Family Pictures!

Look at this - something that has not happened often enough...a professional family picture! We were very happy with how our pictures turned out! But with these good-looking kids, I knew they would!

Pippi, is That You?

Remind you of anyone? No...this is not a preview for Halloween, but she would make a good Pippi! And she also loves the books, she has read two or three and liked the movie a lot, too.

Go Bananas!

Here is our star soccer player with the coach of her team - the Bananas! This little girl really enjoyed the season and tore up the field.  We had some chilly games but that never seemed to bother her, she was always too busy trying to kick a goal.

Fishing...In the Living Room

A fun way to work on learning the alphabet with BGM is playing this version of Go Fish! Those little hands have a hard time holding all the big cards so these egg cartons became card holders, making it a little easier for them to play.  I think these kids would like to really go fishing, too, judging by how eagerly they dig up fishing worms in the yard!

Goodbye Summer, Hello School (Sniff)!

Wow, how is this happening? Summer is over on August 13th? NOOOO!!!! We have had a fun summer and are not ready for it to end! Even though they prefer summer, they still have nice big smiles for the first day of school and will like seeing school friends regularly again.

And what is that school supply that Abby has that she did not have last year? Glasses! She seems to really like them and they look so cute on her.

Pool School

So far so good for BGM in swimming lessons! Unlike some of the kids, she does not fear the water, and she is constantly moving and putting her face in the water without thinking twice.  Her favorite part is getting to jump in over and over at the the end but she also likes diving to the bottom of the pool.

Darth Wall

EMM having fun conquering Darth Wall at the Star Wars birthday party he attended today.

It All Comes Out in the Wash

RIP to our washing machine - we got a lot of years out of it, and right at the end a few funny pictures! Now the part we dread...having to find a replacement!

All Aboard!

 All three kids thought the enormous pirate ship at Camp Beaumont was pretty cool, but we only managed to get a non-blurry picture of one child on it! By the end of the afternoon it was time to abandon ship and head home for a shower, they were worn out and completely filthy and wet from playing in the creek.

A Fair To Remember

These two sure made Mom and Dad proud! Our little artists each had art selected for the District Art Fair.  The still life painting by ARM's face is what she had submitted and EMM had a little clay owl that is nesting in a tree behind him on the table.  It was fun seeing all of the submissions and was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Happy 7th!!!

7 years old, and we cherish this little guy so much! His birthday landed on spring break so Dad took a day off of work so we could just go have fun.  It was a tour at the chocolate factory, the zoo, Evan's favorite meal and of course chocolate cake and ice cream!

One Talented Girl

As a reward, ARM's music class at school chose to do a talent show.  Each child is permitted to present two talents and is allotted two minutes per talent for showing off in front of the class. Some kids are too shy to do anything at all, but we were proud of ARM for being willing to present two talents.
Since they are allowed to submit something on video, she wanted to use horseback riding, which meant making a trip to Grandpa's house so she could ride Cooper, her uncle's horse. She narrated the entire thing without rehearsing very much and did a great job!  For her other talent at the show she is going to memorize a song and play it on the piano. Mom and her little sister are excited about going to cheer her on!

Piece on Earth

   Last weekend we made a quick trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa. These three went downstairs and it was a little too quiet- that normally means they are into something. Nope, just putting a puzzle together. 

   ARM has her pants rolled up and is only wearing her tank top because she was so hot from working out!

Happiness is...

watching your toy snakes being devoured by your toy dinosaurs.

The Christmas Book Collection

Every year, our collection of Christmas books grows.  This year, BGM was pretty happy that Mickey's Night Before Christmas was the newest book on the stack.  Each night before bed in that month before Christmas, we read Christmas books for our bedtime stories.  After Christmas, these books get packed away with the decorations - there just is not enough room on our shelf for them anyway!

A Special Veteran's Day

Every year, the school has a very nice program at school to honor our service men and women on Veteran's Day.  This year it was held on a Monday (verses mid-week when they normally have functions) which was wonderful because that meant Grandpa was able to attend! The kids all work very hard learning songs and decorating the school.  Abby and Evan did a great job and were so tickled that they had guests of honor to sing to this year.

Attention Tooth Fairy!

At the ripe old age of 8, yes 8, ARM has FINALLY lost her first tooth! There have been a number of "sympathy" loose teeth - that is teeth that she said were loose when a friend had lost a tooth, but it was more a case of imagination, but this is the first to really fall out.  As a side note, her father had to have some baby teeth pulled by his dentist because they just did not want to fall out.  Maybe she is taking after him?

Have Your Cake...

...and sit on it, too! They found the Soulard Farmer's Market Cake.  These have been really cool to spot around the city - what a neat idea for the city's birthday!

Birthday Breakfast with Bus Buddies

 To surprise ARM on the morning of her birthday this year, we got little doughnuts, fruit and juice and set up a table in the garage and invited some of her little friends from the neighborhood to come down and have a birthday breakfast before boarding the bus. It was a beautiful morning full of sunshine and I think she loved the surprise.

Plenty of Independence at the Sculpture Park

 This year we had some special guests to help us celebrate Independence Day - Uncle J, Aunt C, Jackson and Sophia visited for the holiday and we had a picnic at a local sculpture park where the kids could just run and play.  Right before we had stopped to watch a 4th of July parade that the kids enjoyed.

Everyone had fun, wore themselves out, and needed a nap! Then we went back and 

swam for a bit with Jackson - the kids had a blast and could hardly believe that the excitement

 was not over - fireworks!!! What a fun-filled day!

A Fun Trip to See the Relatives

 Of course we always love a chance to take a weekend and visit with our aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents who are a few hours too far away! It was so good to see everyone and ARM was able to hold a real baby doll - Beckett! She loved sitting and holding him while he slept on her lap.

On the way home our trip sometimes needs to be broken up...people get a little stir crazy otherwise! Plus we were in need of a meal.  We found a real gem of a place - Flat Branch Brewery.  That is where EMM and BGM are having this intense conversation. Also where their dad discovered he can eat a pizza that is not sausage and pepperoni! He ordered it on accident (somehow) and has been craving it ever since.

Going Wild in the Garden

 With the beautiful spring weather, we have been loving getting out and going a few places, especially when there is an early dismissal day.  A friend, Brooke, from down the street went to the Garden with us and the kids just played and had the best time and we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which was cool.

Yesterday's Find: the Missouri Trees Birthday Cake

With elk grazing in the background at the nearby game reserve, we happened upon one of the artsy birthday cakes that was planted around the city in celebration of its birthday. Evan is cutting a slice with the new sword he got for his birthday. 

   Abby made us tiptoe and whisper all the way back to the van. She said getting trampled by an elk was not how she wanted to go!

FTD?

A little wet chalk...big beautiful bouquet!
Gorgeous flowers for this April day.

Cape Town

No, not talking about South Africa! Old t-shirts were transformed into capes today and EMM and BGM loved the result - superheroes in the house! This is BGM's favorite way to play dress up so far.