Georgetown Poppy Festival

Saturday afternoon we ventured out into the heat with Grandma to Georgetown's town square to celebrate poppies. We visited with the Shriner clowns and IP received a balloon sword and a snake "tattoo" on his arm. Very macho indeed.

Rings vs Petals

IP was a ring bearer this Sunday in our friends' wedding. When I first informed IP that he was chosen to be a wedding ring bearer, he misunderstood me and said, "Can I wear my nose?" Nose? After some explanation, I discovered he heard "wedding reindeer" and wanted to wear his Rudolph flashy nose from Christmas. Later he interpreted ring bearer as "ring bear," so I changed the role to "ring holder." Then he found out his friend, Sonja, was invited to be the flower girl. I had to explain it was a girl's job. "Why can't I be a girl?" IP loves flowers, so I suppose the title seemed more desirable. I really hated having to stereotype roles; his first dose of discrimination. I then changed the role to "page boy." Every time we discussed the wedding, IP announced he wanted to be the flower girl. Finally, he changed his mind the day before the wedding. Alice, the bride, came over to our house on Saturday morning to prepare the wedding flowers. We asked IP to select the kind of ribbon with which the rings would be tied together. IP chose sage green to match his vest. After seeing Alice's bouquet and discovering what rose petals really are, IP decided holding the rings was far more important than tossing petals. First, the couple cannot get married without the ring bearer because he's holding the rings (oh, what a sense of power). Second, the flower girl doesn't get to hold the "big" flowers (bride's bouquet). Third, the flower girl only has bits of the flowers (petals) to throw, not real flowers. After examining a rose petal, IP wasn't too excited about the flower girl job. On the big day, IP exceeded our expectations and stood still like a champ through 75% of the outdoor ceremony. He picked up a little stick on the steps, scraped some dirt off his shoe, made silly faces at us, gazed lovingly at the violinist, and finally dropped the rings. He picked the rings up quickly and assumed his position. When the officiant asked for the rings, he handed them to the best man and then sat down with Mom and Dad. We are so proud of our little wedding reindeer. Congratulations Alice and Jonathan! It was a beautiful wedding.

UPDATE: Alice & Jon's wedding photos: http://prints.thefotostore.com/share/w9oSFRKbvL756

Wanted: Merry Men

Robin Hood is interviewing for merry men even though he looks quite serious. Thanks Auntie Liz for sending his outfit all the way from Sherwood. Hope you are enjoying your new home in Nottingham.

Rocking R-K Ranch - Reunion 2008

More photos posted at this snapfish link.
This weekend we met many of Josh's second cousins and great aunts and uncles. We had a wonderful time chatting and getting to know our family. We discovered we have a second cousin in the Austin area, so we will make more of an effort to keep in touch. We also were able to see Uncle Hugh and Aunt Vicki who drove in from Liberty. IP enjoyed chasing chickens, petting mini-donkeys, collecting sticks, digging in sand, capturing a beautiful green-blue beetle, and taking a shower all by himself in the shower stall. His favorite experience was the trampoline aka the bee flower. IP loves anything bee at the moment and loves to "cook." He took over the "flower" and invited mommy bee and daddy bee for dinner. We had to sit in the middle of the "flower" and wait for chef bee to prepare honey macaroni cheese. Mmmm... very tasty. The flower/bee game was entirely his idea. Monday morning when I said goodbye at school he hugged me and said, "I love you mommy bee." It was a fun weekend and we plan to attend more reunions in the future. Thank you Uncle Roy & Aunt Kay for hosting a great reunion!

Welcome Julia Kate

IP now has two little girl cousins. Julia arrived on Thursday 4/17. Congratulations Stephanie & Collin! We will come visit you as soon as possible!

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary

Josh & I were married April 12, 2003. Actually, we've been together a lot longer. This July will mark our 10th anniversary. Time flies when you're having fun. Love you Josh!

Bayou Wildlife Park - April 2008