Music in the Park

Jack is a bit of a lover--he's always hugging and kissing and for some reason Sara has always tolerated him intruding in her personal bubble. She doesn't love it but she lets him do it in a way she never lets the other kids. Here he is giving her a kiss.

Sara was sucking her thumb so Jack thought he would give it a try.
Now he's telling her where his daddy is tonight--I'm really not sure why he has to get so close!

The library sponsored a night of kid's music and ice cream in the park and since both Joe and Ed were working late, Paula and I took a picnic and the kids out for some fun. I only have pictures of Jack and Sara because the big kids are actually old enough to join in the fun and games and dancing with all the other big kids without any fear of them wondering off to the playground or the garbage cans, etc.

All growed up

That's what Ava said about herself the other day.

Here she is in a dressing room trying on her school uniform. And this picture with her missing tooth is almost enough to make her pregnant mama cry. While I am immensely excited about her starting kindergarten, I cannot imagine what I am going to do without my best little friend every day.

Good Company

I happened to have my camera in my purse the other day so I got this shot of Jack at the grocery store. He's looking so proud of himself because he got to sit in the back of the cart like a big boy and not in the front seat like a "yittle boy". Ava has been busy a lot lately now that she is getting so old and has her own set of friends so Jack and I have had a lot of time together alone and he's actually pretty good company. He's funny and conversational and if he wasn't so darn heavy to tote around he'd be the perfect little shopping buddy.

My baby girl....

is growing up! See the gap there? Her first little baby tooth is now hiding in her pillow and while she was surprised and a little freaked out when it happened, I think she is handling it better than her mama.

Seriously...

He's actually as sweet as he looks. He's always kissing and hugging and asking for cuddles. There are times when he can be a naughty bugger but who wouldn't love this face!

All tuckered out

Ava and I sent Jack off with Grandma so we could enjoy a day of girl stuff. We went shopping, out for lunch, and to the summer kids movie (which for some reason starts at 1:30...naptime! so we never get to go with Jack). Ava actually fell asleep in the car on the way home and then stayed asleep all the way to bed and through the rest of the afternoon. Being a girl is hard work!

Gross.

It's one thing when you have gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. It is a whole 'nother ballgame when it is stuck to the top of your shoe and you have been walking around on it for hours without knowing.

Ahhh, Summer

The kids headed outside to play and this is where I found them a little later.

Congratulations Charlie and Margaret!

Looking pretty good and happy to be out of the car after an hour and a half drive.

The happy couple!

The kids loved the reception. Sparkly pink punch and huge plates of chicken fingers and fries! (There was actually wine and yummy food for the adults too!)

Ava's baby finally fell asleep under the napkin there.
My boys.

Arghh I forgot my camera!

I've mentioned before that one of our local libraries has the greatest kids reading groups but in the summer they do especially fun stuff and I keep forgetting to bring my camera! A couple weeks ago, I took Ava, Madison, and Kayte to see Frog and Toad for reading time in the park. The librarian had told the kids that Frog and Toad would be reading to them and bringing bugs they could eat and Ava looked forward to it all week. The looks on their faces were priceless when Frog and Toad arrived and they saw they were huge grown-up size things and it was clear all three were trying to figure out if they were real. Then last week, the local firefighters came to read and after reading, they got all dressed in their actual fire gear and handed out fire hats and fire badges. There has been much discussion at out house since then regarding fire escapes and safety rules!

Places to go...

Jack got on his shoes and hat this morning and said "Bye Mama" and I said, "where you going buddy?" And he said, "to Heaven."

Oh, of course.

Busy Weekend

The boys...finally old enough to be buds.

Lovely version of ballet poses.

Jack's digging for a lost chip.

S'mores! (of course!)

This was a crazy weekend! We started with the best three-year old birthday party ever (seriously, a blow-up bouncy castle for the kids and ribs for the grown-ups!), then we spent Saturday morning moving kids rooms (more on that later) and then we headed out for camping. P&J and kids joined for the fun part but left before the overnight part and S&S were at a work party so we might have to go again!

