Happy Memorial Day!

On this day of remembrance, I would first like to thank family members who have served this country: my dad and my father-in-law who both served during the Vietnam War, Todd's Grandpa Clay who served during WWII and was at Pearl Harbor during the attack there, Todd and his brother, Scott, who also served, thank you all so much for your faithful service to our country.

To our friends who are currently serving, Aubrey, who is in Iraq, and Jon who is just finishing up boot camp and ready for whatever the Army has planned for him, thank you both for your service. We pray for your wisdom and safety. We also pray that you would be a light for Christ to all you are around.

Today we remember all the people throughout our nation's history who have served our country. Without them, our we would not have the freedoms we take for granted every day. Thank you.

Kid-Wash

Today, Todd was powerwashing the deck and this is what happened:

It is no wonder why we can't seem to finish a project around here! We're too distracted by cuteness!

Stylin'

What do you do after all that cool, sprinkler fun? Put on some adorable cowgirl boots and play!

(Todd brought the camper out of storage and popped it up to air out. That's where they are all sleeping tonight :))

What do You do With This Heat?

Days like yesterday, I wish we had a pool. I mean, I seriously LONG for one! Poor Nicholas, I don't think I've ever seen a sweatier kid. So the minute we got home, I told them to get their swimsuits on for this:

That's a Crazy Daisy. It flips around spraying everywhere! Of course, you can always just hold it, hosing your brother down with freezing cold water. Guess who did that? ;)
 
After that was another treat for hot, tired, hungry kids:

Such a wonderful beginning to summer :)

The Last Outdoor Class

Continuing our day yesterday; after lunch, it was time to pack up the fishing gear and join our friends. Todd headed home so he could get ready for work, Brandon joined his class, and Nicholas, Megan, and I headed to the playground were our friends were beginning to gather. It was sweltering so we mommies laid blankets in the shade so we could have a mini-board meeting and so the kids could have a place to wander in from the sun.

Our co-op is relocating which means lots of decisions need to be made and lots of conversations between board members need to happen. These outdoor classes for our kids have turned out to be a great time for some of us to get together for mini-meetings. For this reason, I didn't get many pictures, but the ones I did get are going up here!

The boys found a cool place to hang:

It was like a little room back there!


Megan, Greer, and William did too:

(although their's is much smaller and therefore didn't stay cool for long once they were all crammed in there ;))


Having fun on the playground:

Brandon learning about tracking using sand:

One of the mommies suggested a group picture...perfect!

It was 92 degrees outside. I felt so sorry for these kids in their long pants!

Fishing

Yesterday was Brandon's last outdoor survival class. I'm sad to see them end! Not only did he absolutely LOVE every minute of these classes and time with his friends, but Nicholas, Megan, and I also had time to hang out with friends! It was great!

We decided to go a bit early yesterday and take Todd along to try some fishing there. We didn't have any luck but we did see some nice bass and carp in the water. And a snake! GAH! Unfortunately, the snake was too fast for me to grab my camera (maybe because I was rooted to the ground with fear?), but I did get some very sweet pictures :)

Check out Megan's pinkness. Even her fishing pole is pink! What you don't see here though is her tackle box...all pink lures ;)

Todd showing his little fisherboy were the fish are:

Brandon LOVES fishing. He's really pretty good at it too.

Look at her concentrating. So cute!

Megan didn't last as long as the boys. Soon she parked herself beside me and started her lunch :)

Leaving the die-hard fisherman to do their thing ;)

We had a great time! It was so quiet and peaceful there and it was nice to not have any distractions!

Now That's More Like It!

I'm so ready for summer! Having doors open, watching the kids play outside, long sunny days! It looks like this week is going to be a beautiful one and we couldn't be happier! This is one of our favorite things to do in the summer:

When I tell the kids we are eating outside, you'd think they'd won the lottery! Even though we do it often, it's such a treat for them. A simple meal of subs and watermelon is special when we eat it outside. Top that off with some games (Uno Spin or Apples to Apples Jr.) and it makes for one special lunch :)

A Little Help

Housework is so much more fun when I have cute, little helpers :)

And not so little ones too :)

Rehearsal Night

I wasn't going to post these pictures since they are so similar to the actual recital pictures, but I was sitting really close and I thought it was so cute how she kept looking at me. Plus I love the black curtain as her background. The girls show up so well! So I'm papering my blog with our little dancing girl again!

Megan, you did a great job! I'm looking forward to next year!

Dancing the Night Away

This evening, we wrapped up Megan's dance classes for the year with a lovely recital. She had a great year!  It was a little touch and go this winter when she got a bit bored but as soon as her costume came in (it's always about the dress, isn't it?) she was excited again.

We ran into Bill and Margot's daughters, Lindy and Erin, backstage and of course I had to get a picture ;)

Lindy was so very cute about helping Megan and saying encouraging things to her each time we ran into her during rehearsal and tonight for the performances. You can just tell she's a wonderful big sister :)

I am really impressed with these pictures! Since we are a slightly bigger than the norm family we were in the nose-bleed section ;)

This one is still zoomed a bit. See how high we were?!? Megan is in the back row here second from the left:

She had a surprise waiting for her when we got home. I was actually intending to give it to her right after the recital but I left it at home...of course ;)

These little teddy bears are dressed identical to the girls! How cute is that?!? Megan was so very excited! That little bear is now snoozing the night away right next to it's precious little owner :)

Looks like we will be taking ballet again next year :) And it looks like we'll be adding tap to the itinerary! Thank you, Margot, for suggesting such a wonderful dance studio!

Say Hello to our Little Friends

First, an update on our new fish: they all died. We've never had a goldfish last longer than a week except Cow so this really wasn't a big shock, but it was sad for the kids none-the-less. So, moving on...

Last Christmas, my mom gifted the boys with a new Frog Habitat! We waited to order our tadpoles until the weather was warmer though. I didn't want to find frozen tadpoles in my mailbox ;) Well, today was the day they made their arrival!

Meet Peep and Ribit:

We're hopping for little frogs in a couple of weeks. The kids are so excited! What is it with kids and critters, anyway?!?

Hangin' With Friends

While Brandon was learning about surviving in the woods, the rest of the kids enjoyed each other's company:

These girls giggled the entire time!

The jungle gym was a big hit with all our kids! I wish I could have taken more pictures, but we mommies were discussing co-op business while our kids were so entertained!

Outdoor Survival

Last week in Brandon's outdoor class they talked about building an outdoor shelter if you have a poncho. They had homework to build one in their own yard and see how it goes. This is Brandon's:

He tied one end around the tree and anchored the other end with sticks like stakes in the ground. He found out after these pictures were taken that rocks worked best for this though. To test the shelter for keeping out the rain, he put paper towels on the ground. He left his shelter up all week and it stayed dry! Even with all this very, nasty weather!

Yesterday in class, they began work on a hut made with forest debris so they would know what to do if they had no poncho. They also learned the importance of going into the woods prepared! It takes alot more time and effort to build a debris hut! In fact, they didn't even get it finished. They'll be finishing it up next week as well as finishing up their other survival topics. It has been a great class!

Here is the partially finished hut:

Nick is cracking me up in that picture! That boy always has a goofy look ;)

Megan waiting patiently for snacks :)