Misc. Family Update

Lilly is about to turn 10. That's right, 10. She's going to be a pre-teen and she's all excited about it. Freaks me out. But, that's okay. She's playing softball and Jackson is coaching. So we're spending lots of time at the ballpark. It's pretty fun, though. Quentin is a handful but thankfully, we've got lots of family at the games to wrestle him (thanks Bama!). And so far it isn't insanely hot. I'm sure that'll change soon...

We're making plans for Colorado. Since we didn't go last year, we're even more anxious than usual to get there. Looks like we've settled on July 18 - 26. Kay, Jack and their friends are coming in as we're headed out. We're soooo ready.

Hey, Girod family - let's start a way to tell each other about our visits at the cabin this year. Maybe through the blog Natalie set up? It would be fun to have all our stories from the summer in one place. For those of you going before us, it would be cool to hear what all you did, what new stuff did you discover, what supplies do we need to bring, etc... What do you all think? We could set up a Facebook group, actually, then we'd be able to share photos and other stuff. Think about it...

Otherwise, things are pretty quiet around here. Lilly finished fourth grade. She and Quentin will be staying with Kay and Jack this summer and I'm sure spending lots of time with my parents at the creek. (which, by the way, is turning out SO cool. They've built a cabin and it's really cool. We stayed there during Memorial Day weekend. Can't believe I forgot to take pictures! I will do that soon). Quentin will stay with Jack and Kay full time this fall, as well. We're so thankful! My parents have enjoyed keeping him the past year but they're moving and traveling and all sorts of things. We're so appreciative they were able to keep him this first year. What a blessing! He's spoiled rotten, but that's okay. :)

Jackson has completed 'constuction' of his screenprinting operation in our garage... so if you need any t-shirts, you know who to ask. He's got a few big jobs coming up, so that is great news.

Well, I think that's it for now. Can't believe I didn't update this for a month! I'll do better... Love ya!

(not sure what happened to the color here...)

Quentin's Cap or Hat or whatever we want to call it

Quentin has been wearing his helmet now for two weeks. It's supposed to be rounding out his little flat head. He's absolutely precious regardless, but I really love it when he's not wearing it. :) But, it doesn't seem to bother him and it appears to be working. We're still waiting for his head to actually grow so that it'll grow within the 'hat' and begin to round out. Hopefully that'll happen in the next few weeks. He may have to wear it up to 3 months but I'm shooting for 2 months max. I'm his mom, I have that kind of power, right? I just miss being about to kiss his cheeks whenever I want. And he's just so cute. The reactions from others has been varied. It was really hard to go out with him at first, but I'm over it. Most people comment on his blue eyes and kids usually ask what the helmet is for. He's always smiling and flirting with people so it's kind of funny.

RENT

My sister, Jenny, and I went to Dallas on a whirlwind weekend a few weekends ago to check out Ikea, see RENT and then head home. After seeing the show - which was amazing, gets more amazing every time - we went back to the hotel and turns out, the cast was staying in our hotel! Unfortunately, my favorite actor in the show from the original Broadway production got stuck in the lobby when i froze upon seeing him and forgot to hold the elevator door for him. I never saw him again... But, my sister was pretty bold and made me stalk the rest of the cast. These are the guys we met - Jacques played Benny and Michael played Collins. Wow.... Really nice too.

Jenny and Benny - She's SO excited!

Me and Benny

Jenny and Collins.

Me and Collins

Sisters posing in the mirror... We had a great time!

It was a fast trip but a great one. Can't wait to come to Dallas again and bring Jackson so he can experience the awesomeness of Ikea and we can hang out with his fabulous family! (We're looking for a weekend in June - any suggestions?)

Wolftini

This is for all the cousins in the Girod family. I know how you all appreciate quality wolf art. This one is called, Wolftini. Enjoy. (Seen at Tulsa's Mayfest. FYI - You can get a beautiful painting of any kind of dog in a martini glass from this vendor.)

