Pictures...

For those of you who feel i have been slacking off lately (and yes, maybe i have been a a bit...) here are some pics of the kids from mid-July on....

Finger painting - a much loved 'school' activity

Baseball ...not sure that catcher is properly padded!

The 4th of July... 

 Our July birthday...how many 6 year olds do you know who get baseball trophies and Blueberry pies for their birthday???

 Jedi training....

 Just a good picture!

 Some lego building....

 Dad, trying to look taller than B!

 What we do when a hurricane sends rain and visitors our way!
Cousin Vinny and Aunt Jennifer with Bear and Cat...

 Uncle Joe helped with this one!

yes, she is IN the tower ...somewhere!

And she builds with legos too!

 The newest addition (yes, the one in the blanket!)

 Chasing rainbows...thanks Uncle Brian and Aunt Monika!

Now, these following photos were taken on one of our first rather chilly days.  The previous day i was laughing at photos of our nephews and the clothing choices their parents had made... needless to say i was humbled by the choices our own children made concerning their attire...

 Cousin Vinny                                                                Cousin Rowan

Can't get much cuter than that!

Birthdays, Baseball, and Other Adventures...

Ready for some photos?

Client #1 requested a Bears birthday cake....

He seemed happy with the outcome.

Ladybug, riding Charlie

Client #2 requested a pony cake ...
copied right from the pan's directions (which made things easy for mom!)

She was very happy with her cake too ...
but really, can't we ever just enjoy the artistic endeavor
before we devour it?

Cousins are wonderful!  This is Rowan.

He's not so sure here if Cat is quite big enough to hold him ...
i would question it too

Bear practices baseball with his older brothers and sister,
so on the field he's ready for anything...
even covering 2 - 3 positions at a time -
he is definitely NOT a butterfly chaser

Ladybug, busy sorting loads of fabric scraps for apparently many more projects than just mom's!  We received quite a bit of fabric from a friend who quilts, as well as from a woman, not far from us, who used to own a quilt shop.  Between what they gave us and the scraps we have received from our readers, we are going to be kept busy with not just my project but also a few more we will eventually tell  you about.  Thank you! 

B's Confirmation - with his sponsor, Aunt Jennifer...and of course, the Bishop

Ladybug and Cat making pizza dough in our new kitchen

Round one for client #3. 
These were after game snacks on Cat's actual birthday...
once we got home around 9pm!

Client #3 was, i think, the most demanding...
She worked with her own personal artist (her big sister) to create a design for her cake

 

Duff has nothing on us -
i'll be impressed when he actually has a 3 year old client
sit in the kitchen with him and direct the decorating...

The finished product ...
with a little artistic license on the decorators part

Ah, the joy of simplicity

Cousins are great to have around...
they make life more interesting!
(ps. welcome home Uncle Joe!)

The cake was well received

And she even helped supervise the decorations!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

We love you!

Some quick pictures....





We celebrated 3 birthdays this month
All at the same time ...there was a lot of fire!

We also had a morning out at a nearby lake.

Lake Johnson on a beautiful, fall morning

 We fed the ducks ... but it was mostly geese.  We stood in the silence and were amazed that we were standing on the bottom of the lake.  They drained the lake a bit to repair the dam.

On our way back out we found a small gully

R.B. decided to jump it...
with his long legs it was not a problem!

The rest of us looked for a better place to cross -
it was very muddy and more likely to
suck your shoes off than anything else. 

This is what we found.

He made it!  It was a bit of an accomplishment. : )

Next!

Last but not least!

All are here and accounted for!

Heading home.

Sometimes you just need that day out.  It was beautiful!  Daddy dropped us off at the library on the way home and we borrowed a few books.  Then we walked home with the stroller, a bag of books, and a cheerful attitude.  Wonderful!