Summer Fun

Just some pictures from our low-key summer at home, for the most part. :)

 She LOVES sink baths!!

 Oh my goodness. This girl and her expressions!! And her "old man hair"! 

 Sending big sis off to camp for a week. They were lost for the first day!

 Lots of fun playing in the sprinklers. Not sure why the neighbor's sprinkler (which is IDENTICAL to ours!) is always more fun to play in, but that's where they always play!

 These two have such a special relationship already! Love it.

 Jacob LOVES piano (he can't wait to start lessons again next week!) and he's tried to teach Isaac how to play. 

 Anna's favorite find at the consignment sale! Ha!!

 Soul Sisters is what I call these two. I've never seen two girls this far apart in age get along so well. Their love of horses runs deep.

 Grace also loves the piano. And if she gets the chance, she will climb up on the keyboard!

 Grace was just doing a little reading up on oils the other day. No big deal. ;)

 Ohhhhh! I LOVE this face!! She makes it all the time now and it is adorable.

 I was working on organizing school stuff and all the kids seemed to be very happily occupied. Then I realized I was hearing a very loud sucking noise. I found Grace, who had somehow managed to get the lid off a marker, sucking on said uncapped marker. I took it away and said, "Grace! What did you do?!" This was the look I got! HA!! She had't marked on herself very much, surprisingly. I don't think she put two and two together and figured out she could make marks with it! She only had a couple marks on her, but the one above her lip was so funny.

 We had a movie and popcorn one afternoon and I gave Grace an empty bowl. Her expression...it's like she was saying, "Uhhh Mom? There's no popcorn in this bowl. That's a problem." She does love to eat popcorn (don't worry...I bit off the hard parts).

 Our foster daughter came back for a visit and was puppy-sitting for a friend...the kids were thrilled when she brought Nike over with her!! She was the calmest puppy I've ever seen! Grace was so fascinated with her. She would just "ohhhhhhh" and squeal. We had to keep them separated so poor Nike could have a nap. Grace found a ruler and tried to reach the puppy through the gate with it!! Such a stinker.

 Wedding #4 for the summer was around Kansas City so we got to stay at my aunt & uncle's new place. It was a fun, relaxing Sunday afternoon in their gorgeous back yard!!

 Now that Grace's 4 teeth are all in and she's not sick anymore, it was time to unspoiled her. :( She's very stubborn, but not as stubborn as Anna was! She cried for about 30 minutes and finally fell asleep cuddling her teddy bear. So sweet!

Enjoying a summertime snack on the front porch. Easier to clean the mess up outside than inside!

Summer Thus Far

We always seem to have a busy summer. Little trips here and there to see family and friends. Harvest, family celebrations, short weekends away. And of course, the gardening!

 We got a tropical pack last time in our Bountiful Baskets. We all tried coconut water for the first time. Anna loved it, Isaac thought it was okay, Jacob gave it 2 thumbs down!

 This year we planted only tomatoes in the garden at home because we got a plot at the community garden. I put 12 of them in, all but 2 that Stacy & I started from seed! Most of them are doing pretty good. One of them died and I replaced it, but all the others are looking good. My cherry tomato plant looks like it's going to give me a hefty yield! 

 The first tomatoes of the year! Only one of them lasted til morning. :)

 We've had a busy few weeks with lots of late bedtimes. Which means Isaac has been falling asleep at the pool! Works out okay-he doesn't fall asleep after we get home at 4 or 5 and then is up til midnight, and he only gets a short nap in. He does miss out on all the fun of the pool and I don't get to do anything but sit beside him, but that's okay. Anna and Jacob have a great time. We love the pool!

 The other day I found Anna teaching Isaac about his letters. He was content to sit there and let her do her thing and would throw out guesses here and there. Jacob joined the mini school time, too.

 The most exciting thing for me this summer is that we got our Bountiful Baskets site opened here in town!! It's been a long time coming and we're all so happy not to have a 4 hr. trip anymore! It's not exactly fun to get up before 5am for the drop, but it's well worth it for what we get right here in town!! Mmmmmm!

 Some family came down and Anna got to meet a "new" cousin. They had a lot of fun riding horses at Scott's and playing at the Wetlands! I told you we would be going back again!!

 After the water park, we went to a playground while we waited and Isaac took a tumble. He fell flat on his back off the equipment and hit his head pretty hard on the gravel in the play area. He cried for quiet a while but it didn't bleed too much so I knew he didn't need stitches. It's in a terrible spot for car rides though! Poor kid. 

