Skate Kate

Katie's new love is skating. She asks everyday if we can go to the rink. She loved helping our neighbors Jake, who is 7, and Abbey, who is 5, skate for the first time. She is quite a good teacher considering she has only been a couple times herself. Thanks to Uncle Cory and Auntie Steph for teaching Kate to be comfortable on the ice, you got her hooked!

The Next American Idol

Talented? Not really. Adorable? You bet. And as far as Hollywood is concerned that's all that matters.

Iron Will

We spent the day at the ice rink yesterday having fun slipping, falling and learning to skate with our neighbors. At first Will was discouraged and frustrated. During a quick snack break, he declares "I know what I need to do to learn to skate. I need to try harder!"  And he did.

Uncle Cory and Auntie Stephanie would be so proud!

The Face of Fever

I hate it when my kids are sick. I really do. It breaks my heart. Especially when a fever sneaks in and steals away all their energy and smiles. The only good thing that comes out of a fever (other than a virus they fight off) is pictures. Call me cruel, but when my kids are down and out with a fever I get out the camera. A picture of what they look like with out the 'cheese' smile plastered on their face is worth every 'I don't feel good' whine. Well almost worth it.

So sorry you are feeling bad little one. Don't mind me I'm just going to snap a few pictures.

(And yes her fever was hot enough to turn her face pink and lips red.)

 Notice those eyes. That mixture of brown and green innocense? They are the EXACT same color as Jon's. She is the only one who has those earthy eyes. I love them. Had I known I would have named her Hazel.  

See she wasn't THAT bad off, she smiled as she saw the moon through the window. She always gets excited when she spots the moon in the day time sky. I'm sure the fact she 'saw' it turn blue, red, yellow and green had nothing to do with her high fever. I gave her some Motrin after that anyway, just in case. :)

Seriously.

So in the past 3 months ...

 Will turned FIVE. (Pictured here with cousin Logan)

 And here with his cake made by yours truly, thank you very much.

Camryn got bit by the fashion bug.

 I have a secret admirer.

 Katie got all her hair cut off and is sporting a super cute (and much easier to brush) blond bob.

 We went to the beach. Strep throat and all.

 Ben mastered the art of sandcastle building with the perfect combination of sand and water.

 My kids have grow even taller and skinnier. And a little more ornery.

 Camryn started her first year of preschool.

 My hair keeps getting shorter. And I now drive sideways ? Good thing I always wear my seat belt!

My brother Jesse got married in Laguna Beach. Coinciding with myself and Jon falling in love with Southern California.

And that's about it. Well except for work, homeschooling, music lessons, art class, Spanish, PE, Faith Formation, Kindermusik, creative writing and sports. Oh yeah, and somewhere around here there is a ton of laundry that needs to be done and an entire house that needs to be cleaned. I better run ...

Cucumbers and Cam

This is the largest single cucumber plant ever. Well, ok, maybe not. But it is large. Very large. And is taking over the house and yard. It's a beautiful, healthy, strong plant. And yes, that's only one cucumber plant. Climbing up the screen porch to the deck off the office. It's really quite pretty don't ya think? And guess how many cucumber we've gotten from this beautiful bounty?  Three. Three scrawny little cucumbers. I guess that's what they mean when they say looks aren't everything. Geez!

And here's Camryn reading a bedtime story to me. It makes up for a huge, healthy non-producing cucumber plant.

She's so darn cute, if I may say so myself. And you if can't understand her, don't worry, no one else can either. We call it Cam-speak. And much like her big sister it looks like she's on her way to speech therapy once she turns four, but for now we are enjoying her way of talking ... and calling herself  "Namryn".

Sheer Will

Will decided he wanted to ride his bike without training wheels today. So he did. In typical Will fashion he just picked up his bike and started riding. We took him to the park a couple times this spring to practice (where it's nice and grassy and makes for a softer landing) and he always did fairly well, but never wanted to try it 'off the grass'.  Enter our hot, humid, don't want to leave the house, summer weather and the bikes get put away until October when we can venture outside again without melting. Today was an exception, it was a nice and cool 87 degrees, time to go outside to do something other than submerge ourselves in water. Out come the bikes! And Will says he wants to ride without training wheels. Cool, but first we (as in Jon and myself) NEED to clean out the car. We were seriously in some form of health violation driving the kids around in that hazmat vehicle. So Will, sorry buddy, you will have to wait a little bit. We'll go to the park when we are done. Will, in pure Will fashion, decides he's not going to wait, he's just going to do it himself. And he does.

And that's how Will operates. He has more determination and focus than I know what to do with. But it does come in handy at times, like you know, when you need to disinfect your motor vehicle. Way to go Will. I am so proud of you. Surprised, no. But still proud.