Is he sleeping?

There he is, in his cradle, kids and commotion all around him, and I think he's still sleeping. Yes, he can sleep through it all. But often we peek inside and there he is, just looking around, content. Of course, he looks so lonely we just have to pick him up...

Creativity

It's a fire truck and a burning building. See the hose in his hand and the flames on the roof?



"Joe ate a grumpy bar today. When you eat a grumpy bar, you look like this."

Pathways

We took a spontaneous walk to day with our friend, Julia and her kids. I took MANY pictures, it was hard to narrow it down. Here's just a few.











What do you do when your baby is eating mud?



You take a picture before you wash him off, of course.





Gracie and Gracie



Joe and Joe


(for those who don't know- Grace can't say Jacob so she calls them both Joe)

Memorial Day Parade

The star of the show



Best part of the parade... running for the candy!

Unimportant Favorite Things

I've been tagged by Julia. I am to make a list of my six most favorite unimportant things to do. This was harder than I thought. As I was trying to make my list, everything I came up with ended up being important in some way. Being a mother, every seemingly unimportant activity has a greater value than you realise. When you begin raising your family, your desires turn from indulging in things that please you to things that benefit your child. Where I once read for pleasure, I now read to educate myself on something that will help me be a better mother...wife...friend...teacher...
But for the sake of the game, I will stop over analyzing and think about my six things that I enjoy. (In no particular order)

1. Swinging



2. Going Bug Hunting



3. Taking a Walk

...down the road to the creek. It's the driveway that leads to the water plant. There are no cars when they're not working so the kids can safely run ahead. And I am often graced with the presence of one winded child that needed to slow it down and walk beside mom. It gives me some one on one time and sometimes leads to great conversations. But most of the time, it is just me, lagging behind, enjoying the scenery, watching the corn grow, or admiring the sun set, and feel the warm wind on my face, and am overcome with "Ahhh!"



4. Horsing Around



5. Gardening

I didn't say I was good at it, I just said I enjoy it.




6.Playing with my Pictures

Before digital, before Photoshop, before scrapbooking (whatever did we do with ourselves?) I picked up my film and flipped through my photos over and over before they went into the magnetic photo album (gasp! the horror!)
Now, the release of the shutter is only the beginning...

Now comes the part where I tag six other people

Michelle and Dawn, I'm tagging you again, because you haven't done it yet ;)
Katie, Kathy, Ann, and Jennie, hop to it.

Hi

Critters

Working in the yard tonight, Paige spotted a young rabbit and with Tony's help, caught it. This is quite the event at our house. They all came running, squealing in excitement to ooh and aah over this cute little guy. Grace was not afraid (you never know how she'll react lately). She pet it gently and gave it a few kisses and picked up some leaves and held it out for him.



Of course, he didn't eat it, so she tried to coax him into it.
"Come on, open up, like this..."



The kids went crazy when he got away and they ran franticly around chasing the poor thing.



Jacob came running into the house yesterday morning yelling "Joe caught a snake!"
I never saw the snake but I'm told it was this big...



And this wide...



It must have been pretty creepy because they were scared to put their feet on the ground.

Trip to the Ice Cream Stand

Grace couldn't figure out why these flowers were so sticky.







Joshua and my SIL, Kathy. By looking at this picture, you would think he was her baby, with that nice, tan, Italian skin. You can definitely tell what side of the family he takes after.

The Creek

How fortunate we are to have this beautiful spot right across the street from our house. I love it down here. The road to get there is short enough that all the kids can make it and you don't get tired out, but long enough that it feels like we are getting away and you could count it for your daily workout.
It's also a GREAT place to bring the camera. I always come home with wonderful pictures. But when your models are this beautiful...









Our new family portrait



Courtney is so great with Grace. Especially when it has anything to do with water. She loves to bring her in (whether she wants to or not) and dip her feet in and swing her around. Grace is starting to get a little afraid of water so it's good for her. -Although, a little fear is a good thing.







Ok, Court, that's enough.



They played hard! Grace is beat. It's time to go home.

Game's on