Our Little Hostess and the Play Date

On Friday, Mya's Grandma Kathleen was out of town, so we got to have Mya come play for the morning. I think she had fun. Anne sure was cute playing with her. She'd bring her toys, kiss her gently on the shoulder, and give her hugs. As usual, Mya just watches and gets her eyes and ears full of activity with our lively family. I was proud to say there wasn't even a teeny cry or whimper from her while she was here. Not that she ever really makes noise, but she seemed happy the whole time. We all had fun.

Deanna Rose 2011

We finally made it to Deanna Rose in June. The weather was sunny and only 80 degrees, so we thought we'd take advantage of the cooler day. We had a great time. A couple new additions there were the General Store and the Ice Cream Parlor. We also visited Ben's Bank a couple times, but we'd done that last year, too. It was lots of fun. I was surprised just how much Anne enjoyed feeding the baby goats a bottle. I thought she'd be afraid, but she wasn't the least bit afraid. Always a fun field trip!

Here's a quick comparison of Miss Leah from 2010 (on the left) to 2011 (right). She's grown!

Swimming Lesson Observer

Anne did a great job being patient while the kids had their lessons. She did feel a bit deprived since she didn't get to take part this time, but she hung in there and looked cute for me.

June is gone...

So a month has gone by and it sure was fun filled and busy. We wrapped up vacation bible school and two weeks of swim lessons, so July will be a bit slower paced. The big boys have 3 baseball games left, and other than that, we get to make our own schedule. Leyton is debating some tennis lessons and Nathaniel is debating more swim lessons. We'll see. We've been swimming a lot and I'm sure that will continue. The last couple days are giving us a real taste of summer as we've been up near 100 degrees and very sunny. I'm just hoping the rest of summer doesn't go by too quickly! I know the 4th of July always brings thoughts of the impending return to school in August, but we'll make the most of it!

Boil Water Order

So from yesterday morning until this afternoon, Johnson County was under a boil water order due to a water main break. Interesting that I really didn't even know about it until Patrick called home to tell me. If he hadn't, we'd have gone about our day like normal I suppose. I did have to work last night and before I left, I boiled a great big pot of water. Today, Leah had a story to tell about it..."Mom, last night I tried boiled water and it was GOOD! It was in the fridge for a long time and it was really good, I really liked it." Now that really cracked me up, as if boiled water would result in something other than water. Let's just hope she doesn't routinely want boiled water now! Ha.

I love you...

"to 'nafivity' ---and beyond!" My sweet words to hear from Leah at night. The kids & I have migrated from our "I love you more"'s to this. Each of the kids says it a little different, but Leah's is pretty sweet. It's one of those things I want to remember just like that - before she learns the right way to say it, which if you haven't figured out, is "infinity and beyond!" Nathaniel has his own way of saying it, too, and he'll always ask me, "Mom, do you like how I say it? Is it my own way of saying it?" It sure is and I love hearing it every way they say it.

Anne's working on it, but for now we get, "ook" (book), "un mor" (one more), then when you tell her you love her, she says "more-more-more", followed by "bye." Sure love her, too.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Baseball is off to a great start. Leyton & Nathaniel are playing their first year of pitching machine and it has been great fun for all of us. Nathaniel really likes catching, and Leyton enjoys pretty much anywhere. They both are making great progress. We've all been playing in the back field a lot, too...the whole family. It's so much fun. The games are fun, too, and we all go and enjoy them. Jacob has three classmates that are usually there as their big brothers are playing, too. You know, it's that nostalgia associated with coming home later in the evening with a crusty kind of dust film on top of sweat from those summer evenings at a baseball game. Interestingly, they had a game last Saturday in 98 degree heat at 4pm, and not a single kid complained about it. Truly showed they were just out there having fun.