Mary Jo's Box

Nothing brings more excitement to my children's faces than a special package from a loved one. They definately get this from me, as I have almost a ritual of things to be done before opening such a prized possession. Well, this week we received one from Elise's godmother Mary Jo. She was so thrilled that all of her ensembles this week have contained something from the box. These are just the ones that she specifically asked me to take pictures of as a thank you.

One of my favorite items in my closet is my goucho pants, they are the comfort of sweats but with a bit more beauty and flair. Elise now has a pair, and asked me to match her for church.

She also wore this dress for confirmation Sunday. She wanted to wear it out for a field trip, but I did ask her to wait for a more dressy occasion. She literally counted down the days for this one, and then danced down the stairs when the day finally came. (Notice that she is en pointe or on her tippy toes - a recently aquired skill)

She and Ziah smile for their mamma.

Funny thing, I had made this tutu for her in October. Cute, right? She thought it was way too itchy and did not want to wear it. So, I sent it to Mia - Mary Jo's daughter, and thought she may get some use out of it. This week it arrived in the clothes box and Elise thought it was sensational. She wore it to dance, even though it was June and had not decreased in the itch factor!

Final Days of School

We have had a fun filled few weeks, getting into all sorts of events around town and creating some of our own. We participated in the LEGO store opening at our local mall. Here the children built a lego brick to be added to other bricks culminating in an 8 ft tall LEGO Yoda! It was a busy place, but we enjoyed it greatly. I never even knew the complexities involved in the art bricklaying!

Here the "Master Bricklayer" sits by the "Master Yoda" prototype.

For a fun day on street safety, we created box cars and a chalk highway. The children had a car show and then got to follow a map around the streets to pick up items on their list.

Elise's car was a 'toy car' and Josiah's was an ambulance / tow truck.

Micah and Even created 'Lightening McQueen' and 'Doc'.

Janey's was 'just pink and sparkly'.

Here are the kids cruiz'n around.

Micah stops to gas up!

On our last day of school, we had a lemonade stand. Since we first moved here, he has requested to do a lemonade stand and so I said it would be fine if he was the one to do all the planning. He and Elise did a fantastic job deciding what they would need, buying their items, making posters, and serving their customers.

Titus observed in the background with me, and he enjoyed standing with the help of this fence, and eating the moss that was growing on it. Mmmm.

Not only did they sell lemonade ('And it's strawberry, so it doesn't taste bad,' as Josiah said a few times as a selling point.) but they also sold the golf balls that they had dredged up from the surrounding golf course ponds.

Aren't they ambitious? Would you have stopped?

A moment to brag...

Some of our summer evenings we have enjoyed cheering Michael on at the ball park. He has been playing softball on the church's team. He has had many homeruns out of the park! Stud.

Photos by Elise.

Some more cute ones!

Titus really enjoyed his first taste of corn....or at least chomping his incoming teeth on the cob!

His absolute favorite food right now is orange slices.

And here are some classic bathtub shots.....

A little shaggy...

Those were the words I heard enough of daily that allowed Mike to take his first official snips of Titus' hair. I thought his hair was still fine, but Mike claimed to be the official barber for the boys in the house. So here are the before and after shots of my little 'not quite one year old'.

Note the critical 'hair is touching ears' in the before shot:

Afterwards, not the high and tight like I requested...all customers are satisfied.

A few fun days...

Ah...how nice the weather has been. We have been spending every moment outdoors that we can. Titus starts out on his blanket, but is soon elsewhere.



Josiah seems to involve a physical element into our day, this time we use lightsabers.

And Elise has been busy setting up 'camp' for the dolls that Mimi had sent her and I for mother's day. These dolls are like the ones that my sister and I used to play with, and so now Elise and I are enjoying all the social scenes with them.

The tent and bedding....

A c0mfortable hammock....

breakfast.....

And return home in time for tea.

My little one just hanging out, wondering why mom is always pointing that camera at him!