rose colored glasses

seriously july is almost over! definite picture overload here but, we have done so much and i am conserving energy for the next round.

you can't forget a day at the beach when the sun starts to toast the earth.  we made drip castles and hudson plowed the sand while ava splashed and dipped and dived.

 you know he always has a tractor stashed somewhere!!

we even walked to the dam where the water rushes over and creates a waterfall and stream.

we also hit the fair on an oh so sweaty day. ava pedaled her hardest in the tractor pull and then decided to let the horses do the work for her.

of course, somehow....hudson found another little boy with a great big pile of tractors to play with inside one of the barns right next to the giant tractors on display outside and the calm cows lazily chewing and resting inside.

 then we stopped at the city zoo and met the new wolves and got a cool drink inside the lion's mouth.

 we even had the chance to catch a wooly.

 ava has mastered the art of riding a bike!!!

 we took a trip to a new town and had a picnic lunch in the park.

 one day, i hope to get a nice picture of both kids together.

we visited the county zoo. the bears seem to always know how to strike a pose. even the robins got in on the deal by taking a splash in a rock puddle. i ended up bringing the lion and monkey back home with me. pure wildness at times!

 seriously, i may just have to hire a professional photographer.

way cool!! i love the face paint.

and there you have it. in a nutshell. one full month. full of rose colored glasses as we have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to.  

we really do love that color pink in this family. what a blur.

black and blue but, pure genius

 it took some convincing but, ava finally agreed to just getting ice cream and cones at the store instead of stopping at culver's for ice cream that would not even make it home at least without being half-eaten, dripped and spilled in the car.

 then we were lucky enough to find black raspberries in the woods. tons of them with tons of thorns. check out the black and blue fingers can you tell they like to dig in and not really pick!

 and, double score. ava is a genius. she wanted a pie crust. i was busy making dinner so i suggested a graham cracker. she smooshed berries over one side and we added a roasted marshmallow and wah lah! balck raspberry smores. sooo good!!!

 the next morning, i found these two still in bed reading scooby, upside down....at first ava was confused about daphne being upside down:). so cute. so sweet. 5 minutes later.....

brotherly and sisterly love commenced with a brawl over baby. you wouldn't think that we had at least 10 or so in the house:)

crack me up.

hilarious! how 2 kids can crack each other up without ever really saying anything.

yea! for gramps.

i remember lots of times riding with dad now grampa in the tractors doing fieldwork. a and h get such a thrill from being apart of this as well. and, lucky them, the tractors now have air conditioning.

the joys of the boy and the girl

 this feels pretty much like a 10 things i ((love)) even though it is now the end of monday but, we spent our weekend doing pretty much everything under the sun with some rain mixed in. this little boy caught a toad. would not even touch him for the first 10 minutes and then would not let him go. he was gentle and the toad survived, thank goodness. i really hope i don't find one in his pocket someday.

 they had a nice playdate. and monday, dad caught 6 or 7 or 8 frogs in the little runoff pond in the pasture. just as my husband ventured out to the middle with his princess bucket the frogs all started singing. i wish i would have had a camera for that look of surprise.

 ava loves to dress in dresses. i do too. she put on a dress that my gramma smocked and sewed for me so long ago. i am grateful to still have these pieces and a girl who freely enjoys them.

 i am also grateful to have a boy who loves pink and john deere green. grampa is working on introducing other tractors as well.

 i am grateful that i get to give my kids small joys.

 and for a boy that totally loves tootsie rolls. can you tell not many made it home and really even in to the bag for that matter.

the weekend ended nice and cool and spent with friends for a 5th birthday. i am wiped-out as are the 2 munchkins.

we ((heart)) the farm

no doubt about it. i am a country girl turned city girl turned country girl again. it is hard to take the love of the land and animals and open spaces from a girl. there is just something about being able to walk out your door and spend time just taking it all in versus being bombarded by happenings all around. don't get me wrong....sometimes there is definitely too much going on here but, it is easier to turn off the distractions and take a breather once things settle down.

i love that my kids get to experience a little of this. no more cows to milk...which i am still sad about...about lots of animals to care for.

 even daddy gets a little taste now and then. and a whiff of that fresh air.

 saturday we went to the dairy breakfast.

 ice cold milk.

and pancakes! yum. somehow they taste better here than at home. how??

 this was the picture from our breakfast table.

of course, a wanted a horse tattoo. her biggest requests are for a horse and phone for her 5th birthday. ummm.

 the rooster made sure we knew the sun was up as does the one in our barn. that animal loves to chase me and my dad finally got me to chase him back and, well...i am not quite as afraid anymore!

grampa's little man.

here's a link to last year's breakfast. dairy breakfast 2010

it is nice to have grand adventures in our own yard. what do you like to do with your kids around your home?

junebug loves

my loves, summer has officially started. the sun is so intense and the water still so cool. we have already indulged in our fair share of popsicles and the ultimate squirters have arrived.

 you really don't want to mess with this dude.

 or this chick.

 i say just keep the popsicles coming. why mess with any of those smiles. and, hey, 2 out of 4 are looking. not bad.

i have also already done my fair share of setting up and blowing up toys. i may just have to complain when i catch my breath. the trampoline is up and the pool is up. how children can stand freezing water is beyond me and when we as adults start the whine of 'no it's too cold' is something to wonder about as well.

 i'll dip my toes in this any day though.

 so relaxing and the kids are actually working together. could it be that their backs are to one another??? nahhhh. i prefer the teamwork scenario.

we've even caught a few waves. phew. my heart is overwhelmed with everything beautiful and everything wonderful that my kids and i get to experience.

have a bubbletastic weekend!

she passed!

my little girl....boo hoo boo hoo. she had passed preschool. before having kids, i always though i would not be ready to be the mum of a child in school and then i got pregnant and a arrived. i couldn't imagine anything sweeter in my life but, i also cannot believe how fast the years pass.

 we made this adorable tote for a's teacher. she drew a picture of herself and yor teacher, mrs. craker and then together we stitched the image onto fabric and then stitched it onto denium and the upcycled bag from a fair. fyi...a is the bigger person!

 a was so excited to share her classroom with her brother and h was so excited to actually touch the toys instead of eyeing them from the door.

 he was never going to want to leave.

 so proud!

 truly, can you believe how cool this classroom is.

and, how cool this teacher is! thank you. thank you, for loving my child! you rock!