Rock Star

Kate's aunt and uncle gave her a real mike for her birthday. A perfect gift for a girl who likes to be "onstage" all the time. They had just set it up and Kate had been singing nonsense songs...making it up as she went along.

Zane was clearly eager to get to the mike, but waited until Kate finished her "song" and backed away before he stepped in, grabbed the mike and started on the song you will hear. His selection surprised all of us at first, then we all laughed at the same time. I think he finished the song, but I didn't want the clip to be too long, so I didn't video the whole thing. We were all wondering where he had even heard the song, then yesterday at his house he showed me a musical card that played that song.

Officially 4 years old!

Zane is officially 4 years old today. I had errands to do in town, so I did them and then stopped by their house to deliver the official birthday card. They were eating lunch and managed to continue eating, remaining in their places except for the occasional quick dash to the kitchen cabinet where past birthday cards are stored.

I had to apologize to Zane for giving him a Transformer card instead of a Star Wars card. I just couldn't find one when I was looking yesterday. So, their forays to the cabinet were to find other Star Wars cards that had been given to one of the family previously. I think I saw two of the Star Wars sound cards that had been given to Kelly. Zane likes Transformers, too, but I think the current favorite is Star Wars.

I stayed just for a little while since I had ice cream in the car...it was in an insulated bag and I left the car running...but, still it was noon and the temperature was in the mid-90's.


I had to show this photo of Zane at his party at the Aquatic Center. Everyone else had finished their cake and drink and gone back to pool activities. He was enjoying himself!


Zane always gets cold after swimming for awhile, so here he is, warming himself up on the hot concrete.

Zane's 4th Birthday Party

Zane isn't officially 4 years old until next Thursday, but his party was held today at the Aquatic Center. It's a great place for a birthday party...as long as you have have parents there and enough people in the water to keep eyes on everyone.

Zane loved going down the big slide and did it over and over again. Wendy was at the top of the slide, making sure that Kelly, at the bottom, was ready to assist the sliders when they hit the water.

I was going to put a video of Zane on the slide here. But I decided not to use that one. In that video, Zane comes off the slide and then Kelly brings him to the side of the pool. You can see Zane practicing blowing out while they make their way to the side. You can also see his feet under water, paddling like a baby duck. It was cute, but it's not the one posted here.



I decided to use the video of Zane blowing out his candles. Wendy did a great job making him the kind of cake he wanted...a Star Wars cake. She went to the Betty Crocker website to look for ideas and found the Space Shuttle Cake. Zane requested a white cake with chocolate frosting. She downloaded the template for carving the rectangular cake into the necessary shapes and then followed the instructions for putting it together and frosting, making changes to it as needed. I thought it was cute, especially with the candles inserted in a most unusual way in order to look like rocket engines. Also to make it look more like a Star Wars vessel, they inserted chocolate-covered peppermint sticks which looked like guns. Wendy says the website is a great go-to spot for cake ideas.


I had taken my list from Gage and Zane (mentioned in an earlier post) to the store and purchased a couple of the requested Star Wars action figures for him...so he (and Gage) were excited about them. I think you can tell from the expression on Gage's face that he was really thrilled with the gift.


I also made a photo book for him on Shutterfly. It arrived today, so I'm going to take it down there in a little while. I can't tell you how many times I went through that photo book, checking for spelling errors, making sure the captions were correct and fit into the space allowed. Two or three times, when I tried to order it, a message would come up cautioning that there were: 1) photos that might not print well; 2) captions that might be too long; 3) words that might be mispelled...I think there were a couple of other warnings, but I can't remember what they were. Each time, I would go back through the book, checking photos, captions, spellings, etc. So, satisfied that everything was correct, I ordered it. Robin stopped by a few minutes ago and I showed the book to her. On the title page at the top it says, "Zane Aaron Garner." Then there's a photo of Zane. Under the photo, it should have said, "This is a book about me and my family!" However, instead of "book", it said "big". Robin noticed it immediately. If you know me, you know what I said! I used some DryLine liquid paper and covered the "ig" and then used a red ball point and wrote in "ook". If I don't mention it, maybe they won't notice.

But, of course you know I'll mention it.

We all decided to go to Casa Hernandez for lunch after the party. These last two photos show Zane with the fried ice cream dessert that they brought the birthday boy. In the second picture, you can see Gage at the end of the table, giving Zane a little brotherly encouragement.

Birthday anticipation

When I got to Wendy's this afternoon, the boys were really playing quietly together. Even when they saw me, they just grinned from across the living room and said hi...but didn't rush me the way the girls do.

So, Wendy and I had a chance to talk for awhile. She was just finishing preparing their supper of baked chicken and fresh green beans with potatoes. It smelled, and looked, really good.

