as a hero and I love Lance Armstrong. I don't know. What I do know is that Makena and Reese both ask if we're going to watch the "bicycle men" every morning lately. I truly wish I had the freedom to pay attention to the broadcast, but I don't. C'est la vie. (yes, that is all the French I know)

Our newest addiction

Please, waste time along with us. This game will suck you in and never let you go (and it's actually intellectually stimulating!).

the reason the briggs children have been neglected the last two days

Don't blame us, blame James.

Shameless picture post

I've come up with all kinds of witty things this weekend that I want to post about but, as usual, when I sit down with time to write the posts, I forget all the wittiness. So I'll just post some of my favorite recent pictures instead.

Some backyard frivolity:

Watercoloring- did you know it's possible to put so much wet paint on a piece of paper that it falls apart?

Reese clapping for the "music men" at the 4th of July Symphony:Makena found a prime firework-watching seat:A morning at the park:
We think they're kind of cute. On their good days :)

Happy Fourth of July!

This is the first year we have taken the kids to see fireworks. We're in luck because they love them! Last night we went to the Charlotte Symphony's summer concert series finale. It's a picnic-y setup and we camped out on a tarp and blankets with friends and listened to the music and let the kids run relatively wild (with about 5,000 of our new best friends). The fireworks display at the end of the concert received these stares.

Tonight we went back for a repeat performance. We walked a few hundred yards to the country club across the street and camped out on a tee box to watch their fireworks show (the gentry historically turns a blind eye to the regular folks squatting on their manicured lawns for a half hour every year). Makena spent half the time running in circles with various friends and Reese clapped and hollered "more more!" over and over again. I'm so glad- fireworks always make me happy!

I hope your long weekend celebrations are filled with fun and friends. Take a moment to consider what we're celebrating and who we have to thank for that. It's rather overwhelming when I consider how little appreciation I have for the life I lead and the sacrifices other people made to provide it for me. Our generation can't possibly thank the ones who went before it enough. Try.