Some quick pictures....

Of course...Notre Dame

Ice Cream...Yum!

Loves to pose!

Nate's Work

Blog...Facebook...Blog...Facebook

Okay, so Facebook usually wins out before my blog. It is so funny, because once school starts back up again, ALL of this is going to be cut to a minimum. I keep thinking of the lunches to pack, the clothes to lay out, the bedtimes to meet. Gosh, I wish I could lay out all the outfits ahead of time for the whole month of September.
I am off to work next week for a couple of days. Not that I haven't been working. I have been working, but from home, contracted, and flexible. Right now, my biggest problem is helping Faith get the art bin down from the closet. Not like during the school year when we are running out the door with a piece of toast hanging out of one child's mouth and the other child crying because she can't find her "must-have-something" that she wanted to bring with for the day.
Anyway...enough about that. Other than the fear of the new school year, things are absolutely summerish around her (yes, I know that's not a word, my teacher friend). I have been enjoying the freedom of no schedule and no school.
I call my car the "beach car" right now, because I am so embarrassed at the state of disaster the hatch is in. I would post a picture, but my dad might never forgive me...He did raise me better than that. :) We have two strollers (yes, only one child needs a stroller in my family), a pack-n-play on some days, a booster seat, a bag full of beach clothes that need to come in to be laundered (didn't want it to clutter the house for any company that may stop by), and a plethora of buckets, cars, and anything else a mother may need when stopping at the beach, park, or grandma's house.
Nate is doing great at work. Training on a new job...Praying for a contract WITHOUT a strike (please pray with us). Faith is getting ready for school and especially loves the shopping part of that. And, Brady...well, he's Brady. Tonight went to bed with a scratch on his head and a scrape on his knee. Nothing new.
To anyone actually taking time to read this, I hope all is well with you! I will post pictures as soon as I can find my camera in the "beach car."
Better go, it is 40-something degrees outside and I think I hear the air conditioner running upstairs. Not very green of us, is it!?
HUGS to all!

Fireworks and a little time at the beach

We didn't spend a lot of time at the beach today, but we had fun. I needed to grocery shop, so we went to the beach for about an hour before the power shopping began!
As you can see, the kids were very tired on the way home! :) They went down like ANGELS tonight!
Everyone, except for Nate is going for hair cuts tomorrow. Afterwards, the three of us are heading out to camp for the night and to visit with our relatives from Canada. It should be fun! :) I must say, I sure like having summer off!!!!

Sad Day

We felt so great adopting a dog for our home, but have found out the hard way that it isn't always the best. We had to surrender Jacob this afternoon. His behavior was unpredictable this week and my worst nightmare came true...he bit my friend's little girl. Thank God he didn't break her skin, but it doesn't truly make me feel any better. My love for children far outweighs my love for a dog. I want all children to feel safe and secure when entering our home.
Needless to say, we hope he can find a better home. We loved him while we had him, but we weren't the right home for him.
I'm so grateful to Nathan for being so wonderful about brining him in and not showing regret for the choice. I am also just as grateful to my wonderful friend for being so understanding when her daughter was hurt.

The Holiday

Small Town Parade :)

Cousins...Friends

Hi! (too bad this is overexposed...)

Enjoying the fireworks!

The Pyromaniac at workRandom photo...backwards photo...
Nate's new tattoo surrounding his old
(and fixed) tattoo

We had a very nice 4th of July weekend. Nate's sister was in town, so we were able to see her whole family. Unfortunately, Nate had to work during the parade, so he missed that. Brady did much better than I expected. He sat fairly well for the parade and the loud noises didn't seem to bother him a bit.
Faith starts VBS at my sister's church this week. It is sports themed and she can't wait. She is doing cheerleading... UGH! :) But, if she enjoys it, that's what matters most!
Brady has begun recognizing a bunch of things. It is so fun. Every time her hears a train, and can he hear them, he says, "Choo!" And, every time we drive by my dad's work he yells, "Papa!"
Faith's newest and cutest story: We went to my friend Janet's house and there were some workers across the street on a roof. I said, "Shhh. Listen, they are speaking Spanish." Then, she stops, listens, and says, "Mom, I think you're right. I think I heard one of them saying 'Backpack, backpack!" (If you've never seen Dora, you won't get it.) I had all I could do to contain myself and not laugh at the adorable, innocent comment. Too cute!!

So, I'm back to my old habits...

