Daddy got a few fun packages in the mail. Daddy took out what was valuable to him, but what he left was far more valuable to the kiddos!
Packing Peanuts! Who could resist this cute little “shipment”?
We invited friends over and had a great time – Lance shows them how to have fun.
Diving in!
A perfect game for boys!
All the jumping made us hot, so we turned on the fan to cool off.
Then we had fun listening to our funny voices.
Today Lance found my razor and tried to shave, just like Daddy.
All is peaceful in the quiet town of Lanceville. Things are orderly and as they should be.
Suddenly a desperate cry for help rends the air: Fire! Fire!!
Fire chief Lance is on the truck in seconds, sirens blaring! Details arrive over radio – there’s a woman trapped on the second floor of a burning building!
The truck screeches to a halt as Fire Chief Lance asses the situation. Ivy plays the lady in distress.
Our hero pulls of a daring rescue, climbing the ladder to dangerous heights and bringing the lady down safely.
The fire is conquered and the lady rescued. The truck heads home. Looks like another job well done for Fire Chief Lance.
The Mayor should award a medal of bravery….or at least hand out popsicles.
On July 6th Ivy turned 1 year old – somehow it seems she grew faster than Lance. She LOVES fruit and water so we celebrated with a watermelon cake and swimming!
She and Lance loved the slide in the little pool.
This video is for Brian’s mom because she protested that the last post didn’t have any. We were at my parents house and they have well water which is pretty cold. You can here how it takes their breath away each time they go in the water.
To warm up a little, Lance gives Ivy a tractor ride. (Actually, it wasn’t much of a ride unless someone was pushing – it’s hard having short legs.)
Last summer Uncle Dude built a water “sprinkler” the kids could run through – Ivy and Oliver liked it the best.
Meanwhile the dads and big cousins played in the big pool (i.e. a stock tank)
note: I swam in this growing up and it’s still good. If you’re looking for a nice pool this one is a good investment.
Dad and Lance take a turn splashing while we were filling it up.
Next we opened presents, ate and had cake!
Ivy had no problem figuring out how to open presents and was able to move from one to the next a lot easier than her brother at his first birthday.
Connor discovered the water balloons so I filled up a dozen or so for us to throw.
We decided to ambush “Uncle Brian”. I called him outside “for a minute” and then – whamo! We got him!
This turned into an all out war (once I had filled up more balloons). Kids against Dads.
The kids held the fort valiantly.
Sometimes Dads cheat 
It was a wonderful birthday party though I wonder if the big people had more fun that the birthday girl.
I know it’s a little late, but really, you can’t write about something until after it’s happened – right?
Lance and cousin Connor get a head start on the celebrations with some poppers and sparklers. Lance kept saying “more, fire, works?”
On Saturday I read about a free fun run offered Sunday morning so Brian and I got up early and ran. It was refreshing to get out and do something random and on a whim. I think we did about three miles. Now I’ve been in a run of some sort for each pregnancy. (note, the t-shirt I’m wearing is from the run we did when I was pregnant with Lance).
Here are the Cahill cousins after church – all patriotic.
That evening we joined the festivities at the George Bush Library. The kids liked finding clues in the dog houses.
It was warm but not too bad. At one point we thought it would rain. The kids enjoyed picnicking on the grounds – BBQ, fruit and gatorade!
We had to check out the fire trucks – of course!
As the sky darkened we watched a “balloon glow” – very pretty.
The kiddos barely stayed awake until the fireworks show started at 9:50. A live orchestra was playing march music so that helped a bit. However, once the show started Lance was in awe. He kept saying “wow” and woo-hoo”, totally amazed. He was so impacted that he didn’t fall asleep until we got all the way home at 11:30 that night!