For Today: Fun in Wisconsin - Part 1

 We had a great time in Wisconsin with Oma and Opah!

For today's installment, first some Kodak moments of our knight conquering the farm. Isn't that get-up great!?
 

 

 

 

Next, a couple of all three kiddos enjoying the great outdoors while the skeeters weren't too bad.

 

 And I have to include two of these two having a blast together! Patrick sure loves his Oma!

 

And, to finish off today, this AWESOME picture of us with Deacon Adam! It was so wonderful to have the opportunity of spending the morning with him catching up.  Really... isn't this a GREAT picture! I LOVE IT!

 

Love, Us.

For Today: Whirlwind Visits before the Farm

First of all, I DID take time to crop and edit these pictures, but then didn't know how to upload the edited versions, so here you have my rough pictures to view today. Sorry! Vacation complicates things when trying to blog using other people's computers. Oh, well!
*Update: I got the edited versions up now! Yay!*

 

We are in the UP now, but I'm playing some major catch-up with pictures. For today, here are all of our encouters of the family-kind before getting to Oma and Opah's. It was a busy couple days, but I'm so glad we fit in all the visits that we did. It was wonderful to see and catch up with family and friends!

 

First - T with Dominic. She had been awaiting this moment for SO LONG! She LOVES newborns!


 

Patrick had to get a smooch and snuggle in as well.



 

The next morning we were blessed to have breakfast and play time with many of our godparents and godchildren!

Here is Benedict! He is SO BIG!

 

And Michael - what a goofball!

 

Jim and Kristen gave D homemade (knitted!) chain mail and armor as a gift! He is SUPER pumped!

 

Here is Michael and I - Benedict was down for a nap.

P.S. - I am SO SAD that I didn't get a picture of Patrick with Nicole! Ahhh!

 

And the final visit before the farm - lunch with Great-grands Cross. As always, a wonderful visit!

 

Once again, sorry about the unedited pics - at least I got the basic pictures on. Maybe I'll figure it out in the morning.

 

Love, Us.



For Today: Summer Haircuts and Time with Great-Grandma

Ruth is the family beautician, so I take advantage of her whenever possible. She already had the clippers out for my dad, so I got my boys in line to get their mops cut off as well.

David decided NOT to keep the mowhawk - I'm sure dad is very relieved!

We also made sure to have a nice morning with Great-grandma before leaving Marshall. She is always a joy to talk to and is ALWAYS up for a snuggle, which T took advantage of again and again.

Love, Us.

For Today: Encounters Among the Little Ones

When we arrived in Marshall, we knew that our time was short before heading over to Wisconsin, so we made the most of it. The big kids immediately got on the trampoline and jumped their hearts out (sorry, no pictures of that). And, Patrick searched out those more his size...

The boys LOVED Luke... but then who wouldn't?!

Rosie was REALLY excited about having a bubble light-saber in her pants... and Patrick was excited that she was excited! For the most part, these two got along very well during their time together.

Love, Us.

For Today: Our Trip North

The kids and I have arrived up north, and it was wonderful to watch the scenery change from desert to "real" summer over the drive! The kids were WONDERFUL travelers (we only stopped twice on the first day and once on the second, and P only wet himself once, and went #2 faithfully at the stops! Yay!) and my father was a wonderful driver. At our stops we'd potty and then have the kids run for a few minutes before getting back in the car - it worked out great!

So, for today, a few shots of the kids taking their run somwhere in Iowa yesterday.

I apologize about P's lack of real smile here. I'm super excited that my camera is now functionable, but I have lost my ability to instantly see what picture I have taken, so I'm going a bit blind concerning whether or not I've actually caught the cute moment, or just the sort of un-cute moment a split second later (like here).

Luckily, I DID catch the moment with this one. I REALLY like this picture! They truly are buddies, despite the daily bickering that comes with being siblings.

Love, Us.

For Today: Packing Day!

