Lazy Days

So nearly a month after the July 4th holiday I sit here updating this little online journal.  I've decided something mysterious happens to one's time management skills when you have little ones.  I am perpetually busy, yet when asked what I do everyday, I find myself at a loss for words. 

 It's true that I do tend forget a lot of the little tasks that keep us occupied all day, but it's also true that most people don't want to hear the mundane, like - -

"Actually, we changed wet underwear mulitple times, washed the pee sheets for the third time this week, medicated mosquito bites repeatedly, worked on Kylie's handwriting, settled a major squabble over 'Cera' (the triceratops dinosaur), and that was all before breakfast!"

So here is a recap of our Fourth of July!  One day that does stand out this month...

We stayed the night at the farm and the girls collected the morning paper with Gan, one of their most favorite things to do.  It's almost worth going to bed at night if they know they have a paper to fetch in the morning.

Before going to the annual picnic we snuck out to see the freshly baled hay.

Kylie enjoyed a little hoist up...

...while Avery scowled at us from the truck.  She was not about to get up there.

Then we spent the evening at Big Der's. 

We enjoyed great company, a super cookout, and of course...

 lovely fireworks over Lake Palestine.

In Other News...

• I've been reading "Seven" by Jen Hatmaker and finding it a very convicting book about waste and stewardship and in general, just holding myself to a higher standard in daily life.
• Philip has been to Orlando and back, enjoying all he is doing with G2.  They are looking forward to filming The Savior very soon!
• Kylie had a super t-ball season and is looking forward to trying out soccer this fall.  We have also joined a local homeschool group called Classical Conversations.  It follows the classical education model and starting in September we will meet once a week with other preschool families embarking on the homeschool journey.  An exciting challenge for all of us, no doubt!
• Avery is recognizing and testing her little powers and personality, as all 2.5 year olds do.  She is feisty and funny (and sometimes not so funny), but overall such a delightful spirit.  We are rapidly learning that she is our family's litte piece of drama and comic relief! 

Summer Love

Summer is suddenly in full swing and we are LOVING all of these days

full of sunshine, swimming, and fun.  Hard to believe June is nearly finished,

but we've got lots more in store for July!

Kylie's preschool ended with a bang:  Field Day!
They even let Avery participate!

Kylie has started t-ball...her first experience with a "ball" sport!  So far it's going well.  At her first game Philip offered her a drink of water and she replied,
"No thanks, my sweat will keep me cool."
Yes, we have awesomely strange kids  =)

 We're also in the midst of our first round of swimming lessons.  She started off a little nervous,
but has proven herself a fish in the making.

And...we recently had a visit from our Hot-lanta, Georgia cousins (yay!).
We welcomed 'em Texas-style with one of our famous hotdog cookouts @ the farm.
Here are a couple shots of the girlies from that evening.

Memorial Day in H-town

We spent the long weekend at my parents house.  A great time was had by all, as we honored Memorial Day, which was particularly special this year because my brother.in.law, Nick, deployed Saturday for Afghanistan.  An added bonus was being with Uncle Stone for his birthday!

Avery poolside


Lots of water-sliding...

Uncle Stone's birthday dinner landed us at The Blue Nile for Ethiopian food (my favorite!), which Kylie quietly referred to "as piles of poop."

I'm still working on my adeptness with indoor lighting...bear with me!

Monday found our brood at the Rainforest Cafe, a great adventure for the girls!  Thanks, Mom & Dad, for a lovely weekend :)

Erin
In addition to running the girls around, playdates, and flirting with homeschool, I am attempting to grow my photography skills!  Slowly but surely...thus far I have taken one evening class in Dallas and several online tutorials. I have also started learning a new editing software. We shall see where I end up...hopefully not too frustrated ; )

Philip
As always, Phil has a lot of irons in the fire.  He has been out of town at least once a month since the beginning of the year.  This weekend he'll be in LA again for The Great American Pitchfest.  The filming of The Savior is steadily approaching as the funds come in and we are all excited about that!

Kylie & Avery
Kylie will have her first t-ball practice this Friday, with games carrying us through mid-July.  She will also start her first round of swimming lessons this month!  We've transformed the formal living room into a "school room".  Ultimately it's a good designated learning spot, reading, crafts, etc. Although Kylie was less than thrilled when I first moved all the furniture around, she is now in the habit of asking nearly every kid she meets, "What does your dining room look like?"  We are working our way through an English reading curriculum that seems to suit Ky very well and I'm teetering with starting her on some basic Hebrew in the near future.  Avery is ever-chipper and happy just to be included in whatever "my sister, Kylie" is doing!

Four Years Young

Kylie turned 4 last week!  I can't believe we're already at four, and yes, I'm sure I'll still be saying that at 20, 30, and beyond.  She decided the agenda for the day:  early morning zoo, followed by gymnastics, lunch, and backyard pool time.  Then, a few days later we celebrated with friends and family.

 She chose a Hello Kitty theme for her party.   It was a great day, with fun had by all!

Here are a few of the highlights...

Sisters at the zoo

Hangin' with the giraffes

Hello Kitty Cake

Pizza

Pinata

Merry-go-round

Presents

Eating cake...

and then eating her neighbor's cake!

And of course, lots of love from Mom & Dad!

Lately...

Things around here lately have just been going along as usual - although our "usual" is usually a little offbeat!

We went to Oklahoma for a week in April.  Philip had a script in the Bare Bones Film Festival - you can read more about that here.  The girls and I spent our days catching up with dear friends & family.

We even hit Tulsa's Rose Garden before we left town!

When we got back home, Kylie's school had a "Donuts with Dad" day...aren't they so cute?

 

 And Avery has really started earning her keep around here...

in fact, she is apparently working so hard that she can't even stay awake through dinner!

That's all for now, folks!  Hope this little update finds each of you well.
Love,
The Dorrs

Birthday Week!

The first week of April is a BIG birthday week around here...Philip's is April 2 and mine is April 4.  Yes, we are both Aries, both firstborns, and have a *little* age difference...it all works well for us somehow  =)

We spent Philip's birthday at the park and had a great lunch at Little Italy, a local family-owned Italian place.  Spaghetti is its own food group in Philip's world, so he couldn't have been more delighted!

My birthday got rained out so we had to resort to the indoor sport of shopping!  The girls had almost as much fun, but I think Dad's day "took the cake"  =)

When Pigs Are Purple

We knew we had fallen hard and far from our kosher days in Israel when we found ourselves at a local bbq joint called Purple Pig Cafe.Everyone around here knows the Purple Pig, but for friends and family afar, here's a little taste of our afternoon....

We started by discovering Kylie's shoes had been on the wrong feet all day.

We enjoyed decor like this...

and this.

We hugged Hawaiian Indians

and played in giant teepees.

As you can see, we have found the perfect little Texas bbq joint to bring our guests to!  So, if you're planning on visiting prepare your bellies for something like this...

Sadly, as we piled in the car to leave Avery asked, "Where's the purple pig?"  Poor thing was just plum disappointed!