Day 243/365

A sweet moment.
A photo taken through the family room window as Jonathan, Samuel and Matthew held hands and prayed over their dinner outside. 
(Andrew was at soccer practice, the moms/girls were eating inside).
I'm very grateful for these positive friendships in my boys' lives.

Day 242/365

Meet the teacher day!
Katie is SO excited for pre-school!
She tells people "My pre-school lives at church."
She can't wait to go back and keeps asking to go.
Miss Beth
Gummi Bears
The Purple Room!

Day 241/365

Forever my curious Andrew.
An empty cupboard beckoned him today.
Little love got stuck.
He had some tears.
Mama had a chuckle.

Day 240/365

The organizing/clean out continues!
Working on my kitchen desk today.
This was an idea I copied from my favorite organizing website.
All the kids' craft supplies now fit in this utencil holder.
Crayons, pencils, paints, scissors, stickers and glue sticks on the other side.
It's working great!
(PS. The colored pencils stay together because I put them in inside the crayon boxes that I no longer needed).

Day 239/365

Big day for Andrew!
He lost his first tooth today!!
A new one is already ready to go!



....AND he tested for and earned his Orange stripe belt!
YAY Andrew!!!
So proud of him for his commitment to this.
Way to go, Buddy!

Day 238/365

The Bug's first pair of ballet slippers.
"It's little girls like her that make my job worthwhile."
Said the sales person at the dance studio as she watched Katie's face light up when she put them on her feet.
Pure joy!
The much anticipated "dance class" starts next month!

Day 237/365

A cruel, cruel Mommy made Andrew carry his own pillow, blanket and stuffed animal from the van into the house as I unloaded from our trip.

The result: A classic Mommy/Andrew standoff.

15 minutes of Andrew just sitting in the van, not budging while I unpacked and went into the house.
Once his audience was gone, Andrew brought his things inside and curled up in shown fetal position.

Oh, to have such a cruel mother!

Kitti sat by him and comforted with her stream of chatter....
"I stay wiff you, Andrew."
"Do you want me to pick you a flower?"
"Are you afraid of bugs?"
(And my personal favorite....)
"When I was a little boy my name was Hansel." :)

What I love is my little man's eyes focused on me....watching for my reaction!
I'm learning....  :)

Day 236/365

The Benton Franklin Co. Fair!
Unplanned matching outfits on Katie & Gracie...
Petted goats & bunnies...
The kids "showed" lambs & got ribbons!
Isaiah threw up (because of a dare)...Kaitlin got lost (terrifying!!)...
Mommy cried when she was found (riding the carousel?!)...
Hawaiian shave ice (the best!)...Nana hobbled on a possible broken toe...(trooper!)
Balls on the water for the big kids & ponies for Kitti...sticky cotton candy!
Stuffed animals won for "prizes"...bucking bronco (Andrew stayed on the longest!)...
Lots of rides....HOT weather & kankles...
Nana spoiled her Grandkids rotten!
The kids had a FANTASTIC day!

Day 235/365

I still haven't gone digital.
My new planner arrived and it's nearly done being filled in with our known 2011-2012 schedule.
Those little spaces fill up much faster than I'd like!
I really need just one more month of summer....

Day 234/365

A nice lunch at the Rainforest Cafe (I love this restaurant and it's so fun for the kids)
with Grammie & Grandpa and then of to the airport!
We made it home today!
It is SO much easier to travel with the kids now.
Dan and I noticed a huge difference even from last summer!
Yippee! :)

Day 233/365

David hosted us at his condo today.
So enjoyed visiting with Winnie's sister's Pat (center) and Ginny (right).
Loved this photo of them!
We spent the day visiting and eating the great food David and Ginny made.



We're loving the palm trees too! :)
Fun to see such different vegetation that what we have at home.

Day 232/365

The M&M store on "The Strip" at Las Vegas.
Our Tour Guide:  Uncle David
MGM Lions, Bellagio gardens, Circus Circus games & acrobatic act.
108 degree weather.
Followed by swimming for the kids/Grammie.
A date for Daddy and Mommy (dinner @ Olives & Cirque du soleil's "O")

Day 231/365

We arrived in Las Vegas today!
Katie wanted to lay down with me.
We had a snuggle, and then I read my book.
I reached over and took her hand and she fell sleep holding it.
So sweet.

