Welcome to our World

 Yet another year has come and gone -- K is 8 years old now!  Since getting a guinea pig as an early birthday present including the promise that I didn't have to throw her a birthday party this year, we didn't have one of those, but there was still plenty to be happy about for this girl.  We took her to Water World for the first time and rode rides like Lost River at the Pharaoh's and Voyage to the Center of the Earth.  She loved the wave pools, especially Thunder Bay.  I teased we never had to visit the ocean again.  But at the end of the day, it was the little Monkey Business ride and the Silly Shores lazy river that made her day.  K told us we could just take her to the local rec center for the next birthday.  What a thing to hear after spending all that money on expensive tickets and overpriced food.  lol.  Lesson learned.  We went straight from Water World to Daddy's softball game and it was so fun to see yet another win...

I have 3 little buckaroos.  K, D, and M attended a horse riding camp and they had a blast!  All of them love horses now and N was simply happy to take a look at them and pose on the hay bales for me when we dropped them off.  They learned about horse care and grooming and safety and riding.  They even mucked the stables!  They came home hot and tired.  I usually recommended a movie and snack in the nice cool basement to recover and then all was well again.

In the middle of summer, I sneak a photo of my middle children singing in the front of the primary room...  M warms my heart by playing with one of the dolls my grandmother made me...  K creates fantastic works of art...  D plays soccer with all his heart...  we take joyful trips to the local nursery...  build lots forts...  and Lego sets...  are happy to see each other again after our activities...  clean the mini van...  do yoga...  hang out with Lisa (who made us curtains for our new play room)...  enjoy going to Daddy's softball games...  and playing with the neighbors...  We attend Rhythm on the River...  reach for the sky...  run around like we just don't care...  and somehow still have time to explore nature with friends from school.

Last summer we enjoyed the WOW museum so much we bought a membership... and never went back... until the day before it expired.  Whoops.  We did have a ton of fun, though.  D loved running around with other little boys, so you won't find many pictures of him below.  The last picture will prove we had a wonderful time!

We've been having a lot of fun this summer and the following pictures tell some stories from before the 4th of July I neglected to place in the blog. The girls figured out how to fit all 4 children on the swing set and N and K continued their swimming lessons. D & M took gymnastics at the rec center as K and N and I watched them live on tv.  We met friends at the local splash pad and had a wonderful time.  There are certain people in my life like Marie and Tanya and Suzanne and Siri that I have known for years and my heart is just so happy to see them no matter how infrequently that is.  M took a ballet/tap class this summer.  She hated wearing a black leotard and pink tights every week but loved the intro to tap.  D lucked out because he had a friend from kindergarten who had to wait around for his little sister too so they would play together every week at the class.  I am a horrible mother because I want my oldest to gain confidence...