summer swing

It's nearly July and we are officially in the swing of summer things.  It takes a while.  We read and cook and watch and swim and play and create and ride and eat.  Then we all fall into bed tired, sleep until morning, and do it all over again.  Adam has found a looked-over string of lights and determinedly decorates a new space each day.  I did overhear some talk about taking the lights for a spin as a jump rope, soooooo...they might not make it to Christmas.  We dusted off the ice cream machine last week.  That stuff is crazy good and now we're all glad that I completely misjudged ingredient amounts and bought enough heavy whipping cream to make four batches rather than one.  Oops.  At least it will keep!

Seth and I made a peach pie and Paige cried when it was gone.  Burst into tears.  So Adam and I made another one a few days ago and she cried again tonight when she found out Dustin had finished it off.  Morning, noon, and night - this girl would eat pie all the time if allowed.

sweet six

Paige had her birthday last week and we had a fantastic day celebrating.  Several years ago when she first started sleeping in a big bed, we would lay with her for a few minutes.  If you know Paige, you know she likes to go, go, go.  But if you laid next to her - and got her forehead to touch yours - she would fall asleep before we could count to 50.  It was fantastic.  Whatever works, right?

She has struggled a bit with tiredness since last fall when she was in the hospital, a condition super easy to recognize with her tired eyes.  Since "summer" has begun, we've been swimming and bike riding and hiking and all manner of adventures.  And thankfully, she's sleeping more and more.  Today after we read The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter (my turn to choose), we closed our eyes.  Within a minute she wriggled over to my side, rested her forehead against mine, and was asleep by 32.  She is vibrant, thoughtful, funny, and shy.  I wouldn't want her any other way.

those may flowers

Noah has worked hard to keep my kleenex supply from running low, sweet boy.  His favorite things right now include eating popsicles, car sounds, climbing, and giant messes.  He excels at all four.  Dustin had a birthday a few weeks ago and we scored a babysitter at the last minute and had dinner out with my parents (what a treat!).  

Paige has been cutting flowers for dinner (she sets the table for us) and I envision elaborate floral arrangements in her future.  The only thing stopping her now is that the supply is limited and she'll have to wait for all her garden flowers to bloom this summer.  She refers to the flowers on our porch as "my flowers" (nevermind that they were Allison's birthday gift) and as such has taken up the job of keeping them well watered and pinched back.  I do enjoy watching her tote the water pitcher back and forth with gusto - children need to feel useful and she certainly is.

Adam has adopted this arms-folded-across-the-chest look and now puts his hands on his hips with great emphasis.  He picked both up from Dustin (I think) and it's hard to take him seriously at times even though his drama is very real.  Seth has been building up a storm and is [back] on a Star Wars kick.  I have no chance at remembered any of the ship/cruiser/blaster/whatever names - my favorite part of SW is the Ewoks.  He builds whatever he sees in his head these days and I've nearly convinced him that he'll never need another Lego set.  Nearly.  He'll probably change his mind when his birthday is in sight, but it's worth a try, right?

S&P are so close to summer break and we are all ready.

easter hike

I missed our CO church this Easter.  We like the church we're at, I just...missed Calvary Belmar.  I so much love the people there.

It was a beautiful day nonetheless.  Everyone is healthy!  We are so thankful that everyone is healthy.  I set up the tripod in the front yard after church and simultaneously claimed we needed a family photo and assured Dustin that it would not take a lot of time (tricky claims to make, my friends).  I set the timer and we took 2 pics and called it good.  Noah is looking off at a neighbor but everyone else cooperated nicely.

Late in the afternoon I took the Big 3 hiking for a little while.  It was a glorious day - a perfect day to praise a risen Savior.  They romped and ran and galloped and giggled.  Adam gave me a small clutch of flowers, Paige ran circles around the rest of us, and Seth pointed out that Star Wars would be much improved if set in our forest.  We talked about Spring and hopes and plans.  And water spiders - we talked about those quite a bit.  Then we came home and grilled burgers and ate lots of tiny strawberry shortcakes.  It was just right, all that family time on Easter.

tiny feet make my heart sing

This is not actually about tiny feet, other than Noah has the sweetest little toes and I want to take pictures of them all day long.  And when he is sleeping!  Oh my stars.  He is so lovely.

We have a "game" closet that is just shelves full of boxes, puzzles, games - kid stuff.  If you remember The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room, and also dreamed of a bedroom organized like theirs (as I did), this is the closet for you.

Anyway, I ran out of shoebox sized containers and so the tools have always been in with the doctor kit.  This can and has produced several interesting pieces of "medical" equipment that include screwdriver + otoscope (for long ears and noses, of course), thermometers held with pliers (germs, hello), while the toy hammer that makes boink and bang sounds is excellent for testing reflexes since you can hear the results.  Yeah, I realize that doesn't make sense.

It was finally quiet enough last week during a morning check up that Adam figured out he can actually hear a heartbeat through his stethoscope, even though he doesn't understand what he's hearing - "It goes really fast!" he says of Noah's and he is convinced Dustin's "thumps" are much too slow "Yours sounds tired, Daddy.  Lay on the couch and I will listen to your tummy instead!"  He now walks around the house talking to himself very quietly through the stethoscope.

Paige tends towards trauma rather than the typical well check (no surprise there) and lately her little brothers have been wrapped into Ace bandages and wrist braces often.  Seth has a bent towards surgery and wants to use all the construction tools - saw! pliers! drill!