And there goes June...

New swimming suits to protect and play in the summer heat...

Fun with cousin...

40th birthday wish...instead of Nov. party, a June trip to the "homeland" with good friends...

including a peaceful afternoon at Elk Creek Lake...



and a fun night performing at the "oprey"!

Some Barn Sale Pics

What a fun time we have had!

Sunday Brain Dump

*It's barn sale week! For once, I am trying to remind myself to actually get pictures of this annual event that will live in our hearts and minds forever. I know why I never remember to take pictures -- a billion other details to remember -- but I'm trying to overcome that this year.

*The kids finished up their school work last week (minus a few math reviews that we don't mind at all stretching out). I would like to feel like we have this nice big summer stretching out before us (and really, we do), but the fact that all my soccer organization responsibilities are ramping up makes me feel like the start of our next school year (=soccer/football practice time) is basically a blink of an eye away. I think this is what "they" mean by the years going by quicker as you age.

*Delaney: "They dressed up and had to act like Pilgrims on Fetch, Mom." (a PBS show they watch)
Me: "Really? Do you think you would like to live as a Pilgrim?"
Delaney: "Yes, with just a little bit of electronics."

*Been thinking about this quote a lot this week, also amidst discussions in ladies Bible class about spiritual gifts and how they are used for the Body of Christ: "Brokenness: How on earth did we equate leadership with success?" We cannot continue to look to the world for a pattern on how to disciple and build up the Church. I am so encouraged by weak believers in whom the Lord is strong.

*My brother's strawberries are almost ready! I can taste them with the famous shortcake now.

Now on with the week!

Uncharted territory

One of my offspring is now 5 feet tall.

And weighs 100 pounds.

And wears a size 9 *MENS* shoe.

We announce these milestones around here like they are a normal part of life moving on. Which they are, of course, until I remember carrying said child in my body, giving birth, dressing him in cute baby clothes and the infamous swaddling blankets.

Then I hyperventilate a little.

Levi's latest LEGO creation, for Uncle Dave

The Star Wars LEGO speed skating competition.

They make our days

Leah, telling Eric about her attempts to ride the bike without training wheels...

L: ...And I kept trying to pedal like mommy said but I fell down.

E: So we need to practice and work on it together this weekend?

L: Yep (with a big smile)

E: OK. You remind me, and we'll do it Saturday.

L: (thinking) Well, sometimes I go to sleep and when I wake up I forget everything. Like, sometimes, I'll just be sleeping, and then I wake up. And then I remember, Oh! Yeah! I hate baked beans!

Mice Tales, continued

A few of you may remember the story of a continuing thread of my marriage, the story of How Mice Are Taken Care Of. You may remember how very grateful I am that my husband is perfectly willing to very promptly remove any mice from our dwelling, usually at the expense of the mouse's life, but how I also wish he might use more conventional means, like, say, a mousetrap. Instead, Whatever Is Handy is grabbed when the mouse is cornered, and that then-bloody appliance/utensil/storage container gets thrown out because I can't stand the thought of using it again.

Well, he's acheived a personal best, and I don't even get a new appliance out of it. This week, work was finally set in motion on the November-kitchen-flood-fix, beginning with a section of new cabinet bases. When the installer pulled out my oven from the wall first thing in the morning, I quickly inspected to see how much of a cleaning disaster it was. I saw something on the wall and my morning-brain just couldn't quite process it. I called Levi over. "Levi," I said. "Is that a dead mouse flattened against the kitchen wall?"

"Whoa," Levi said. "It is."

A near-petrified, perfectly flat mouse, long tail and all, stuck to the wall behind my stove. And then I remembered, sometime last year (I think?) when Eric has chased a mouse around the kitchen and when it had run on the countertop and -- you guessed it -- behind the stove he -BAM- slammed my oven back against the wall.

Well, now we know, he got it.