Day One...

So here they are, all ready to go for a wonderful new year of learning!! It's actually just the first day for the girls- Curtis starts the new year at Jr. High at the end of August, so the "Summer of Curtis" continues...
Little Wall-E here gets to keep on having good times at home with mom reading books, doing puzzles, and visiting Super-Why on the computer and singing all about it, it's actually good times for all...
The girls have switched backpacks with each other for a change of pace (Kendell used her own money to buy a new one and it was a very big deal, still is). They are all happy with their new classes and teachers so far, the biggest drama out of Day 1 was the new 5th grade teacher who set her alarm for 6 pm instead of 6 am and was an hour and a half late on her first day-oops...

Who will help me make banana bread?

This is what Cael and mom do while the girls are at school-make banana bread. Cael quote, "I like to stir, mom!" Such a helper...

I'm still learning...

Here is Henny Penny sharing some banana bread and a sweet high-5 with Uncle Jens...
(*disclaimer-I cannot get another photo on this post, so I'll try another post...*)

The Energizer Bunny of Temporary Face Tatoos...

This is smiley Miss Kylie with her cute friend, Alex. Kylie has been super smiley because of the lovely and sparkly hibiscus tatoo that she got at Cousin Aspen's fun and girly birthday bash 8 days ago!! If long-term usage is a quality you are seeking in your temporary face art, this flower may be the one for you...

More Summer Loves...

We totally L-O-V-E swimming, especially with fun friends, and we love to take turns with the pink goggles...

We love getting together with our cute birthday cousin, Aspen, and eating cupcakes and having fun...

The mom of the crew completely L-O-V-E-S "outside" haircuts, with the accompanying "outside" haircut clean-up methods that the dad of the crew comes up with...

Who doesn't love some serious tennis?? Kylie absolutely has the proper form down and Morgan just hopes to get her hands on a racquet...

We love our super buddy, Breaunna, in the summer and all throughout the entire year...

Brotherly piggyback rides from the dutiful big bro, Curtis, for the (still)Wall-E shirt-wearing little guy, Cael, are always a hit...

Summer Loves...

We love trying new recipes, like these carmel corn chocolate drizzle brownies, compliments of our friend, Jenny F. ! Kendell and Cael are totally psyched (perhaps they just want to sample those delectable bananas behind them?)...

We love summer outings to Gardner Village, especially when there are free fudge samples and plenty of taffy involved (not free), also ducks that sometimes appreciate the stale hot dog buns we may bring to share...

There are many other things about summer that we love and would love to share if I could figure out how to upload more than 2 photos...

Thankful...

So this morning started out regular enough-I got up to run and had my tunes adjusted where I wanted them. It was nice outside, about 80 degrees, and there were plenty of people out and about on bikes, on foot, etc. There is a wide bike lane on my road of choice and since there were people already on the sidewalk, I opted for the bike lane. I was running fine (well, okay, but it's always super fine when I'm done...) and had passed the people going the other way and I just had a fleeting thought that I should get up on the sidewalk, so I did. About 1 minute later, a work truck with lots of construction supplies on board came cruising down the road with a 12'-14' 2x4 that had come loose from one of the two side loops it was supposed to be connected to, so basically the truck was going about 45 mph dragging a very large perpendicular pole at an angle in his lane and completely through the bike lane! I was running east and the truck came up from behind me going east and I don't think the driver had any idea that the board had come loose until it scraped up against the curb and shattered/splintered completely in half (well, more like 1/3, 2/3)! It was freaky to see and even freakier to know that I had just been in that bike lane a minute earlier. I really like having legs that work and I think that having those legs swept from behind by a 2x4 would've been not so great. I am so thankful for sidewalks and little (and big) promptings...

A Boy and His Shirt

This is Cael. He is 3 and has found what makes the world go around: it is his greatest possession and it may be the most important thing in our home right now-it is his $4.97 Wall-E t-shirt from Walmart. He wears it all day, wants to sleep in it at night, he has even worn it to church for the past 2 weeks (under an "approved" Sunday shirt).It is a major crisis when this beloved item makes it into the washer (which I had to sneakily do while he was in the tub) and then it can only be "air-dryed" after I stretch it as far as it will go (this was the biggest size we could find). The "Why-Wee" shirt (sorry about all the ""'s) has become so vital here, it makes me feel the slightest bit guilty about an incident years ago... My very nice little brother, Allen, had a beloved shirt of his very own, a forest green Ewok underoo's t-shirt. I could not stand to see him wear that thing for another day and so when I finally saw that shirt on the floor, I took it and ran! I ran and then I hid it from him, hid it totally good in a place he would never look--his dresser (so clever). Remarkably, he never actually found it (sorry, Al), but I did come clean and let him have his shirt back and I just had to learn to live with it. I guess when a shirt is that good, it just has to be worn, and worn well...

The Start of Something New

Ok, so I keep saying that I will actually start a blog, and drumroll please... today is actually the day!! I do enjoy checking out other peoples' blogs and I have occasionally felt guilty for not bringing anything into the mix, but that is to be no more...