ISO Week 2

The challenge this week is summer. I chose to post a picture of my zinnias. My grandpa used to plant zinnias every year, then would gather the seeds at the end of the season and save them until the next year. My grandma continued this tradition after my grandpa went to be with Jesus. Once Kevin and I had a house, Grandma gave me a bag of seeds to plant. We have planted them for years and collect the seeds as well. A couple of years ago I could NOT find my bag of seeds so we bought some zinnia plants - which, of course, wasn't the same. In the middle of that summer - I found my seeds!!! So now we are back to the seeds that originally came from my grandpa's flowers!! It is a fun summer tradition for us. They are beautiful and HUGE! The girls are excited to help gather seeds! Enjoy!!

A Train Ride

Daphne was playing quietly in the basement (which isn't always good with a 2 year old) so I peeked down at her and this is what I saw. I grabbed the camera and asked her what she was doing. She replied, "Waiting for train." When asked where she was going, "to Thlorida (florida)."

Weekly Photography Challenge

Alright, so I decided to try something new. I decided to participate in Nicole's weekly Photography Challenge. I was excited to try it at first - until I saw the first topic - self-portrait. Umm, really. First of all, as a personal trainer, I am always in workout clothes with a ponytail these days and who wants to see that? Plus, I would much rather point the camera somewhere else. However, with some encouragement from Kevin I decided to try it. So, here it is - taken with my arm stretched in front of me, since I have no idea how to use the timer. Maybe I should learn, huh?

An Early Birthday Celebration

My sweet little niece turns 4 in early August. Because of the chaos of everyone's summer schedules, the best date to celebrate with her (with ALL the cousins) was early July. So my niece and nephews, my mom, my grandma, my sil, and my sister all came to our house for a little party. It is hard to believe that she is turning 4 - seems like she was just born. She is a doll and we loved celebrating with her!!!

The glasses are courtesy of my grandma.

Just a Little Behind

I know I am a little behind my "weekly check-ins"- oops. This summer has been CRAZY!! Fun, but crazy!! We have had multiple birthday parties and lots of play-dates!! And the weather has finally gotten HOT so we are spending as much time in/near water as we can.

We are starting school in just over 3 weeks so I am planning/preparing like crazy - literally every spare minute. Adding Lucy into the mix is making me feel a little overwhelmed! Not adding her - but adding one more. I know we can do it but it may take a little longer to get into a good routine. What does Norah do while I am working one on one with Lucy and vice versa? What will Daphne do while I am working with Norah and Lucy at the same time? Last year, Lucy was a huge help by playing with Daphne while I worked with Norah on things that she needed my undivided attention. Like I said, I know we will figure it out but we may need to work out some kinks.

Oh, and I also have been trying to organize our school stuff in our unfinished part of the basement. A year ago Kevin put up an old countertop at the girls level to make an art table. I thought that it would be so fun to have an art table in the unfinished part so I don't have to worry about paint getting on anything. We hung some shelves and I began organizing - a year ago. Then the counter became a gathering place for stuff. This is what it looked like when I started (let me warn you - it is BAD):

It is almost done - but we have a large box in the middle of the floor now (another project). I will take after pictures soon, but let me just say that Norah and Lucy have spent several hours back there already!! I am so excited for them to just be able to create!!

Besides all the planning that I am doing, we are trying to take advantage of our last couple of weeks of summer. Lots of fun to be had!!

We had a great 4th with the Diehl family! The kids only play together a couple of times a year and they get along great and have a blast together!!

(left to right) Norah, Luke, Bennett, Lucy, Jack Henry, Daphne