One more thing...

This is mainly for my family... There is going to be a couple of races (5K, 10K, and kids' fun run) out at the state park next Saturday (July 4) to help raise money for the new park that will be built here in town in the fall. It costs $30 to run...or the kids can get pledges and run for free...so...who wants to sponsor my kids?? :o) Leave me a comment or send me an email...they'd love to be able to say that their family back in Wichita is sponsoring them!!!

My kids are FISH!

We are spending a lot of time at the pool already this summer!! These pics were taken the same day as the park pictures. After the park, we all went home for lunch, and then I took my kids and my friend's two oldest to the pool.
They are anxiously awaiting "break time" to be over!When are they going to blow that whistle???
'P' and Bethany relaxing in the sun during break time.Bethany swimming UNDER water! She has always loved the water, just like her brother and sister! This year she has taught herself to put her face in the water and swim! She also taught herself to do the backstroke and float on her back! She hasn't even had swim lessons yet! She has gotten so good at swimming that she can now go down all 4 slides at the pool, by herself! She doesn't need me to catch her, just swims to the side (the water is way over her head, too!) I am super proud of all my little fish!

Neighborhood fun!

Another thing that has kept us busy this summer are our neighbors! We are very blessed with our neighbors. There are three families on our block with kids basically the same age. Abbie is the only 9 year old. Andrew has 2 friends who are 7-8, Bethany has two friends who are 5, and the other two families have smaller children. The kids usually split into three groups...the big kids (Abbie, Andrew, & the other two their ages), the little kids (Bethany and the other 2 5-yr olds) and then there are the "babies" (one of them is 2, and the twins will be 2 in August). We go for bike rides, we go to the parks, we play at each other's homes and yards, we carpool to ball games and library story time, we go to the pool together...and after we put the kids to bed, sometimes the mommas (and sometimes the dads join us) meet outside for some grown-up time! What did I ever do before I had such great friends?? Here are some pictures of a day a few weeks ago when I rode bikes with most of the older kids to the park, and one momma rode her bike with her bike trailer, and the other momma walked with her twins in her stroller. We had a great time at the park for a few hours. The kids swang, rode bikes, ran, got dizzy on the marry-go-round, pretended they were monkeys, and saved the town from fire (see the fire engine pics)! So much fun with good friends!Bethany running down the hill..."Baby R"...one of the twins, trying to get her to give me one of her million dollar smiles!Two of the "babies" going to save the town from fire!Getting DizzyThe "little kids" swinging (Bethany is on the left)Abbigail taking a breakMonkey boy E...you can see Abbigail's knees hanging from part of the fire-truck. She loves to do this! Getting ready to go home...one family had to leave early to go to a birthday party...and my friend left early with her twins...I had these 5 crazy kids to ride home with...and yes, I rode my bike, too! So much fun!

We are so blessed with our neighborhood and friends!

Ball Games...

I'm going to try to post a bunch of pics today...try to catch you up just a bit on what we've been doing this summer to keep so stikin' busy!
Ball games have been our Tuesdays and Thursdays through the month of June. Bethany played t-ball in the morning while Abbigail and Andrew played their games in the evening. Abbigail really got into softball this year. She even decided that she wanted to go to the pitching clinic and open practice...which added 3 more practices a week!A lot of Bethany's friends were on her team...and she's had a great time!
Andrew had a good year in baseball...and he made the CUTEST catcher...for 2 innings. He was jumping out of the way of the ball as it came in and Warren told him he was wearing all that padding/gear for a reason, the ball wouldn't hurt. Well, Warren was wrong. Andrew quit jumping out of the way and got hit in the thigh...but he tried to suck it up and not cry. The very next pitch hit him in the arm...he cried, he howled, he REFUSED to be catcher any more! A week later during warm-up he tried to catch a pop-fly, onlly he missed...he caught the ball in his nose. BLOOD everywhere. I don't think his white baseball pants will ever be the same! We got the blood to stop, his teeth were fine (I was afraid about him loosing his teeth!) He said he quits baseball and he wasn't ever going to play again! But a lot of boys were gone that night, so his coach said "We REALLY need you Andrew!" And he hopped up, grabbed his mit and ran out to right field! What a sport!
My Mom and Dad were even able to come out for a quick trip to see all the kids play a game! It was so special to have them here to watch and cheer on my kiddos!! So thankful they were able to be here!!!

Busy week ahead!!

I thought things would slow down once school was out. I wasn't thinking about all the BUSY things that go on during summer...June especially!! T-Ball, Softball, Baseball, practice for all of the ball teams, Library story-time (X2 age groups!) are just a few of the things that keep me busy. Since I know we will be BUSY, I thought I should plan some meals so that I can make sure I have the stuff on hand for some quick meals! So...here goes!

Monday: Italian chicken packets on the grill, Italian bread and salads (Mom & Dad are coming to visit!! Yippee!)

Tuesday: Panini's for lunch. Supper will be BLT's (maybe) or Pizza Hut buffet (then ball games)

Wednesday: Warren will be at LYF so the kids and I are on our own...probably sandwiches.

Thursday: more ball games, so quick hamburgers and fruit

Friday: Spaghetti and salads (spaghetti squash so that my husband can eat with us!!)