summer ballet comes to an end…

Psalm 149:3

“Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.”

sauced!

Sleep has not been abundant and very good as of late. Leah's been teething. We were up early this morning, all saying goodbye to Daddy pre 6 am. We are currently getting packed up to head out for a road trip to the Grand Canyon and a week that hopefully includes a little relaxing ( hey a girl can dream, right?) So this morning as I opened the fridge to toss or freeze what we won't eat today... I saw about 25 pound of tomatoes. Our tomatoes. Home grown. Uggggg. I can't just toss them. We worked for those! Tomatoes don't freeze very well. Hmmmmm.....I guess getting up before the sun will work in my favor. It only takes about 5 hours to make spaghetti sauce... What the hay! Why not? And I was done before noon. Now back to packing...

pieces of the everyday…

I’ve been told… “Summer is almost over.” Kinda sad. But we are eeking out every last little bit of fun we can.

Time with cousins…. always a favorite!

And fun always leads to a tired little boy and peaceful car rides home.

Summer heat doesn’t really make for a mommy who wants to cook. Sometimes Panera is needed, appreciated and enjoyed. The girls love bread bowls with broccoli, cheese soup…. and Micah? He’s a cream cheese kinda guy.No bagel…just cream cheese.

This says enough….

My little helper. Actually my big helper.

Fun things in the middle of the regular routine.

Park play dates with people we love just make for a great way to spend a summer day.

Meeting our favorite Melvin ladies for breakfast is always a treat. Micah’s new alligator from his cousin has been quite a few places with us this week.

And this is to show a little ingenuity on my part.

The problem? Micah was CONTINUALLY opening the fridge and pulling out everything! I was frustrated.

Then I walked by a purse of mine hanging on a door knob and DING!!!! The light bulb went off! The strap is now a refrigerator lock! So far it’s working!

Brilliant! …. until he figures it out!

pictures of the sister… coming attraction…

had so much fun with my sister and brother-in-law. They are pretty awesome people and are going to be INCREDIBLE parents!

CAN’T WAIT!!!!

saturday...

As it should be...

pictures of the sister... "bun in the oven"

Took some pictures of my sister, her hubby and baby bean this afternoon. Getting so excited for our nephew's arrival in November. Here's a little preview of our "shoot"... Exciting times ahead!

patience...

...this is how I'm learning it....

pieces of the everyday…

When I taught preschool we would make what we called… “Fruit of the Spirit Mix.” Basically we took all the little bits of leftover snacks from the week and threw them all together in one big bucket. The mix was never the same… sometimes it was down right “interesting” but the thing that was always the same was that we always called it “Fruit of the Spirit Mix.” So the other day the girls and I made some of our own FOTSM… with a little granola, peanuts, m&m’s, raisins, almonds, dried blueberries and lots of giggles and love.

Happy girl… got new jammies when Mommy scored these at Target for $3.28. Happiness all around.

I love listening to Rebekah read aloud.

Ok… so this is a glimpse into my quirkiness. We have had this “magnet wall” (that’s what we call it) for probably 3 years now. All the kids art work and everything worth displaying goes on it. I have had in mind to put some sort of wording over the top of it since we put it up but just haven’t. While at Michael’s I found these "tin” letters (don’t look too close, they are plastic) in the dollar bin. I started looking through and found the “U” and the “Y” and liked the colors and look of those. When looking through the rest of the options I wasn’t that impressed (most of the other letters were pretty cheesy looking) but became determined to make the “U” and “Y” work. So after literally laying letters out on the Michael’s floor, arranging and rearranging words all with “U” and “Y” … “ Buy” No. “GUY” No. "lucky” No. “FUNNY” …. hmmm…. yes! It works. We are… funny, that is. So that’s how our “Funny Wall” was born. See? quirky.

I won’t deny it. I like a good foot rub. And my girls are actually often ones to offer a massage every now and then. I think it’s because they like drawing in the lotion. But I don’t mind. Still feels mighty nice.

Just more little pieces of the everyday.