"She's a Different Dog Every Day"

Molly.  Oh, yes - my Molly.  We have said this - she's a different dog every day - for years.  However, for the past two/ three months, she has become a bit predictable.  Now she's trying new things.  Like jumping the fence to my garden and running through my beets, peppers, cukes, and one tomato plant that hadn't yet been "staked".  Like curling up on this chair in our sunroom.  (A chair she's slightly too big for, I might add...)  She makes us laugh!!! (That cute face gets forgiven every single time!)

(We were able to save the veggies in my garden.  And our garden now has a large net around the entire thing - about 6 feet high.  She's not getting in again!)

How can you not forgive a face like that?!  (With those long legs of hers curled up so much...she reminds me of "this wild deer we saw in the woods one day, thought she was cute, and brough her home to live with us"!  That's how we've affectionately described Molly joining our family.)

The Ride Home

We pulled out every trick in the book for our 5+ hour drive home a couple weekends ago!  Graham was GREAT in the car.  He melted once we hit Chesapeake - what to go little guy!!

Graham now plugs his ears if he doesn't want to hear what you have to say....

Happy Graduation Party Megan!

Uncle Bear and Aunt Lauren -

Aunt Megan - the guest of honor

The entire family

Pop Pop has a telephone - that actually has batteries!! (So it makes noise and blinks!)

Megan Graduated!!

We headed down to Charlotte for a visit with Pop-Pop, G-Mom, Aunt Lauren, Aunt Megan, Uncle Stephen, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Bear. What a great visit. We spent time in the pool, in the lake (Lake Norman), at Megan's party, and Graham flirted with all his lady relatives all weekend. He LOVED being the center of attention!!! (And, of course, we're very excited for Megan's graduation, too!)

FLAGS!

Flags have a special place in Graham's heart. Especially big flags! He keeps an eye out for flags every time we're in the car. And he literally YELLS "BIG FLAG" when he sees an especially large flag. This flag below was the first flag he's ever owned himself.

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a great pool party with a bunch of our neighborhood friends - and, unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture of our friends! (It was a very hot day, so we stayed in the pool almost the entire time.)

Another Pool

We joined our neighborhood pool this summer, and we are there at least 4 -5 times a week. We LOVE it! Graham enjoys riding bikes up to the pool, and as soon as we turn the corner he starts to yell "Big Poo!!" (Pool - he's not great with the letter "l", yet) We love the social aspect of the pool - we always see different friends at the pool - and the baby pool is wonderful for Graham. He can stand in the entire pool!

Graham's Boots

Gigi gave Graham these super cute boots for his birthday, and every once in a while that's all he wants to wear. "Boot", "Boot"! He has a particular fashion sense...he won't wear his boots as part of an outfit but rather as an afterthought. And more around the house than out.

And boots go perfectly with the "click-a" game. (The "click-a" game is when Graham finds a buckle and opens/ closes it for hours.)

Reading Time!

The other day, Graham headed into our family room - by himself. Picked up his books - by himself. And began reading aloud - to himself. Irresistible!!!

Give Peas A Chance! Especially When They're Fresh From The Garden!

My Ladies

My big Christmas present this past year - paintings of my girls.  Yeah, finally getting my act together to get them framed!  I'm so pleased with how they turned out!  I decided to put them in the kitchen - the room where we spend most of our time.  I love them!!  (The girls and the paintings!:))

The Botanical Gardens

We spend so much time at the gardens, we could probably give a tour of the children's area!  The kids' area is so big - last Friday Graham and I stayed in the "animal" section for at least an hour.  Walking thr trails, looking at all the animal molds.  On  Father's Day, they open their storybook section of the garden - they're building exhibits from many classic children's stories.  Can't WAIT!  And, always Graham ends up at the fountains.  Helps to wash off whatever dirt we've picked up on our adventures!

Last month, the rose garden was in full bloom, and it was gorgeous!  We could smell all the roses (there must be hundreds of rose bushes) while we were still in the parking lot!

The Outdoor Shower

Who knew we would use this SOOO MUCH!!!  Graham is in the pool everyday.  And uses the outdoor shower everyday.  So useful!

Kona's Annual Frisbee Competition

Kyle and Kona have participated in the local frisbee competition for years - a special time for the two of them!  We took Graham this year for a short while.  (Every two minutes - "dog", "dog", "dog" - yeah, dogs were EVERYWHERE!)

Kona - my sweet older  lady - did not place this year.  But she had a BALL!!!  And I think she very much appreciated some time with just Kyle.  Even better, she didn't have to be around Molly!

My older lady - Kona

Every once in a while, Graham is gentle with the dogs.  To the point now that Kona will actually play ball with him.  If Graham is in the right mood.  I love this picture of the two of them!

We also just got a copy of an ad in the paper recently from the company who built our pool.  Yep - that's our pool.  And, if you look closely enough, you'll see this sweet brown dog lounging on one of the pool chairs!