Outside

We had a bloom on the Joanna rose last week.

And here is a picture of what I believe is a yellow squash plant.  The thing that is so amazing about this plant is that I didn’t plant it.  It grew out of the compost!!!!

If I actually manage to accidentally grow a vegetable, it is going to totally make my day week month year.  :)

While I was outside taking pictures of plants, I took a shot of my laundry too.  I love hanging laundry outside.  I’m just getting back into the groove of it after my winter routine.  This is from last Saturday when I pretty much washed everything in one day.

I ran out of clothespins.

Monday Matt had to work, but he came home early – yay!!  I had been hankering for a snow cone, so we took everybody up to Jitters and brought them home to eat on the driveway.

The girls are pretty happy just to get a snow cone and aren’t too particular what flavor, so I pick things I think will be light colored.  :)

Joanna got pineapple; it’s yellow.

Around here, everybody has what everybody else has… or else they’ve built an immunity to it.  I can’t imagine why… ahem.

Oh, and FYI, the lemonade flavor at Jitters is CLEAR.  Everybody’s getting that one next time!!

On Tuesday we tried to go to the library in the morning, but somehow my dress (my almost new dress) ripped between my house and the parking lot, and I felt it would be inappropriate to go into the library with my… behind showing, so we came home.

My mother says it was the universe telling me to throw out the dress.  I say it was the universe telling me not to take three small children into the library.

So instead we changed into our walking shoes and walked to Sonic for lunch!

We took the double stroller, and mostly James and Natalie rode while Joanna and I walked.  Natalie and Joanna switched a bit so big sis could rest, but everybody did so well!

It helped that there was a reward built in to the exercise. 

I have trouble doing things like going outside or exercising, much less both at the same time, without some kind of incentive.  :)

We all indulged in yummy processed junk food and artificially flavored beverages before heading back home.

Joanna is so funny to make believe with.  She ran ahead of us and sat on this bench.  When we got to it, I pretended she was a little girl I didn’t know.  Joanna played along and made up a story about how her mother and father had died, (so sad!) but they said she could come sleep over with me and my children.  She asked us our names and if we had extra beds and everything.

I can’t wait until she starts writing.

Musikgarten

I was practicing my baby class songs for Musikgarten the other evening, and the children were helping me. 
{The pictures are truly awful, but they’re getting posted anyway because I like to have pictures to go along with my stories!}
At first I made James be my “baby” and the girls had their baby dolls, but then James wanted his own baby, and he ditched me.  :)

I love this next little sequence.  James has his seahorse but wants Joanna’s baby doll.

So happy!

We were singing a little song and moving the baby’s legs around.

This baby doll needs a diaper.  :)

Now we were tickling the baby – they all got such a kick out of that.  Such fun!

I definitely need to practice some more and get my groove down.  Maybe James will go along with being my toddler when I work on those lessons.  :)

Teal

I got dressed in a teal top with khaki shorts today, and for some reason it occurred to me to get everybody dressed in some matchy attire.

They were not an enthused as I was about picture time.  :)

Pardon all the pictures, but they’re so funny!  Look at James:

And then I decided to set my camera down on a TV tray and use the timer.  Oddly though, the timer is only 2 seconds!  I loooooove Natalie’s face here; she looks like I’m going to squash her.  Hee hee.

The kids thought it was hilarious when I would come fling myself on the couch and attempt to get in the picture two seconds after pushing the button.

Yay – I made it!

And again – Joanna was just so excited she couldn’t contain it!

In hindsight I should have done the “continuous shooting” option, but this was pretty fun.  :)

I haven’t cooked since Friday.

And I am deeply, deeply thankful.  :)

We ate most of our meals this weekend at my grandma’s.  Yay!!

Saturday afternoon Uncle Steve built a big fire and we cooked hot dogs and s’mores! 

James, watching the fire:

I don’t remember seeing this when I was taking the picture, but look at James in the background – he’s got a stick and is heading toward the fire.  He is soooo cute!

Yummmmmmmmm…

Big fire!

My s’more – soooooo pretty!

Joanna was helping Uncle Steve bring branches near the fire – see the dirty smudge on her face?

After church on Sunday we headed back over to my grandma’s for some more family time.  Matt and James had to go home for his nap, and the girls did some crafts!

Christiana’s mom showed us how to make felted soap.  We took this wool and wrapped it around the soap in very thin layers so it would kind of felt together and make a wrapper of sorts.

Natalie was very into the whole process.

Even Sean worked on one!

Natalie, all done:

I guess I didn’t get any pictures of Joanna working on it.  I was helping her, and then she lost interest so I finished hers up.  It’s the pink one.  Natalie’s is the dark red one.

I accidently left them at Grandma’s house, so we’ll have to stop back by and pick them up. 

Later that evening (we stayed for dinner too!) James and Natalie did some serenading on the piano.  Another of his fabulously cute fake smiles:

They are so stinkin’ cute!!

My pretty piano playing girl.

It was such a lovely weekend with family!  Today felt like kind of a let down, with everybody back to their lives.  But it’s 3:15 and Matt just got home – wahoo!!!  I’m thinking we’re going to go for snow cones.  Yummo!

Oh, the Miscellany

The week in between Mother’s day and my birthday, we had all kinds of balloons at the house at any given time.  The girls invented this game where they let the balloon go in front of the fan.  (The pictures are awful; pardon me.)

Look what James did to join the fun:  (It’s a big, heavy, bouncing ball.)

“Why didn’t this work out for me?”

This boy is so funny.  He does things he knows are cute and funny; I love him.  :)

I kind of can’t believe he already has a fake “cheese” face, but he does.

Oh I love his fishie kiss face!!!

What would I do all day without this boy to entertain me?!!