Well, my eldest child is quite an anxiety case concerning any minor or major event that concerns her in some way. So, I've learned over the years that in order to have her "participate and not anticipate" at bit more during the time period prior to events, I need to push off visibly prepping for the event until last minute. Therefore, even though the kiddos and I are leaving for a trip to the midwest on Sunday, we are not going to even speak of packing until after school is done today. This is very late for me, because I am big on planning and organizing, but it brings a LOT of sanity to the house and helps T to get her necessary work done. 

So… today is the day! I'm sure the kiddos will be doing things at a quicker pace then usual so that they can get out the suitcases!

As for a picture, however, I was completely depleted when I sat down to the computer. So, I took a snapshot of this morning's lovey-dovey lap-mate!

Love, Us.

For Today: Congrats, Dad!

Well, for those of you who haven't been in touch with us recently, you won't get the whole picture here, since I can't spell it out for you. However, let's just say that Joe got some very good news lately that he will be able to go to a specialized selection sometime soon for the Army! This is very exciting news, and news that we had been waiting a LONG time for, so we had to celebrate at least a teensy bit the morning we heard. A candle in daddy's omelet seemed to do the trick!

Congratulations!

Love, Us.

For Today: Reading Program Days!

The library's Summer Reading Program has begun and we are going full-force! T is determined to do several things in this year's program: Read all her own books, challenge all those moms out there by reading as many as them in order to try to win the big prize at the end, and, finally, meet her father's goal of reading at least 200 books by the end of the program! She is over half-way to dad's goal, but the prospect of reading so much while on vacation is not too enticing. So, she's doing her best to get most of them read before heading out this weekend. She may make it! We will have just a few days to finish up when we return from the north, so we shall see!

Love, Us.

For Today: Our Two (Going on Three) Righties

You would have bet on our kids being doomed to be lefties, since both Joe and I are "south paws" ourselves. However, T and D are clearly not following in the tradition, and P is also showing clear signs of preferring his right. Well, good thing neither Joe nor I ever used left-handed scissors or other such things - so we don't have to purchase any new office supplies for our righties!

Love, Us.

For Today: Art Class

If I haven't mentioned it yet, our school year started last week. I know it may sound backwards, but it really makes sense to do school in the summer here, because other than an hour or two in the early morning and MAYBE an hour at bedtime, it is pretty much too hot and intensely sunny to be outside for the rest of the day here. So, instead of just being stuck inside with the kids going crazy, we do school! 

We are doing something different for art this year. Both kids are watching a DVD drawing series and enjoying it. They get to make their own little creation for dad once a week, and I get a half-hour fairly free to get odds and ends done! Patrick, of course, also has to get in on the action and make sure to smile big for the camera.

Love, Us.

For Today: Last Weekend's Creations

With the weekend coming upon us, I thought I'd share some pictures of last weekend's fun: Stick (PVC) Horses! The kids had a great time picking out their decorations, and an even better time going for rides around the house. Great idea, Joe!

T made a pretty girl horse.

P was just glad to be a part of the action.

D had the tough cowboy face down to an art.

And all the cowpokes joined together for a gallop around the homestead to commemorate the occasion.

Love, Us.

For Today: Lots of Fun… Too Much Sun

We have become pretty good around here at getting the kids out of doors at least a couple hours every day. That may not seem like much, but you really have to plan your "outings" (even when they are just in the backyard) here, due to the extreme climate. Before 8am is perfect, warm/hot summer weather, without the intense sun that makes any kind of activity difficult. But after that point, all time outdoors pretty much needs to be spent in the shade. We are super blessed to have a tree in our backyard, (although more of a sapling than a tree by midwest standards!) so we have learned to camp out in it's shade when outside time is needed during the intense daytime hours. 

