summer lovin'

This is what summer means around here:

Saweet goggles, Kenaroo!

Dripping in watermelon juice is one of my most favorite things about summer!

Notice the bandaged up knees?  You can't see the bandaged elbows,
but believe me, they are there.  I heard about them for days.

The lovely shade of pink that Makenna picked out for me,

and then gave me the best manicure ever.
And not to be missed, the dyed hand from making play dough.  Mom for the win.

66.6%

We have officially become a family with 2/3 of our children being proficient (I use the term loosely) swimmers.  Luke, as of today, swam across the pool by himself and was beaming proud doing so!  He rocked it, really.

This is the pool floating that he will not be hanging onto this summer! 

my luke

Luke, while sitting in the back seat singing to himself, "If you like it then you should have put a ring on it, whut ut oh, oh, oh...if you like it than you should have put a ring on it, whut ut oh..."

I am giving credit to the Chipmunks, and not Beyonce.  Thankyouverymuch.

memories of Grandma Wanda

My Grandma Wanda passed away on the 17th of May.  Here is a picture journal of her life...

Grandma as a young girl

Grandma Wanda and Grandpa Alvin 

Their wedding day

Their family (my mom, Ruth is in the middle)

Photo collage of Grandma in her earlier years.

She was quite the bowler, who knew?!

Grandma (second from the left in the back) with her 6 out of 9 living siblings

Grandma with her children (my Mom, Ruth is on the left)

Photo collage of Grandma in her later years.

Grandma was a remarkable woman, with the will of an ox!  We've always blamed our stubbornness and strong will on her, but I will always be grateful for what she taught me about sticking up for what I feel passionately about and always fighting for what I believe in.

Love you Grandma...

#5

Luke turned 5 on Sunday, which also turned out to be Mothers Day this year.  It was awesome to share that special day with my little man.

He asked for a carrot, chocolate chip cake (his own concoction) from Aunt Sarah, but we weren't able to make it up to Eugene for the weekend, so he settled for a monster truck, triple chocolate cake from me...

                                                                                                                                                    

Things I've been loving about Luke lately:

-His excitement about being strong and tough (just like Dad) that he will do just about anything, such as eat a tomato.  As in, just take a bite out of it.  Let me point out that Luke HATES tomatoes.

-How amazing he is at playing Shrek Cart on my ipod.  I totally agree that this is nothing to be bragging about, but really, you should see this kid.  It's amazing.


-How much he loves Makenna and Jared.  And Jared just idolizes him and will do anything Luke tells him to (or better yet, shows him).


-What an absolute "bringer of light" he is.

Happy Birthday Lukey Dude!  We love you!

tender moments

My Grandma took a turn for the worse on Sunday when she fell...twice.  It was a hard day filled with pain, tears, and (get this) Momma pride.

While talking with my mom downstairs, we both heard Makenna's voice upstairs but assumed she was singing to herself (which she does ALL the time).  After a few minutes, I finally went up to check on her, and she was sitting on the ground reading to my grandma.  The Little Mermaid.  The long edition.

And grandma was sweet enough to let her, through all her pain. When I caught sight of them the tears came good and hard.  What a sympathetic, darling girl to find something that she knew how to do.  Something to make someone she cared about feel better.

I've never been more proud of my sweet cheeks (yes, nearly all of Makenna's nicknames have something to do with her big, kissable cheeks).

conversations with a preschooler

On the way home from preschool today Luke and I had the following conversation:

L:  Did you ask my teacher how I was today?
M:  No, would you like me to ask you how you were in school today instead?
L:  Oh, yes!
M:  Okay.  Luke, how were you in school today?
L:  after a lengthy pause and a confused look..."Mom, that was kind of a dumb question.  I don't know how I was at school today, you have to ask my teacher."