pure joy

We were at the park the other day and I was taking pictures of all the kids having fun. I just love this one and had to post it...it's pure joy! I wish we as adults could capture that in our lives more. I'm so grateful for my kids and all they teach me about life. You would think it would be the other way around.

(Erin....I usually post a few at a time. Keep reading.)

blessings

Matt was giving the girls their annual pre-school blessings last night. He had finished with Glory and Brooklyn and all of a sudden Simeon jumps up into the chair and immediately folded his arms, bowed his head and closed his eyes. (He never does that for regular prayers) It was the cutest thing ever! So he got his blessing and repeated everything Matt said. Also, the other day, I was in the family room and I heard Simeon in this sweet, soft voice say, "Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ loves you.....Yeah, Jesus Christ loves you". I looked up and he was holding a picture of Christ with a little child. So cute.....I think that boy has more faith than I do! I guess that's why the scriptures say we need to be like little children.

blackberry picking

Simeon was out picking blackberries and he was just too cute, I had to get the camera....of course when I did he stopped performing. The video is kinda long and probably won't be entertaining to anyone but the ones with a soft spot for Sim.....enjoy to those who do!

wii fit

Simeon likes to play the wii too, but pretty much the only thing he can actually do is the running game. Even then, one of us shakes the remote while he runs.....so he's not actually playing, but thinks he is. The video didn't turn out as cute as I thought, but I'm sure some of you will enjoy it(namely, my wonderful mommy-in-law).

Another hot day at the water

Yesterday we went to Orting to go play in the river. We had to walk on the trail next to the river to find a good spot to play....we found cows on the way. The girls thought the baby bulls were too cute and had to take a picture with them.

Playing in the creek that joined the river. It was the perfect spot to bring the kids....mostly shallow with a few deep areas to "swim", slow moving, and trees to climb on

Simeon loved running on the trails and kept me busy running after him.

Simeon found this jungle-like trail and told me, "Find it, monkey!" He was looking for monkeys in the trees. We didn't find any, but Brooklyn found a snake later. The girls thought it was pretty cool. Simeon.....not so much. I don't think I have to worry about finding bugs and frogs and such in his pockets. Isn't that what little boys are supposed to do?

unique fashion

This is what Brooklyn wore to church last week. She got the bonnet and apron from Activity Day Girls day camp this year. The sparkly shoes were given to us and I haven't been able to pry them from the girls' hands since. She thought she looked so adorable and I love her confidence! She has a definite opinion of what is cute and she goes with it. Sometimes is works.....

roofing

We finally got the roof done! It took way longer than we expected (like 4 days) and it was way too hot (high 80's) and we spent way more than we wanted or planned, but it's done. We were really busy, what with all the roofing going on, and I only took a few pictures the first day. A ginormously huge thank you to Tom Bishop, who was there every day except the last because he was going on vacation, and he even took time off work to help us! Thank you, thank you Tom!! Thanks to Dad for giving us a bunch of shingles. Thanks to Bryan Fleming, Brian Walter, Rob Smith, Rick Smith, Corwin Hudson, and Jason Harris who also helped the other days! We couldn't have done it without you guys! And thank you to all the wives who loaned their husbands! No more leaks in the kitchen...YEAH!!

Simeon kept yelling to the girls to "GET DOWN"!

boys will be boys....

Simeon and I were watching a movie the other day and he started crying really hard, like he was really frustrated. I looked over and he had his finger up his nose digging around, then pulled it out and cried in pain and frustration. He did this several times and I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I looked up his nose and saw a bouger way up there. So I thought, "he's got a really crunchy bouger he can't get out and it's bugging him". I tried to help, but I couldn't figure out why he wasn't letting me even touch his nose. At the same time, I was on the phone with Matt and when I told him what was going on, he immediately asked, "does he have something stuck up there?" I thought, "what would he have gotten up there....he was watching a movie". He was finally able to blow it out enough to grab it and he pulled it out. I was amazed to see the "bouger" I saw was actually a small, pointy rock. What in the world????!!!! Why would anyone want to stick a rock up their nose? Obviously it is a boy thing, since Matt knew right away what had happened and I floundered around trying to figure out what was wrong. Poor guy!! No wonder he didn't want me touching his nose. OUCH!! So...boys will be boys......