Celebrating Jon on Father's Day...The kids have such a good dad, and I am so grateful!
Natalie was fed up with her brother and sister one day. She fumed, "I can't take Scott right now! And I can't take Kate either!"
Kate turned to her and lectured, "Well, you have siblings, and you're in a family. It will be just you and your husband in a couple of years." ??!?!?!!!
The kids LOVED swim lessons this year! They made some good progress. Last year, Kate wouldn't put her head under and by the end of the two week session this year, she was jumping in! They were so eager to go to lessons each day and had a wonderful experience with some super sweet teachers!
Scott drives Scout crazy when he flies his drone around the room!
Awhile back, I shared a news story with the kids about a Bible that had been unscathed during a tornado even though the house around it had been blown away. Fast forward a few weeks later. There were tornadoes in the area and as an extra precaution, I took the kids to the basement. Kate asked if she could get something upstairs and returned holding her Bible on top of her head. :) Thankfully, the storms passed, and we didn't need any news worthy miracles that night.
Scout sat like this at the top of the stairs during our tornado precautions that night- poor girl!
Fun with Faithful Friends...
Fun with Silly Siblings...
And Fun with Tortured Turtles...
The kids and I got into watching Jeopardy awhile back when the popular contestant, James, was on a winning streak. Prior to that, the kids hadn't watched much regular television with commercials. They were like little sponges and on commercials that I would easily tune out, they were memorizing and glued to the TV.
One night, I was in the other room and Kate called enthusiastically, "Mom! You should come see all these good commercials."
After a short time of watching, they started quoting them...like ALL THE TIME! We'd be driving down the road, and they would see a "SAIA" truck. (Never knew what a SAIA truck was until the kids started pointing them out.) Then, they would all start saying, "We're driving business! We're hauling the goods!"
Or..."LOOK! It's a Williams Comfort Air Truck!..."I will do my best to find a solution..."
Or when we pull into Culver's- the kids in unison..."Slow churning at the right temperature is the key to perfect custard!"
Even Kate exclaimed one day in carpool as she pointed to the vehicle infront of us, "MOM! Look! THEY SWITCHED TO CHEVY!"
Jon and I have learned so many slogans and jingles in the last month, and can't help ourselves but looking for SAIA trucks now too. I told Jon that we need them to put some Bible verses on commercials for quick memorization. WOW!
We took our entire zoo to the vet! Talk about family fun!:) The young veterinarian was trying to be oh-so-professional. He looked over our cats thoroughly and said they seem to be on the..."fluffy" side. He was dancing around with his words, but was trying to politely tell us something we already knew. We have FAT CATS! (It's okay...you can say it.) We left with some tips to help them keep their weight down. So far, they've had about as much success with that as I have had this summer! But we will persevere- lest anyone straight up calls us fat or fluffy.
More to come!
Natalie is my most faithful blog reader...so this one's for her!:) Sometimes I will catch her up early in the morning reading past blog entries- she let's me know which phrases I use too often and wants to start her own blog soon. She loves to write and create stories, so I am sure she would enjoy it.
Natalie recently celebrated her 9th birthday. Nine words to describe Natalie would be...sweet, smart, driven, a peacemaker, mature, thoughtful, conscientious, artistic, and joyful. I love to watch her interact with her siblings- she loves to be the leader but tries to make it fun so everyone stays involved. She puts a lot of extra pressure on herself to excel at whatever she tries. She LOVES to sing and make up dances. It's been fun sharing some of my old favorite songs with her this past year and having her sing along with me. Another Point of Grace fan- alright!! One of these days, we're going to win Jon over too!:) Natalie got the "Go-Getter" award for her 3rd grade class, and this certainly describes her...and always has. We're excited to see what the Lord has in store for her! Happy (Belated) Birthday, Natalie!
Farewell Fourth!
That's the end of Third!
Knocked Out Kindergarten!
And if one child wants their end of the year picture taken with the dog, then each child needs their end of the year picture taken with the dog...
Scott watched me go ahead and print off "First" and "Last" day pages through 12th grade and file them away. He groaned, "Are you really going to make me do this when I'm in high school?"
You betcha! Smile, Buddy!:)
May was a whirlwind of final-end of the school year projects, programs, and parties! Here are some of the highlights...
Kite day! Our kite didn't get too high, but it sure made for a cute picture!:)
Kindergarten Friends and Luau Day...
Natalie worked hard on her Laura Ingalls Wilder project. She amazed us at how fast she memorized her long speech.
She even got to do the presentation for Kate's class, too- which both girls were extra excited about!
Scott's Wax Museum Project...Honest Abe standing tall...
He repeated his minute speech over and over for a full hour!
Thankfully, Natalie & Kate were able to visit him during his presentation time, as well.
And finally- a picture with their teachers to remember a great year...
My goal is to make at least one blog post a month, and I'm not sure how it got to be the 31st so quickly. Here's a catch up post from April.
We celebrated Easter with Grandpa & Grandma. The cousins were greatly missed- especially during the traditional egg hunt. :( We are looking forward to seeing them soon, however!
The kids also had a fun Easter egg hunt at Grammy's and at school, so they made out well! Any attempt at dieting also slipped away right around Easter time. The kids all had secret stashes of candy- and their hiding spots were terrible. Way too easy for this mama to stumble upon when they were at school! #confessionsofaSAHM
Lest you think we are pagans and only hunt eggs on Easter, here's a picture from ONE of the kids' Easter services. I went to several. I wish I could post video clips on here because Kate karate chopping her way out of the tomb as she played the role of Jesus was priceless. It wasn't supposed to be funny, but I cannot watch it without laughing. "Up From the Grave He Arose" was being played (Scott) and sung (Natalie) in the background.
April was also the month that this contraption emerged. They took many trips up and down the driveway. The "prized" position was riding in the dog crate. (Unfortunately, this game ends in fights or an injury EVERYTIME! Time for a new idea, Scott.)
If we ask Scout if she wants to be brushed, she jumps up on the table (since her brush is stored in a basket on the table). It's become a favorite activity for her! Natalie is amazed at how much hair this dog sheds!
Our refrigerator needed replaced in April. (Stay away from Samsung!) It stunk up our kitchen for about a week, and Kate resorted to this! :)
Scott had a field trip to the Motor Speedway! It rained a lot that day and our tour got cut short, so I am secretly hoping that I get chosen as a chaperone again next year with Natalie so that I can get a better look at the track.
Finally, a couple of Kate-isms...
Jon was telling the kids a story and Kate lit up and said, "Oh yeah!!! I remember that perfectly! ...Was I alive?"
And another day, Scott was frustrated when the girls stopped in the middle of playing a game with him. He said, "How come they change their mind so quickly?"
Kate confidently quipped, "That's just how girls are made. We change our minds quickly."