Day 230/365

Packing and unpacking is the theme of our August.
Getting ready for our trip to Vegas!
2 large suitcases.  1 Duffel Bag.  1 small overnight bag.
4 backpacks, a tote, a stroller and a carseat.
Whew.

Day 229/365

Still slowly making headway on the great house clean out.
I organized the meds/sunscreen that we keep in the kitchen into this
little craft organizer.
Getting there...little by little.

Day 228/365

We went to see the dollar movie this morning!
"Marmaduke" was playing.
The kids were SO excited to be meeting friends.
These are the things that mean summer.

Day 227/365

Afternoon stories and snuggles.
A daily routine for the past 8 years of my life is coming to an end.
Stories are still frequent.
Snuggles and rocking, less so.
Today I got both.
From 2 of my little loves, no less.
And I savored every minute.

Day 226/365

(Still featuring Birthday photos).
Love this one of Isaiah and Matthew bobbing for Apples.
(courtesy of Shannon).
We paired the kids up with a parent and rotated them through the games.
I was with these two.
It was nice to see they aren't too "cool" for the games.
Yet.

Day 225/365

The Birthday boy ready for some fun!
9 siblings/cousins/friends plus our birthday boy.
There was calf roping, apple bobbing, bottle shooting, panning for gold, clothespin drop and
a funny 3 legged race making for a fun afternoon.
It was a fun day for our big SIX year old.
I love you, my little cowboy.

Day 224/365

A Cowboy Party ready for our birthday boy!
Festivities begin at 1pm tomorrow!

Dat 223/365

Cake baking today!
Chocolate and Graham cracker cakes filled with roasted marshmallow frosting.
The University of Wyoming cowboy as an homage to Dad finished it off.

Day 222/365

It's birthday week!
Which means lots of errand running and crafting and baking.
My efforts have been going to make a fun birthday party for our little cowboy!

Day 221/365

A photo from Andrew's birthday.
Brothers and Best friends.
You can see their closeness in this photo.
I hope they're always this close.
Happy birthday sweet boy!

Day 220/365

The zoo (yesterday) & Chuck E. Cheese for dinner today
followed by a chocolate chip cookie cake for dessert
fulfills Andrew's 6th birthday dreams for the day.
He fulfills mine, just by being him.
Happy 6th Birthday, sweet boy!!!

Day 219/365

(Andrew cooperated so nicely for this photo, but had to wait so long for his brother and sister to look up that his face had fallen into this stiff frozen fake smile. :) )

We went to the zoo for our family birthday outing for Andrew (his choice).
I forgot my camera!  So sad!
I snapped this after we got home as the kids played in the sandbox that Dan filled up while we were away.
Andrew said, "Now when we want to play at the beach we can just come here!"
:)

(Hair cuts for everyone this week!  Can you tell we're due?) :)

Day 218/365

all

All together for the first time in 10 years with my best childhood friends/family.
A very special birthday brunch for Kristi.
A wonderful time...just not enough.
I adore these ladies.

Day 217/365

My favorite Andrew face.
His gentle eyes, pink cheeks, and sweaty hair.
We had a rough day yesterday.
Today was better.
I do so love this precious boy.

Day 216/365

Bugaboo beats the heat on the slip 'n slide.
LOVING the sunshine here in Tri-Cities!

Day 215/365

My long time friend Ami dropped by for a visit today.
We've been friends for 25 years!
We can get busy and go a while without chatting but can always pick right up where we left off.
Ours is an easy friendship.
A dear friend.

Day 214/365

Katie snuggled with Nana on the sofa as she continues to recovery from surgery.
(It went perfectly ~ she's doing great!)
Another quiet day.
(That would be yogurt on Katies's face.) :)

Day 213/365

Mom had some minor surgery today.
I  spent the day reading while watching her sleep. :)
I finished The Hunger Games trilogy in a week.
Not my normal style of book ~ but I was sucked in and couldn't stop reading!
(Thanks Michelle, for lending these to me!!)