Friends, Family, Babies, Smiles

Tonight we met Grandpa & Grandma L. at the Magic Wand, a favorite 'Busco spot, for supper and ice cream.  We had a fun time, and even got a little silly.

happy to be together

...and more silliness  :)

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Wonder why it is that chores are more fun at Gram's & Krampa's?  

The kids all love to help fill the bird feeders.

Gram & Krampa both hate emptying their dishwasher, so we took turns helping too.

We got to hang out with Tessa when it was Gram's day to watch her!  She is really good at taking naps now, and such a happy, sweetie, precious baby!

And, we finally got to meet Little Miss Hannah in person!  She is also a sweetie baby, even when we threw her schedule all out of whack for the day!

I usually only get to see Lori maybe once a year or less, so our visits are extra special.  Such a blessing, this friendship is to me!!

Geocaching in 'Busco with Gram!

Today, we spent some time exploring 'Busco looking for geocaches.  Gram came along, and proved to have a knack for finding the caches hidden in the middle of scratchy bushes, poison ivy, trees...

It was a fun treasure hunt, even the ones we didn't find!  Thanks for exploring with us, Gram!

Movin' on up!

Sylvia must be growing, because it was time for a new violin this week!  She moved up to a half-size!  She is loving learning and playing her instrument!

Back in the Woods

Krampa, Gram, the kiddos, and I all headed into the woods today.

The kids love to go on the bumpy ride down the paths in the back of Ol' Blue with the fishing gear.

When we arrived at the pond, there were many butterflies flitting about the thistle.  So beautiful!  Then, I wished I'd brought my good camera, but the camera on my phone did alright.

Caeden caught a catfish.  He also caught one of the 3 big snapping turtles that were lingering around the edge of the pond.  It bit the worm right off his hook, and thankfully Krampa didn't have any trouble getting it off of there.

Yes, the girls fish too.  Everyone caught some today!

When we were done fishing, Krampa led us into the woods for a little hike and some exploring.  

We saw the different coverings of a hickory nut.

Once we were back in the truck, we stopped to get some blackberries...mmm!!!

Then, later we raided Krampa's red raspberries in his garden!

One Summer Evening

It has been a busy summer for our family...almost busier than we'd like.  We haven't made much time to get to the pool and relax.  But this evening we did.  It's been SO hot lately, but it was actually quite cloudy and overcast, so not many people were there.  

In fact, at one point, Annah and Caeden were the only kids in the small pool!  They thought it was kind of cool to have it all to themselves for a few minutes.

After being in the water a while, Sylvia even got chilly.  She got out to wrap up in a towel, and showed me her wrinkly fingers.  

It was a blessing to have a relaxing evening at the pool together as a family.

No More Training Wheels!

Caeden has been wanting to learn to ride his bike, and had Jeremy take the training wheels off at the beginning of the summer.  Then, he avoided trying, "because it was too hard."  Finally, he decided it was time, and found the motivation.

Annah spent most of the day, lovingly helping guide and steady his bike up and down the sidewalk, explaining to him the details of keeping it upright and moving forward.  He was determined, no matter how many times he crashed.

They got to the point where she could let go, and he could go a ways on his own.  They counted sidewalk squares as his distance increased.

He's made great progress!

He is getting quite good!  Way to go, Caeden!  We're so proud of you!!!

Aristocats!

All summer long, Annah and Sylvia have been practicing and preparing for this week's performances of Disney's Aristocats with the A.C.T. Theater Company.  It has been a fun experience for them, and they are excited about the shows!

Their alley cat costumes are simple--cast t-shirt with kitty ears, ribbon collars (I like Annah's bells on hers!), and tails.  

They liked having their make-up done too, although Sylvia said she doesn't like the way it feels on her face.

It has been fun to make new memories and new friends!

the cast

While the girls were at practice, Caeden made a new friend whose 2 big sisters were also in the show.  They were glad it was finally performance time, and they could watch.

"Everybody, everybody, everybody wants to be a cat!"

Meow.

All ready for the last performance...

They all did great, and the shows were well-received.  Daddy took us all to DQ for treats afterward!

Church Camp for Annah

Annah has been so excited for church camp since she went last year and loved it so much!  And, she was over-the-top excited that her BFF Ashley got to go with her this year.  

Here they are when we first arrived, on their way to check-in.

We (Caeden, Sylvia, and Ashley's parents and I) went up for the closing worship service this morning.  It was great to see all the kids praising the Lord together!

the girls by their bunks

I hope the memories of camp will stick with Annah throughout her life!

Sparklers!

We didn't make it to any major fireworks displays this 4th of July holiday, but Travis and Scott took the time to help the kids do some Pop-Its and sparklers! 

The kids had a blast!  They danced around and squealed and giggled and were so adorable as they enjoyed their sparklers!!

Lopshires at the park

We were so glad to be able to get together with Grandpa & Grandma Lopshire and Jeremy's brother's family too!  We hadn't seen Grandpa & Grandma since Christmastime!

Sylvia had a nice long snuggle and chat with Grandma.

We met at an awesome park.  

The kids loved this playground, because there was so much to do and climb on there!

I didn't realize Sylvia was strong enough to do this, until she zipped right across!

We celebrated Andrew's 3rd birthday!  He was so adorable singing Happy Birthday to himself! 

Andrew shared his Thomas the Tank Engine and Toy Story cupcakes with all the kids. They ate them right up, and got colored lips!

Wilson...

Sylvia...

Simon...

Andrew...

Caeden...

Anthony

Jeremy started jumping on this bridge while the boys were sitting on it, and making them bounce.  Then Eric got on and they started bouncing from both directions.  Soon, everyone was trying not to fall off!  The boys did fall off, and then Eric and Jeremy were jumping as high and as hard as they could trying to bounce each other off!  It was funny to watch!

We sure missed Charlie, who was at his other grandparents' house.  But, we got all the rest of the grandkids with Grandpa & Grandma for a picture...

We made a break for it as soon as all the skeeters started swarming us, but we had a great time!