Cute, even when he pouts

Sweet Siblings

Ribbit!

sports kids

Faith and Coach

Thai House...Yummm

Nate's New Tattoo

Maybe blogging just isn't for me. I am now officially a Facebook addict and find myself checking my home page about two times a day. How sad is that! I added a walking link from the American Heart Association and that's how it all started... As for this blog, it is suffering attention as usual. ;)
The kids and I are enjoying summer throughly! We have been to some sort of "body of water" three times in the last week. We went and played in the sand on Saturday, Faith dunked in the water after soccer on Tuesday, and we went out to my parent's last night. I actually swam for the first time this year! Wooo HOOO! Elli and I have a promise to each other that we are going to swim across the lake and back again by the end of summer. I better get working! :)
This weekend should be fun. Tomorrow we have a mom's picnic and on Saturday we have Nate's work picnic. I am hoping the weather holds up for both!

Way too many pictures!

Some kids like to feed the animals and some
like to feed themselves
(Brady snacking on the giraffe's cracker...new of course!)

Check out my hair!

Fun at Lambeau Field!

Go Packers!

We sure will miss him!

Smile...or not!

First cone at J.D.'s!

Big Bear, Big Bear!

Tuckered out...after the donut hole!

Can we please go home....

Watch out Aaron Rogers!

Obviously we took a trip....There are so many pictures, I'll keep my post short.
The End!

The Crowning

Brady Boy and Connor

Faith and Elli

Way to go Elli!!

Carrying the crown

Elli asked Faith to carry her crown for her Honor Star Crowning. Faith was so excited she could barely eat her supper. Not that I'm a proud mommy or anything, but I think she did a wonderful job!
If you don't know what Stars are or what a crowning is, it is not some strange ritual... Stars is kind of like Christian Girl Scouts and the crowning is for when the girls earn a ton of badges and also have to pass a test on scripture memorization and other things regarding the Bible and Christian living. We are so proud of Elli for her accomplishment!!
Also, Connor earned all the possible badges for his class with the Royal Rangers. Good job Connor!! They both put a ton of work and effort into earning these honors. I could go on and on about their accomplishments...Not just Elli and Connor, all of our nieces and nephews. I must say, we have been blessed with some very talented nieces and nephews from both of our siblings! I cannot think of a single child that does not have amazing gifts from God!
Speaking of other nieces and nephews...Happy Birthday Brendan and Robbie!!!!! I will have to get pictures of them in their birthday gifts from us. Too funny! And, we are going to see Mercedes, Regan, and Shaelyn over the weekend. So, I will have to bring back pictures from that trip as well.
Have a great weekend if I don't post before then!! :)
HUGS!

School's Out for Summer!!!!

I can't even believe that the school year is over already!! I am off until our "tentative" return date of September 2nd! :) I'm going to do my best not to get overwhelmed with a "to-do" list and enjoy my children. Also, with the prices of gas, STAY HOME!!
It was my cousin's wedding tonight. We had a great time. The wedding was very nice. Short, but the message from the pastor was great. It was about commitment and that the only way that a marriage can make it and make it well is by keeping God as the focus. I'm going to try posting a video for the first time. Faith was having a great time dancing and I wish I would have got more of Brady's "moves" on video. But, if this works, you will get a small taste of the hilarity of his dancing. He has more rhythm than his dad and me combined!

Not even two more weeks!

The circus was fun, Grammy, but I think the
cotton candy was a close second!

Our friend Aaron...giggling like crazy!

Mom, are you sure it is spring?

Sissy sure thinks it's spring!

She's so good at those funny faces!

Some for you and some for me!

Swingin' in her jammies!

Happy Mother's Day to those of you I did not call...which is most of you! :(
Only 3 more days of class and 6 more days in the office and I am officially on summer break! It doesn't even seem possible that the school year is already over. I am so excited to be home with the kids!!! :)
Mother's Day was nice. We celebrated with Nathan's mom and Grandma on Saturday night. We had everyone over and Nate's parents were nice enough to furnish the majority of the food (never expected, but always appreciated!). We grilled out and had a salad and corn on the cob and a few other things. Sunday afternoon was with my mom at my sister's house. The food was wonderful! She made a homemade potato soup, salad, and a pasta salad...YUMMY!! I made the homemade rolls...which is funny, because they were my sister's recipe! He,he!
I thought I would be ambitious tonight and I am now paying for it.... My poor dog loves to run, so for about a 1/4 of my walk (including half of my hill - even the steep part), I ran. Well, my knees are already aching... Yes, I am a baby! :) The good news is, it actually felt pretty good to run and the walk was wonderful...no one whining about it being too long or too fast...You know?