So glad it’s Summer!

I know the temps have been crazy this summer, but I can’t help loving it!  Here in Idaho, we’ve gotten used to summers in the low eighties … but this year we’ve been in the 90s!  Repeatedly!  I’ve been loving it!

Nope, these are not my kids.  My amazing friend from VA stopped by to spend a few hours with us, and I got to see her kiddos.  When we left, her oldest was still a preschooler, and she didn’t have her last two at all.  I follow her blog, so I still felt like I knew them, and it was fun to see them in person.

We tried to get a pic of all seven kids together … but they were more interested in playing than cooperating.

The falls were low, because the canals have been open for a while, but this was the first time I’d seen them low (for comparison, look at the pic at the top of my blog – I took that one a few years ago in April, before the canals opened).

Last year the summer got away from me and was over before I’d even started.  This year, I was convinced it wouldn’t happen again.  I went into the pool before L even finished school and signed up for two (non-consecutive) sessions of swimming lessons.  Then, as soon as I could, I bought L a new bike.  She needed one last year, but I kept telling her, “Oh, we’ll go get you a bike tomorrow …”  until the summer was over.

I promise I’ll take my camera to swimming lessons this time around, but I didn’t get any pics during the first session.  I do have some bike pics.

J fell asleep on the way home from getting the bikes, so when he woke up 2 hrs later, we let him ride his bike in the house a bit.

My dad put training wheels on L’s bike while I was busy at Cubscout Daycamp.

L is a lot like me.  She’s very cautious.  She takes it very slow.  And she doesn’t take to falling off very well.

 

But … she’s really getting the hang of it.  Even with the training wheels, when we first let her ride, I had to run alongside her to keep her from falling over.  Now she handles it pretty well.  She still falls, but we wipe her off and set her back on.  Ironically, it was after she was done with the bike today and started riding her scooter that she biffed it and skinned her knee.  Then it was, “Mom, THERE’S BLOOD, THERE’S BLOOD, THERE’S BLOOD!!!”

She had a small scrape on her knee.  And she decided she’d rather ride her bike again for a while.

J and S scoot along happily on their own … which makes me realize, S is a lot better this year.  Last year, I couldn’t leave her alone, because she always needed a push or some help to keep going.

We’ve been enjoying summer treats …

… and I’ve been enjoying afternoon naps.  Ok, so this doesn’t happen every day, and even when it does, it’s usually just one kid at a time.

I know the rest of the country is roasting … but we’re having a wonderful time!

Summer!

Ok, so as of today, Summer is officially here.

We attended L’s award ceremony this morning, where she got her “As and Bs” award for 1st Grade.  At one point during the assembly, I spotted her curled up in her teacher’s lap.  Just before I headed up to see what was wrong, I caught her teacher’s eye, and she shot me an “OK” sign.  L wiped her eyes dry as she headed back to her seat.  I guess I’ll find out what that was about later.

ANYWAY …

I went out last week and signed the girls up for swimming lessons.  I’ve been cruising Craigslist for a new bike for L and a trike for J.  Our garden is planted, and I’m even making plans to run the Color Vibe 5k at the end of July …

BUT …

This poor lad is sitting on the couch (he actually moved to the floor just before I took this pic, and now he’s back up on the couch) with a raging fever.  As in, already administered Tylenol, still toasty warm, red cheeks and all, FEVER. 

Grr.

I guess we’ll delay our summer a few days.

S doesn’t mind too much, since I handed over the kindle.

But we’re gonna be in for it when L gets home and wants to play.  I hope we don’t pass this around and spend the first weeks of summer sick.  I want to go play!

Springtime

So, while I am no photographer, I have tried to make a point to document my children’s lives.  Then last weekend, I went to my Mom’s and took the opportunity to dig out my mission pictures and journals for a talk I’ve been asked to give.  They were in the same place as all my college photos. 

I sat on the floor in my parents’ basement turning page after page of pictures and feeling nostalgic.  I LOVE the pictures that document my life.  And it made me think – am I taking pictures now?  Well, not so much.  So I pulled out my camera and started snapping.  It’s point and shoot, and I’m not entering any contests.  This is just my life. 

My mom pulled out a picture while we were there – one of this kitchen at the time when she was dating my dad.  I like to think that, one day, we’ll pull out this pic of L in the kitchen and stare in wonder … “THAT was how the kitchen used to look!  And look how small L was back then!”

My babies in front of the “Beacon House” …

J refused to be distracted from using the squirt gun he’d found somewhere in the house.  Everything needed to get wet.

This lone, purple tulip reminded me of my grandma.  She always had beautiful flowers.  I have cousins who inherited her talent. 

