My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

A few weeks ago, we headed over to a Sunday School picnic and the kids had a blast, as usual!  They heard a great message, made awesome crafts and loved hanging out with their favorite people.

And as if that wasn’t a busy enough Saturday for us, we drove from there to a town fair!  I LOVE fairs!

Jim made a beeline for the hammocks:

And the kids saw their first tractor pull:

The girls asked to take these little chicks home with us (we said no!):

One of my favorite displays were these rooms that were entirely decorated in 1950’s decor.  I spied a few things I remember seeing at my grandma’s house and in my mom’s old pictures!

And once again Jim proved me wrong when it comes to carnival games.  I said they’re rigged, Jim said it’s too fun to pass up…and then BOTH of our boys won prizes!  

What a great day!

Danny, you’re not such a little boy anymore!  You’re five years old and a Kindergartener and it makes me sad and excited at the same time!  I’m sad that I don’t get to spend all day every day with you, playing board games (you especially love Uno and checkers and Master Mind), watching you ride bikes, and having you help with my baking projects…but I’m excited for you to meet new friends and learn to read.  You are such an amazing, sweet kid.  You still love to sit in my lap and cuddle, and you prefer home over anywhere else.  You love being with your siblings, especially little Tazie, the one you run to when you’re hurt and need a hug.  Your prowess on a dirt bike is jaw-dropping, and you’re now swimming in the pool without floaties and without fear (although we haven’t gotten you to do any water sports behind the boat yet – hopefully next summer!).  You love to sit quietly and zoom cars around or fiddle with Legos, and don’t mind playing by yourself as long as there’s someone nearby.  Your speech has improved remarkably over the last year, thanks to your hard work at speech therapy, although I’m a bit sad to have lost your adorable baby “accent.”  After a rough first few days at school, you now get on the bus without blinking, and come home after a full day still energized and excited about showing me all your school papers.  I’m so proud of what a big kid you’re becoming, Danny.  I love you!!

OK, so I’m a little (a lot!) behind on my “birthday” posts for my three kiddos with summer birthdays.  But better late than never!  Here goes!  First up, Becky!

Becky, I have seen such growth in you this last year.  Not only physical (you’re so tall!), but emotionally as well – you continue to display more and more wisdom and kindness and service to others.  I’m not exaggerating when I say that you are an indispensable help with Tazie.  You are my best cleaner when I ask you to take care of a room, and you even volunteer to organize drawers for me (for a modest fee!) or write up a schedule for the afternoon, which I love!  Your artistic abilities still blow me away, especially because you always make your creations from your mind’s eye, never needing to rely on a visual image.  And because your imagination is so fantastic, your drawings are equally inventive.  You still love to read (which makes me so happy), especially fantasy books, and my favorite part of the day is sitting at night reading stories to you and your siblings while you color quietly or create free-hand Lego structures.  And even though you say you don’t love school, you plow through diligently, and I think you’re finding more joy in your days.  Your fourth grade teacher seems really enthusiastic and creative, so she should be a perfect match for you, just like your third grade teacher was AMAZING and really helped you to have a great day every day (even if you said the day was only “okay”, lol!).  I love how you are meeting every challenge head-on like an adult, but you still maintain your childlike innocence and eagerness.  I love you, Becky!!

More summer pictures!

We threw an end-of-summer/belated birthday party for the girls, and it was a blast!  They invited five friends over to swim and play, and it was just a WONDERFUL time for all of us!

We went to the bike trail a few days later and soaked up the last of the summer sun:

And speaking of sun, we saw the eclipse!  So cool!

We spent lots of time outside on bikes:

And skateboards – look who has really good balance!

The girls got to do a visit to Jim’s work, much to their delight.  They loved getting to finally see where daddy goes every day!

Of course, we did lots of swimming (and water-shooting)!

And more mask making:

We have a house full of superheroes!

Even Tazie got in on the fun (she was Lego Superman)!

Me: “Danny, you look so old with your new haircut.”

Danny: “Yeah, and with my winking!”