 Anna was a bit tired! A long day of horse riding, water park, and playing with Audrey (all with an early start to the day). After the water park, we headed out to the farm for a weekend of fun with extended family as we celebrated Grandpa and Grandma's 65th anniversary...those pictures up next :)

Busy Summer

Alright John & Toby....here are some pictures of your cousins!! :)

Things could not be any busier this month! My brother Jeremy and his family are moving to Sterling!! I've been busy helping where I can as they try to move in a few loads at a time, while still working (Jeremy) and starting a new job (Alisha). This week Kaedyn and Bryce have been staying with us. In the evenings I try to make it over and help Alisha paint. They bought the oldest house in Sterling, which has been a bed & breakfast for many years. It has wonderful charm, but it's also covered in Victorian style wallpaper! Most of which is not exactly their taste. :) All the kids think the huge house is a great play place-especially since it's mostly empty! 

Isaac found a super hero costume among some toys. He loves it. And I love how he posed for me! Such a silly boy!

Since the walls are all lath & plaster, they can't remove the wallpaper without having to put up Sheetrock. So they found some primer that is supposed to work over wallpaper. I actually don't mind painting and even more, it drives me crazy to leave a room almost finished...no matter how late it is! So I sent Alisha home to bed and I stayed one night to finish this room. I actually like the color of the primer, but the walls will not remain gray. I like the paint colors she picked out, too. Now, whether we get all the painting done before Saturday morning.......

Early this week, a big storm came through. Very high winds, lightening like I've never seen, and a downpour. So the kids and I spent the next day(s) picking up limbs and raking up little sticks. This load was from Jeremy's house-and that was just the "small" stuff! At our house, we didn't have any large branches, just some smaller ones and lots of twigs. Our neighbor had his trailer hooked up so he took our debris to the burn site for us. 

In the middle of cleanup it started to rain again. The kids decided to take a break and play on the rain!

He didn't want an umbrella...I think he regretted his decision after becoming totally soaked!

Last Friday, Rhys stayed with us. I got her to leave her hair fixed for just a little while! She looks like Pebbles, but she acts like Bam Bam!!! She is a beast! But she probably has to be, being the youngest of 4!!!

Brothers :)

Grandpa & Grandma came to visit and celebrated Anna's birthday early. They let her choose a place to eat. She chose Carriage Crossing! Their pie is to. die. for.  Really all their food is delectable. 

Special surprises from Grandpa & Grandma!

So there you have it John & Toby...I found some more ink! ;)

Summer is Almost Here!

The weather has been gorgeous this week! We've taken a lot of bike rides and spent as much time as we can outside. 

Anna is flying through the Rose series (about Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter Rose) so we make several trips to the library. Our library is awesome. You don't have to whisper, they don't mind Isaac wandering around. But I do love it when I peek around the corner and see the boys sitting on the bean bags reading books!

This week, for 3 days, the college put on a soccer clinic! Anna and Jacob both has so much fun!! Their good friends Elli and Zachary were there, too. Stacy and I decided this officially made us soccer moms! ;) I told her I only wanted to be one if she was one with me...she makes it enjoyable because we can laugh at our kids together. Ha!!

Anna the goalkeeper

They surprisingly did a decent job of playing a game on the last day. Jacob even scored 3 goals! He also spent a lot of time giving hugs and tackling (mostly Zachary and the college kids)! 

Isaac is *loving* speech! Miss Karen is phenomenal. She even lets the big kids join in on the fun. 

I finally got my tomatoes in the ground!!! And thanks to my Uncle Randall, I have these incredible cages! And, these are all ones we started from seed!! I really didn't think they would survive, but they did. 

We bought a few tomato plants to give us a little earlier harvest, so Jacob used his tractor to deliver them to Stacy down the alley. He's a farmer! ;)

Papa made Anna her very own flower box to put on her little red stuga. It says "Anna's Rose" and she thinks it's pretty special!

Last weekend, since we found out Anna didn't have chicken pox after all, we went to Colorado to celebrate Aunt Carol's graduation from the Doctorate in Nursing program. Isaac tackled Uncle Elry and wouldn't let him up! :)

Now we have to call her Dr. Aunt Carol! ;)

Being silly in the big bathtub. 

Having fun in the hammock with Sarah.