Eventually, Zane came running into the kitchen and, with a big grin, gave me a piece of note paper. Apparently, what had kept them quiet was their collaboration in compiling a list of what Zane wants for his birthday. It was all Star Wars action figures. Since I'm not as conversant in Star Wars as they are, I had to ask who a couple of them were. Zane ran off again and came back in a jiffy with two of the cards from the deck of Star Wars cards that I got for Gage recently. The pictures on the cards he brought back were of two of the action figures that he would like to have. I have the note tucked away in my purse to help me when I'm in the store.

I mentioned to Zane that he was going to have a birthday soon. He said "Yes! I'm going to be 4 and then I'll be taller!" I hope he won't be too disappointed if it doesn't happen overnight. I asked him where his party was going to be and he told me, "It's going to be at the Aquatic Center. And I'm not going to have one of those things that you hit and it's full of candy!" He said the last while making bat-swinging motions...grinning all the time. Sounded like he was glad he wasn't going to have a pinata. Maybe all those amateurs wearing blindfolds and swinging bats make him nervous. I completely understand.

Zane and "the dog"

On Sunday, July 5, we started cleaning up the bayhouse in preparation for leaving after lunch. We washed loads of sheets and towels, vacuumed and emptied the refrigerators. We drained our pool and put up hoses, tables & chairs and the gazebo I had purchased (which was a great addition to our outdoor area.)

Wendy wanted to give the boys lunch before they left for home. She had just settled them at the table with sandwiches when Robin and Chad showed up with her dachshund, Rowdy. They came by to say goodbye before heading back to El Campo.

Zane is really crazy about dogs and wanted to play with Rowdy, but Wendy wanted him to eat his lunch first. He was very good about it and sat there eating. Meanwhile, Rowdy did something for which he got put into the truck, (not to worry, it was running,) so was unavailable for play when Zane got through with his lunch. Robin and Chad left and Zane was very sad when he realized that "the dog", as he calls Rowdy, was gone, too.

Zane left the room and Wendy found him lying on one of the beds. She asked him what he was doing there and he replied that he just wanted to think about "the dog." He further informed her that next time she shouldn't put "supper" out first. He stayed on the bed for a while and then joined Gage in the living room. The television was on and cartoons were being shown, but Zane was still too sad to watch them...highly unusual. He faced away from the television and thought about "the dog" and how unfair it had all been.

I think Wendy and Kelly might actually be entertaining the idea of getting them a dog! But, of course, Zane and Gage don't need to know about that yet.

The photo here is Zane with Gracie, Rowdy's "sister." Isn't that a wonderful picture of a happy little boy?

4th of July at Port Alto

It was our turn to use the bay house at Port Alto on July 4th. Wendy and Kelly and the boys came down on Friday and left Sunday, the same as me. Wayne came on Saturday and left on Sunday. Carolyn and Brent and their children came just for the day on Saturday. It was great having everyone there.

The kids had fun in the inflatable pool. It's remarkable how confident Zane is in the water now. On Memorial Day weekend he still didn't want to get his eyes wet. Now he's jumping in and holding his breath as he swims the length of the pool (all 8 feet or so of it!) But the point is, he really enjoys it and isn't fearful of being underwater. He and Gage and Kate had all sorts of floats in the small pool and took turns pulling each other around on them. Carlee got in every once in a while, but it was pretty crowded in there with the 3 older kids, 2 or 3 floats, noodles and diving rings.




Virgie and Bo offered to take the families on a boat ride. Jax had just been fed, so I was happy to stay at the house with him. He went right to sleep and didn't wake up for 3 hours. The kids and parents all enjoyed the boat ride. Many thanks, Virgie and Bo!

Another activity was Mexican Train dominoes. We explained it to Gage and he and Wendy played one round together. The next round he played on his own with a little help. The third time we played, he understood the moves and rules better than I did and knew exactly what to do. In one of the videos posted here, Zane was humming music from "Star Wars" while we were playing Mexican Train.

The big fireworks show was supposed to start at 9:30, so we were keeping Gage and Zane up to see it. We played Mexican Train until 9:30 and then got our chairs situated outside and waited for the show to start...and waited...and waited...and waited. Other fireworks were going off all around us and Zane didn't want to stay outside. So he and Kelly went in to lie on the beds and watch through the windows. Zane made it till about 11:00, but finally just couldn't stay awake any longer. Neither could Wayne...he went in to bed about the same time.

After waiting outside more than an hour, we came in and were playing another game of Mexican Train when we suddenly heard the deep booms of the fireworks. So, we rushed out to our chairs. This was at 11:30 PM! The show was awesome! The fireworks were set to go off at 8 second intervals in order to finish quicker (since it was so late.) Usually, as I understand it, they go off at 15 second intervals. This is all electronically controlled (I think.) Previous shows have lasted more than 2 hours!

It was worth the wait. Gage kept exclaiming, "Gorgeous! Awesome! Beautiful!" I used the "fireworks mode" on my camera, but should have had it on a tripod. These pictures don't do any of the fireworks justice...but, they're posted here anyway. They might look better if you click on them...I don't know.