Opa!

Last night we helped our friend Shauna celebrate her birthday with a night out to the Greek restaurant Bacchanal near Downtown Phoenix. This place is one of our favorites, and it's always guaranteed to be a good time with the delish Greek food, belly dancing, plate breaking, and audience participation! As the Greeks say ... OPA!!

3 blondes and the birthday girl Shauna

Scott shows off his Greek dancing talents! The owner of Bacchanal (middle) picked him out of the crowd to dance.

Parkin' it.

The weather has been a bit cooler this week (under 100!) so we hit the park this morning. The caravan included 3 bikes, the bike trailer, and Reid's walker hooked on the back. What a sight!

Follow me, Dad ... I know the way!

Teeter totter tots

Arrrgh!

Tonight we spent the evening at Way 2 Play Cafe for Pirate Night. Luke enjoyed playing with the kids, but he steered clear of this pirate ... too scary for him! But Reid was a brave little guy and buddied up to him for a photo opp.

Reid learns the basics of swashbuckling.

Bright eyes & a bright smile!

Car cart.

When shopping with two small boys, the car cart at the grocery store is a must. Usually, Luke is the driver and Reid is along for the ride, but look who's the chauffeur today!

Bitten by the blog bug.

Lately, we've had a flurry of friends and family members start blogs! We love keeping in touch this way and hearing what's happening with you all! So if you are checking our blog and we don't know about yours, then zip us an email with your blog info so we can keep tabs on you, too!

Ruby Slipper Designs -- Jami's graphic design company -- has also been bitten by the blog bug! Check out the newly revised website (courtesy of highly skilled web designer Scott) at www.RubySlipperCards.com. New samples, new focus, new fun ideas! It's been 3 years since our heels started clicking! Amazing! In addition to the new site, RSD also has a new blog at www.rubyslippercards.blogspot.com, a great resource for invitations, announcements, and other creative concepts on paper! This will be updated twice a month so check back often!

Slip-n-slide-n-slurp.

Luke's buddy Owen came over for a playdate today. On the agenda ... the slip-n-slide. The boys had a blast splashing around and slurping popsicles afterward.

Top right: Ready, set, splash!

Middle left: Reid wasn't the fastest guy down the slip-n-slide, but he had fun all the same!

Bottom left: Popsicles are serious business.

Fun times with our Meyer friends.

Tonight, we attended Luke's VBS program. His class stood up and sang 2 songs. Luke however chose to not sing ... or do the actions. It seems he had a case of stagefright during his moment in the spotlight!! He did however do a great job of standing very still in place, which is rare for him! Afterward, we grabbed some dinner with the Meyer family. Lexi, Colby & Luke were all smiles!

Walk 'n' roll.

Last week we dug out the walker to see if Reid wanted to give it a try. He's been cruising all around on the furniture, so we thought he might be ready for the "next big step." From the start, he was off and walking and loving every minute of it. Walk 'n' roll, baby!

Schoolhouse rocks.

Luke has been test-driving his new school routine by attending Vacation Bible School at the church where he'll attend preschool in the fall (it's a Methodist church just around the corner from our house). He's loved the time spent learning with the other kids and his teachers. Here he is with his classmates.

Reid-atouille.

Tonight the Leahy family ventured out and about for a movie night. The feature film was "Ratatouille," a charming story about a rat who can cook. This was also a milestone movie as it was Reid's first movie in the theater (and Luke's umpteenth movie ... he's quite a fan of the cinema). Reid watched the first half of the flick and then dozed off for the latter part, while Luke munched away on his Skittles, his preferred movie snack. It was a nice way to escape the heat and spend the night with the family!

Baptizing Reid.

Today we celebrated the blessed event of Reid's baptism at our home parish of St. Mary's in Chandler. We were fortunate to have several friends and family members join us for this very special day. Reid cooperated well and was on his best behavior. He is such a gift to our lives, so it was wonderful to share this spiritual gift with him.

Mr. Baptism is ready for the big event.

Deacon Hintze baptizes Reid with the rest of the family watching over him.

Here we are with Reid's godmother Emily Cappo (Scott's cousin) and Uncle Eric who is standing in for Reid's godfather Uncle Paul (Scott's older brother).

We enjoyed a nice family dinner afterward at our home. This special occasion warranted a striped Tammie Coe Cake, placecards with pictures of each family member with Reid, and a special blessing card from Mom & Dad.

All in the family.

What a special treat for us to have some family fly in for Reid's baptism! Scott's Aunt Mary Ann and cousin Emily (Reid's godmother) flew in this morning to share in this special celebration with us. They hopped off the plane and on to a family breakfast with all of us at TC Eggington's.

A date to celebrate eight!

To celebrate our 8th anniversary, we spent the evening in suspense at the Broadway Palms Dinner Theater's interactive murder mystery show "Murder in Paradise." We enjoyed the night out, while the boys had a ball with Uncle E and Charity at Amazing Jake's playland. Rumor has it they rode the teacups and go-karts while we were out solving crimes!

Clownin' around.

Luke enjoyed a morning out to Rolly Pollies summer camp today. Can you tell what the theme was? CIRCUS! Move over, Bozo ... there's a new clown in town!

8th anniversary.

As we celebrate our 8th anniversary today, we thought this pic would be a fun walk down memory lane ... or down the aisle in this case! Here's to 8 great years!

Mimi, Papa & the munchkins.

One final photo from our trip: the boys with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, our great Colorado tour guides!

Boulder adventures.

One of our final Colorado adventures was making a day trip to Boulder. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Sunflower (delish organic food) and then took a stroll down Pearl Street, famous for its eclectic feel and street performers.

Wouldn't you know ... Luke found more water! He and Reid (and Papa) enjoyed splashing around in these fountains.

The fam on Pearl Street.

Just the two of us.

Since Mimi & Papa provide a great free babysitting service, we've enjoyed some time out just the two of us. Last night we met our friends Mary Fran and Joe who just moved to Denver after getting married a few weeks ago. We enjoyed pizza and vino at The Oven in Belmar. Then this morning we took off on a 17-mile bike trek from Lakewood to Morrison along a scenic bike trail following the Bear Creek. Somehow we took the more challenging route and ended up scaling some crazy small mountain on our bikes, but it was quite a cruise down! Our final destination was meeting up with the family at the Morrison Inn for some Mexican food. We hauled the bikes back in town ... it was a one-way only trip!

Tales from the creek.

Luke has been on the Colorado Creek Tour. Yesterday we ventured over to a park with a creek flowing through it. Tons of kids were splashing around in the water, so Luke joined in! He also made up a game to throw his blue crocs in the creek and run downstream to catch them. Of course, we were sitting on the bank laughing at him!


Today Luke and Papa ventured down to the creek behind the townhouse for a little more water fun.

Bear Creek Park or bust!

One of our first adventures in Colorado was venturing to Bear Creek Park. Just 15 minutes from Mimi & Papa's house, we spent some time splashing around on the beach at Soda Lake in the afternoon. Last night, we grilled out lakeside and watched the windsurfing and kayaking entertainment. Then Grandpa, Scott & Luke enjoyed a night camping beneath the stars. Grandma, Jami, and Reid roasted s'mores and then headed back into town for more civilized accommodations.

A beach in Colorado?! Sure enough. Sun, sand & mountains in the background!

Happy campers and their humble abode.