Band Camp

Band camp is quite hot the last week of July!  Sometimes they get to cool down a bit.  See if you can find Nathan!  (These are from facebook- not my pictures)

Girl's weekend

Emma and I had a night away to focus on some girl time.  

It was all about the food! 

And the comfy bed!

We talked, read, swam (we had the pool to ourselves), ate, and shopped.  It was so nice!

And we came home with best friend bracelets!

The boys had plenty of fun with Dad while we were gone!

That face

Transformation Thursday

Our new home will be a work in progress for some time I am sure, but we are happy to have finished painting one main room.  Wall decor and new furniture will happen at some point later on.

The Living Room

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

KitKat's history

We took this little sweetie to get spayed last week.  When I took her in, the lady at the desk was so happy to see her-- this was the lady who fostered KitKat when she was teeny tiny.  She told us that KitKat was the runt of the litter and at one point she was so lethargic they feared she was dying.  They actually took her to a different Mommy cat who nursed her and KitKat began to thrive.  She was just too small to compete with the bigger kittens in her litter.   So, they were thrilled to see how well she is doing now!

 She seemed to handle her little surgery just fine and was happy to come home.  She did however remove her own stitch on day 4 (it was supposed to be there for 7-10 days).  I can't blame her though-- those things are itchy!

We also found out that her birthday is April 15.

Fur baby kisses

Mr. Responsible

Samuel has shown us a whole new side of him when it comes to taking care of pets!  He has begged to take Gracie out and lately I have been letting him.  He does a great job!

 He loves to spend time with her and doesn't mind the jobs that are involved in taking care of her.

What I love the most is listening to him talk to her.  He has the sweetest, most kind voice...

We have noticed this sense of responsibility and extra sweetness with KitKat as well.  He is so tender with her and very protective.

 Samuel is also first on my list of kids to clean out the litter box-- he loves this job!  And he is a good inspector to see if it needs to be taken care of!

More Gracie

These two are buds

The funniest picture of her so far:

 Nighty nighty

Dance Camp-- year 5!

One of Emma's favorite weeks of the year is the week of Dance Camp!  She would no longer have this opportunity if her dance instructor hadn't added a second camp-- one for older kids!  

A new friend, Olivia

One handed at the barre

 They got to dance with a ball this year

 Her old friend Lilly joined her for camp

 Ms. Patti and Emma

Constant

A glimpse into what it's like to be Lucas's Mom:

While I was doing yard work this afternoon for about 2 hours, the kids were mostly outside too, but spent a little time in the house. When I was finished, I went up to the kids' bathroom with Lucas who had fallen and busted open a "boo-boo" he got when he face-planted (and knee and elbow planted) the other day while running down hill. In the bathroom I see toothpaste all over the counter and in the sink. As I cleaned it up I told him he would lose his allowance to pay for the toothpaste he wasted. (The same thing happened yesterday with liquid soap which he poured out and filled with water). While we are discussing this I realize he is walking around in socks that are sopping wet- why?- I didn't ask. I tell him to take them off immediately and put them in the washer... "The one with the open lid". A little while later I go to the laundry room and see that the dryer is on. Strange since the load in it has been dry for about a day. Also, the small trash can has been turned upside down in a laundry basket for the second time today. I call Lucas in and discuss these things... find out his wet, dirty socks are in the dryer (this too has happened before with something even more disgusting- I'll spare you the details).

Now, this was only about 1/2 hour out of the whole day. There are also lots of hugs, kisses, and funny conversations, but this was not an unusual day by any means.

The Wedding

For many months we have been looking forward to the wedding of our niece Rachel the very cool Nathanael.  Our four of our kids had a role in the wedding, so it was quite a big event for us!  

I didn't take pictures until the end... but eventually we will have some professional photos to share of the kids' roles...

 Mr. & Mrs.

 Jenna & Emma

 The bouncers, I mean, USHERS

 Ring bearer, Flower girl and Sign Carrier

 Father of the bride

 Mother of the bride

 The grand exit

 A couple of snapshots during picture time

The wedding party

 Sisters!

 We had a lot of fun at the reception