Fashions by Lilly

Lilly really is a budding fashion designer. She's either making up a cool outfit for her to wear to school (see image in previous post) or she creating something new. Here is a dress she made out of an old beach towel. She begged me to let her wear it out of the house. But it had this inappropriate slit so I won the argument. Someday I'll find a place to set up the sewing machine so she can really start creating.

Compliments to the Photographer

I'm giving myself credit. These are good pictures... :) I'm proud of me. Doesn't hurt that I have great subjects.

Grandma, Lilly and Quentin

Good Times with the Girods

Lilly, Quentin and I visited Grandma and Grandad in Stillwater a few weekends ago after spending some time in Edmond with the Goldmans. We had a great time eating pizza for lunch, playing with all of Grandma's cool dolls and just visiting.

Lilly found an accordian... obviously.

This cracks me up.

Quentin and Grandma look great in blue.

Grandma and Lilly had so much fun checking out all of Grandma and Jane and Kay's old dolls and the cool clothes they made for them. She's so impressed!

Grandad and Quentin are quite a pair.

Note to self: take better pictures

My Aunt Carol, Uncle David and cousin Melissa were in town a couple weekends ago. They all came over for dinner one night and I cooked fajitas, which were actually decent. Here, I got some okay pics of Quentin. Wish I'd remember to mix it up and get pics of other people I love....

Quentin loves his Aunt Carol.

This is just funny because I can't work my camera... obviously. However, I love my Aunt Carol and I love her in this picture.

misc. pics

This is the only half-way decent picture of quentin and elliot I got the whole weekend we were in edmond with the goldmans. I can't believe I didn't take more pictures!

Quentin learned how to stand in his bed. This was right before we lowered his mattress.

He's so proud of himself!

Crawling on the table and showing off.

This is what Lilly is wearing to school tomorrow.

lilly's photo shoot

lilly and i were playing with make-up one night and i decided to get out the camera and practice my photog skills while she practiced her modeling skills. please note, she does not wear make-up like this regularly or out of the house. :) i'm quite proud of some of the accidental photography elements that showed up in a few of these... aunt jane, i'm getting better.

this was her "signature" pose, evidently. getting her to not pose is impossible!

tic tac

i'm sorry, but this is just one really cute dog...

Q with Nana and Pops

i'm focusing on regularly getting pictures of Q and Lilly with the people they love. so... as much as i know some of you LOVE getting your picture taken - deal with it. :) i mean that it in the most loving way...

mama's business trip

at the end of february, i went on a business trip to colorado. i stayed in durango, just a block from their historic downtown which is super cute. most of my time was spent in cortez, about 45 minutes north. i love the landscape out there - mountains with snow in the background, and then dry, arid land up close. actually, in durango, when i arrived at the tiny airport and got into my (very cool) jeep patriot, i was shocked to see so much snow! it wasn't on the roads, but it was on the grass - not just on the mountains. i started to get worried that i should have packed boots. but, that ended up being it. as i drove to our natural gas processing plant, i was in awe of the scenery. i love the view from my office at work. i'm on the 50th floor of the state's tallest building. i look directly into the center of downtown tulsa and it's perfect. however, the guys out here at ignacio, really have the best view. it's breathtaking.

jackson and the kids survived without me at home. i think they spent more time at grandparents' houses than ours, but that's okay. i appreciated the help so that i could go. this was such a great opportunity for me. i literally learned more in 2 days about what our company does, than i have in 2 years. there is just nothing like seeing things with your own eyes.

so while i was at the plant, i got a tour and learned about what all the do at the plant. it's a big, complicated place. i left feeling smarter about my company because it was something we do that i'd never seen. at the same time, i left feeling dumber because it was so very complicated and i didn't really get it at all. regardless, i had a my fabulous tour guide snap this picture of me after the tour. he thought i was a real dork. oh well. those are mock steel toes on my shoes - lovely. and yes, my hard hat sat on my head like that the whole time!



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