Just for the record....I didn't order the rain....

Just for the record, I did not invite the rain!

The break from the heat has been nice. I have enjoyed having my bedroom window open and breathing in that fresh rain smell. Ah the memories of growing up and walking home from school in the rain. Although I do enjoy a thunder and lightning storm from time to time, I am greatful I don't live under the grey, cloudy skies of Western Washington. I love the bright, cheery sunshine we enjoy here in Idaho so much!

Sisters that care are sisters that share....?

It is common practice at our house when pants get holes in the knees that I turn those pants into shorts.

So, Katie brings me a pair of pants and asks that I turn them into shorts since both knees had holes in them. I told Katie to put them by the sewing machine and I do it.

The next day Kristina walks by my pile at my sewing machine and sees these very same pants and asks why they were in my mending pile?

It turns out that Katie was asking me to turn her Kristina's pants into shorts!!!!! She didn't have enough of her own! Little did Kristina know that her sister was sharing for her!

Bribery is great....

It's amazing what you can get done when a child wants something from you.....

Nice job Katie and Emily! The floor looks great!

Oh, Logan!

We make one trek to Roaring Springs each Summer. The kids participate in the reading program to earn a free pass to Roaring Springs. If the child doesn't read, they don't go. Pretty simple...

The reading for the passes is in addition to what their teacher requires. Last year Logan did all of his reading for the free pass but did NOT complete the class room required reading. So last year Logan did NOT get to go. It was a bummer for him, but it was a natural consequence.

This year Logan did get all reading done for both his teacher and the free pass. However, he forgot to put on sunblock!!!! We stayed at the park the entire day, opening to closing! As you can see from the photo, he got severely burned. He could not wear a shirt for a week. He was miserable. He had one huge blister, the one you see in the photo, and some smaller ones too. That big one got bigger than what you see too.

I think this summer will stick in his memory for quite a while. I wonder if he will read for a pass next year?

What is on your head?

Jonny had to be at the church at 6am last Saturday. Steve set his alarm for the wrong time and we got up late. Steve ran downstairs to see if we could still get Jonny over to the church. We did not find Jonny but we found this note on my computer. I later told Jonny that was the best note I could ever receive and I LOVED it! I was proud of him getting himself up and off to an early morning activity!

When Jonny showed up I expected him to be really crabby from getting up so early and hiking in the heat. He came bounding through the front door with a diaper on his head! It was a little confusing at first. He and his buddy had found them in the back of the leader's car he rode home in. Why they put them on their heads is beyond me....teenage boys!!!

Techno-Gadget Baby...

Emily LOVES my iPOD Touch. She knows how to make a real mess very quickly. She gets the whole touch interface and scrolls the pages, deletes icons.....And now she can reach the counter tops too....nothing is safe.

Blondes have more fun???

This has NOT been Kristina's week. First, 6 stiches in the thumb after opening cans of soup. Second, a bee/wasp sting to the eye area after just walking out into the backyard.

Feeding the birds....

We drove to Bremerton, Washington yesterday and took the ferry back over to downtown Seattle. I grew up taking the ferries around the Puget Sound to go and visit grandparents. There was a period of time when the floating bridge was blown out and we had no other choice but to take a ferry to get to grandpa's house. I remember many, many occasions of sitting in the car line-up waiting for the ferry to arrive. Delays in ferry arrival was a common thing.

Riding the ferry is a fun treat for my kids! It is fun to see their excitement too. One of the traditions with Papa Jack is to feed the seagulls while on the trip across the Puget Sound. It was very windy yesterday but everyone was out feeding the birds anyway. Carson had a blast feeding the birds and even kept a count of how many times he was able to feed them. The last count that I heard was 68.

Precious moments...

Emily loves music. She will sit under the piano when I practice. When she is upset or throwing a fit we sing "If you're happy and you know it" and she will start to participate in the song even as she has tears streaming down her face.

Each night, either Steve or I will lay down with Emily and sing her songs until she is asleep. Steve and I have different sets of songs we sing. Some of our songs overlap, like Primary songs. We have always sang to her each nap and bedtime. She will snuggle into position and listen. Just last night as we lay all cuddled up and I began to sing, Emily sang along. At first I thought it was coincidence. But as I moved onto the next song she continued to sing along. I sang "I am a child of God" and she was singing along the best she could, usually finishing the last word in the phrase.

I am so glad we have taken these precious bedtime moments to sing to her and enjoy her sweet little spirit before she drifts off to sleep!

Summer fun in Washington....

We are in Washington visiting Steve's parents and here for a neice's wedding too. We have been enjoying the parks and waterfront inspite the grey and cloudy days. In fact we dodged the rain for a few minutes then hopped out of the car to play on the beach. Emily loves to play on the slides and swings and asks for them each morning when she wakes up!