I rummaged through my summer clothes yesterday. I was very discouraged to see that several things didn't fit me like they did last year. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but is it possible that as you age, it becomes harder and harder to maintain one's figure? I don't lead a sedentary lifestyle by any means--in fact, I exercise almost every day--yet, every year I have to work that much harder than I did the year before (sigh).
It's so good to be outside, enjoying the sunshine once again! We're thankful for our beautiful, fenced-in yard.
As you can see, Lily's still dressing for cooler weather. She loves her tights!
We had a nice picnic lunch outside.
Jared is trying to warn Gracie of the tree straight ahead.
I love the look on Lily's face in this picture.
***Southwest Airlines is running a special right now: Flights from Sacramento to Spokane are only $79 (each way). Anyone want to come visit us?***
We're headed outside for the day, because there's talk of temperatures being in the '60s! We've waited many, many cold months for a day like today.
Here's the finished product. Phil did most of the work with his staple gun and air compressor.
This morning I'm watching 2 children from our church, so the ages of all of the kids in my house right now are 5, 5, 3, 3, 2 and 2 (yes, the T.V. is on). It's not as hard as it sounds, so please don't feel sorry for me. :) My kids do very well when other children come to play.
The boys and I like to do special things after I put the girls down for their afternoon nap. Sometimes we play board games and sometimes we read from chapter books, but today we drew ladybugs. First we practiced by drawing a few shapes, then they drew their sketches entirely on their own. 
Jared is so intense when he colors. He enjoys using the new box of crayons from his Easter basket when the girls are sleeping. It's his first box of "skinny crayons." 
Just look at my sweet boy! He's so proud of his drawing. 
Jared did a great job, too. 
Here are my sweet boys, hard at work with their skinny crayons.
I need to recover our basket/box tables in the living room. I'll leave the bottom of the boxes in tact, but I'm going to place padding on the lid and cover it with fabric. Here's a "before" picture:
I went to a new fabric store here in Spokane called The Top Stitch and found way too many fun fabrics to choose from, including one of my favorite designers, Amy Butler!
I chose this fabric for the box lids.
I found pieces of these two designs in a scrap box!
I was very excited to find this pattern! Phil and I have wanted to buy beanbags or large pillows for the kids' playroom, but they're so expensive! I found this pattern that only requires 2 yards of fabric per pillow. This will be my next project.
I love this time of year--when I can buy Girl Scout cookies, that is.
The girls are enjoying a Thin Mint cookie. I usually buy a box of Thin Mints and a box of Samoas. Which are your favorites?
The boys look forward to Friday nights. They work hard all week to complete their job charts, and on Friday night we have a prize drawing.
Jared and Caleb picked their prizes. I wrote each idea down on slips of paper and placed them in a bucket. Each week we omit the prize chosen from the previous week so that eventually all of the prizes will be chosen.
Jared and Caleb are finishing up their job charts before bedtime.
This week it was Jared's turn to draw a prize from the bucket, but he wanted Caleb to "hold the paper right away so it's fair."
This week's prize: Milkshakes at Jack-in-the-Box! He's been waiting for this one.
Here's a list of their ideas for prizes:
*Go to Sonic
*Go to Jack-in-the-Box for a milkshake
*Go to Mobius (our children's museum)
*Go to "Thrift" to buy something (this is what Jared calls a thrift store)
*Go to the soft playground at the mall and then to the Christian bookstore to read books
*Go to Baskin Robbins
*Go to the park by the library
*Go to Yoke's (a grocery store) to buy bulk candy
I apologize ahead of time for the blurry pictures. These were taken from my kitchen window. The girls and I were having a little tea and hot chocolate break at the table when we spotted this bike trailer outside. 
Phil's friend gave this to him yesterday. The girls wanted to go outside to investigate immediately. Phil was nice enough to give them a little ride around the backyard. 
It looks like we'll have to purchase a couple of bike helmets very soon.
Off they go!
I zoomed in to get this picture of their sweet faces as they rode past the kitchen window.
Then Phil parked the bike in front of the window at a good angle so that I could get a good closeup. When Lily realized that I wanted to take a picture of her, she pretended to be asleep and refused to look up.
Here's Caleb sipping on some lemonade. After his first sip, he told me, "You're the best lemonade maker that I can kiss and hug."
I'm melting.
I didn't have the heart to tell him that I bought it ready-made.
But I'll take the kisses and hugs!
This morning the girls had fun sorting Duplo Legos into bowls by their color.
Then big brothers came along and decided that it would be fun to make pirate forts with the Duplos. Yes, that's a fight in the background!
Lately I've been waking up to Lily's sweet face in my own, saying, "I snuggle you?" We snuggle for a few minutes, and then the boys come in around 7:00 so we can read from their devotional Bible, or, as Caleb calls it, the devotionous Bible. This morning I could hear them racing down their bunk bed ladder with Caleb calling out, "First one down is a rotten egg!" I'm not sure if he was just a little mixed up, or if he was just trying to slow Jared down. Gracie's always the last one to wake, because she's the last one to fall asleep at night.
After breakfast we all went to an old theater in town with Brooke, Addie and Paige for a free showing of The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I was a little worried that the girls wouldn't sit through the whole thing, but they did GREAT!
When I got home from the store this afternoon, the girls were playing house under the kitchen table. They were taking turns putting each other to bed.
I went to check on the boys and they were up on their beds playing The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. They were trying to figure out where their ship's trap door should be.
I love how they're able to make up games to play with each other, and that the boys want to be pirates and the girls want to be mommies!
Phil went to a friend's house to discuss welding...boooorrrring! I stayed home to watch this. I missed this movie when PBS aired it back in January, but Phil downloaded it for me a few days ago. Yes, he welds and he's computer savy!
And my snack for the movie? A cup of Good Earth tea and a piece of toasted wheat bread with this stuff smothered all over the top. Yummmmmy! Sorry about the gigantic peanut butter picture.
We love this book! What child doesn't? We read this book last night before bedtime, and then the teacher in me ran downstairs in search of my Blueberries for Sal Language Arts activity.
This afternoon we colored blueberries onto paper wheels and then fastened each one to the pails on their worksheets with paper fasteners.
As they turn their wheels, the blueberries fall into their pails. Kurplink, kurplank, kurplunk.
Lily was more interested in eating her Cheez-It crackers.