My mom took us to the aquarium.  I could live there, if they’d let me.  I probably watched the octopus for 15 min, and I could have stayed longer, except the kids don’t have that long of an attention span.

Do you see how my baby boy is perched on the edge of the ray tank?  I actually turned to the aquarium worker next to me and asked, “Have you ever had someone fall in?”  She smiled and said that it actually happens quite frequently, and it’s not usually small children.  The last kid to fall in had been 12 years old, and it was on a school field trip, so he had to go the rest of the day in wet clothes!

The oar is nailed down, so the girls had to pretend to row the boat.

And we’ve discovered that L is now larger than the emperor penguin!

The purpose of the trip was to get my quilt quilted, and I was lucky enough to have my grandma and mom help me out.

At one point in the evening, L decided she wanted to sew.  I brushed her off and told her she was too little.  When I noticed she was missing a little later, I found her crying under the piano.  Upon reflection, I decided I could possibly teach her to quilt.  Sometimes I forget how big she’s getting.

But, when I brought her down and said I was going to teach her, my grandma came to the rescue.  She found a hoop, two pieces of fabric, and a small square of batting, and set up L with project of her own to work on.  Yay for grandmas!  And how precious is this, with Grandma teaching L to sew?!

The other purpose of the trip was to see my precious new niece and my amazing sister (-in-law, but I’ll take her as a sister!). 

Finally, now that C is talking about selling his car, I gave in to the kids’ pleading to let them take a ride.  My concern has always been securing the car seats properly in it … but I figured, just once, I ought to let them take a ride with Daddy in his “Blue Car”. 

J changed his mind and stayed home with me, but the girls went.

I love this pic of C helping L get her seatbelt on!  (Again, not in the “amazing picture”, artistic sense, but because I think I’ll be glad to remember the moment 15 years from now.)

Can you see the look of pure joy on S’s little face?!

Good bye, my loves!  Have fun!

And for my last batch of memories, we put in our garden yesterday.  This is our third year, but it was the first year that L and S were really able to help, and not hinder.  Yes, I could have done it a lot faster on my own, but it was fun to do it with my girls. 

We’d worked hard the last few weeks to keep the weeds out of the garden, so we wouldn’t have to pull them all, like last year.  I used a fork and turned all the soil, then we dumped a few wheelbarrows of dirt across the back to replace what’s been eroded away.  Then a few bags of compost and a rake, and we were ready to go.  We let the kids pick what to plant this year, and we ended up with tomatoes, purple and orange peppers, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, watermelon, carrots, beets, and green onions. 

That’s all for now, folks!  G’bye!

Mmmmwah!

Easter and other such stuff

I found Easter dresses for the girls this year, instead of making them.  I don’t know if I would have found time to make them otherwise, but when I found these … I can’t make them like this for that cheap!!!  So I bought them.

(I’m not feeling too bad about it, though.  L insists she wants to be Merida -from Disney’s Brave"- for Halloween, and S wants to be Elena, so I will be making dresses for them … later.  Oh, and with L’s baptism coming up next year, she’ll get a mommy-made dress for that, too.)

As much as I tried, I couldn’t get more than this half-hearted grin from S.  I think she’s become self-conscious about her cracked front tooth lately.  (She’s had it since she was 18 months old … I guess just a year or two more, and she’ll lose it and grow a permanent one.)

Speaking of which, here’s my older daughter.

She feels the need to pose and twist her body around while getting her picture taken.  And she wouldn’t be complete without a close-up.

 

She’s missing 4 of her front teeth.  The two top center teeth and the two side bottom teeth.  I keep threatening to put her on a liquid diet if she doesn’t stop losing teeth.  One is growing back in, so she won’t be like this forever. 

And this little man would not stop moving long enough to get a good picture.  Even when he did, he gave me this funny face -

What’s up with that lower lip, young man?!

Huh, Mom?  This one?

Like this?

I finally gave up.

 

The Easter bunny did visit us.  A few days later, the little black bunny in the middle got one of his ears pulled off.  I thought that only happened to chocolate bunnies.

Here’s a quick update on J’s quilt.  The top is pieced together, and I’m just waiting to have a chance to go to my mom’s and have her and my grandma help me quilt it.  Then I’ll edge it with multi-colored triangles.  I’m excited to have it done for him.

And last … we have popcorn popping on our apricot tree!!!  I’ve been waiting three years for my little tree to bloom, and it finally did!!!  (I would put up a pic of the whole tree, but it seems to be blooming in spurts, and as a whole tree, it looks a little silly.)