Jack is finally old enough to really appreciate camping...and staying up until it is actually dark! After spending a cozy night in the camper, we headed home for showers and naps and then headed back to the campground to have dinner and more s'mores with some friends who were camping out the next night (I gotta say it was nice to go home that night and sleep in my own bed!).

The naming game

Again, this is not actually our baby but I am assuming they all look pretty similar at this stage!

So we haven't yet chosen a name for our baby girl which is odd because we had both Ava and Jack's names chosen very early on--we actually picked Jack's name before we were even close to having kids. We've had another boy's name picked out for several years but for some reason choosing another girl's name is pretty tricky. We think girl names should be pretty (don't get me started about girl(?) names like Hunter or Grier...seriously, Grier!?!) and it sort of needs to go with Ava. I just found our list of possible names we made when we found out we were pregnant with Ava and while I still like many of our girl choices they don't really jump out at me anymore. (Funny side note...our second choice boys name at the time (in case we had twin boys?) was William Bennett--long before my little nephews Will and Ben came along--and I had totally forgotten that!) Anyway, we have settled on a possibility and we are both rolling it around in our minds before making it official. It's actually a slightly changed version of a name from the Anne of Green Gables books that I have liked since I was little (no, it's not Marilla!) and recently I have seen it in various British books and movies so we'll see if it sticks. Either way, I am determined to name this poor baby in time to have at least one monogrammed item in her nursery!

A daddy's work is never done...

From his "real" job to his house projects to painting pink toes.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This was my big 3-0 and we celebrated all weekend by heading to CDA for shopping, eating outside at a great pub downtown, and hanging out at the lake. Time flies....I was living at this same house fifteen years ago when Ed sent me roses for my fifteenth birthday and we had never even talked yet!

Ed threw me a big birthday party (he did the invites and everything!) and we had a great time! Here's some of the girls making gin and tonics. (this is the only picture I have that shows his hard work on the patio--I'll try to post a better one later)

Emma took the kids to McDonalds and the park during the party and then brought them home for Jack's bedtime and Ava, who wasn't supposed to come outside with the grownups, stood at the door watching the party so patiently that her daddy let her join us for strawberry shortcake before heading off to bed.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th!

Ed spent most of the day working on the patio and Ava was a super trooper--she handed him bricks one after another while Jack supervised. He finished by the afternoon and we had a few minutes to sit out and enjoy it before heading to P & J's for a BBQ.

Cuddles.

Joe was in charge of the fireworks show and while the big kids loved them, you can see that Ben was not a fan.

After the BBQ, we took the kids over to the BIG fireworks show. The show doesn't start till about 10:30 but they have a great band playing in the park and we sat and listened to them for awhile which the kids really liked and then we checked out the firetrucks which was the best part of the day for Jack and then we settled in for the fireworks. Ava always picks out her favorites (generally red and pink) and this year Jack kept saying, "Jack's favorite kind, Jack's favorite kind!"

My work buddy

My work table. I lay out all the dishware and label it the night before so that it will be faster to fill platters on the job site, then I load them all in my trusty laundry baskets. This was a reception for 300 with a pretty full menu so it was a lot of hauling, packing, washing, etc. My least favorite part of the job!

Ava's work station. Note the laid out "dishes" and the transport basket ready and waiting for her to load up. Just like me but she is remarkably happier to do this part of the job than I am. Ava is my favorite work buddy--she loves when I am working and she takes her job of imitation very seriously! She also tells me on a regualr basis throughout the day what a good job I am doing and who wouldn't love that?!

The finished table: super yummy pesto rolls, veggies, fruit, chicken and pepper kabobs, antipasto, savory puffs, breads and spreads, breadsticks, and the ever-popular Cougar Gold.