For today's picture, a view of a picnic the kids put together a few weeks ago for their outside time. This was before we came to know the brilliance and necessity of the shade. Moments after this picture was taken, all three were at the door, looking like heat-stroke victims, and done with any attempt to enjoy the beautiful food they had so excitedly prepared for the occasion. 

Love, Us.

For Today: Don't Worry, Sergeant D has Arrived!

Yup - pretty much the most amazing gifts for D ever! Thank you , Aunt T!

And yes, the belt and guns are his own additions to the ensemble.

Love, Us.

For Today: The Sergeant of the House

Along with the colored bubbles, Aunt T's Easter package had some pretty great stuff for our little man, D. As usual, though, he got things in installments over the weeks, so he was able to be excited about each additional piece of his get-up as it was gifted. For today, here is a picture of how his new Staff Sergeant's army helmet brought a whole new degree to his play. He always said that he was a sergeant when they were playing soldiers (or airmen, if he was aware of the actual uniform he is wearing), and now he has the official insignia to go with it!

Oh, but just wait for tomorrow - pictures of the complete new outfit… it was pretty much made for D (and he even had no trouble finding ways to add numerous weapons to it, as well)!

Love, Us.

For Today: Colored Bubbles… Skating?

Well, they say that kids with an imagination can take anything and make it into a game. The kids did this over the weekend. They were gifted with some colored bubbles from their Aunt T for Easter, and they received them on Saturday (we spread the gifts out over the ENTIRE Easter season here - and it is finally done: Happy Ordinary Time!). They were super excited, got their play clothes on, dug out their sunglasses to protect their eyes from the bubbles, and headed outside to enjoy them. However, a little too much excitement got a large portion of the bubble liquid on the ground instead of in the form of bubbles, so they decided it was a bubble-skating rink on the cement! They had a great time as a result of spilling their toy all over the ground! It is wonderful when that happens instead of whining or tantrums!

Love, Us.

For Today: The Library Re-Do

Here is the continuation from yesterday: A much better use of place and my new favorite place in the house!

Love, Us.

For Today: My Current Re-Organizing Bug

Well, many people may think that I am just "nesting" earlier than usual in the pregnancy. But, that isn't true, because I do this sort of thing several times a year, no matter whether I am with child or not! I simply often feel the need to reevaluate how I have my house set up at moments of juncture in our family life. We are getting ready to start our school year here (just finishing our Easter "summer" vacation), so I thought it would be a fine time to re-do the house. The main changes have taken place in the "library". So, here are the "before" pictures:

Stay tuned for the "after" shots!

Love, Us.

For Today: The Museum

Well, I was going to share a video with you today of Patrick dashing around the house, chasing a ball with his favorite sword, exclaiming at every turn just because of the great excitement it caused in him. Unfortunately, it seems as though I am unable to upload videos taken on my iPod to the blog! …I guess I should really do some research and get a new camera, huh!?

So… instead, here is what we were up to for part of the day yesterday. A great group of homeschool mom and kiddos hit up the El Paso Museum of Art and enjoyed ourselves, while trying to keep the kids' hands off of the masterpieces! It was fun, and they have a GREAT collection of sacred art! Enjoy!

First, T with her favorite.

Patrick and I giving T some practice taking pics with the iPod.

And David with a couple of his favorites:

One, of course, was Saint Michael!

Love, Us.

For Today: My Freezing Kids

Well, today I wanted to share with you an aspect of living in El Paso that totally baffles my mind. I don't understand the science behind it at all (and don't care enough to look it up, to be honest). Anyhow, the fact is that even though it is 100+ degrees outside, once kids get wet they are FREEZING, due to their being no humidity at all in the air! Seriously, they are sitting their with their teeth chattering while all the dry people are burning up and the car is registering 104! So, here are some pictures of my freezing kids yesterday at the splash park. David has a habit of spending most of his time at the park just laying in the deepest water he can find in order to stay warm! Now, I am the first to admit that kid needs to eat more and put on some substance, but isn't that crazy!?

Love, Us.