getting creative with slip n slides...

A few weeks ago we were hanging out at Nathan's parents' house and it was getting close to our kids' bedtime...and they desperately needed baths.  So Nathan (being such a creative husband/dad) got out the slip n slide and soaped up our kiddos...it was the most fun bath they have ever had!  Although Daisy was a little unsure at first:)



A couple of weeks after that, they got creative again at Grandpa Dave's and Grandma Terri's...Nathan's dad and brother Kyle set up this HUGE slip n slide down a hill--it was so much fun!

Kaine and Halle LOVED it...they did it over and over and over...

I put my swimsuit on, fully intending on joining in...until I noticed the ground at the bottom of the hill was turning to mud!  They were getting soooo dirty!  So I sat and watched with the other ladies:)

This is the first and last time Layla went down...she was not overly fond of this slip n slide:)

Nathan's dad was more than happy to wrap her up and cuddle with her:)

Daisy, on the other hand...she loved it!  At least as long as she was being held...

...Nathan tried pushing her down the hill by herself...he put her on her stomach going head first, which seems the most safe.  But poor Daisy...halfway down she pushed herself into a sitting position...and promptly fell over backwards:)  She did not appreciate that.

So fun! 

VBS...for 3 weeks!!

I was so glad to be in town for VBS!  It was lots of fun--I taught 7th grade full time, and Kaine was in kindergarten.  I was able to take Halle and Layla with me, and they went to kiddie bible school.  It was a very good (but tiring ) 2 weeks!  The picture above is my seventh grade class.

So that was fun, and then I found out that Leo's VBS was going to be the following week...and I debated what to do.  I really wanted to take Kaine and Halle up for it, because I really want their friendships with the Leo kids to continue.  But I was tired:)  And I knew they were tired, too, from their 2 weeks of Bible school that they just had.  But...I decided to do it.  And it wasn't so bad--we didn't go on Monday, so I just had to drive them up on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.  My mom graciously offered to drive them on Thursday (which was her birthday!).  So it was good.


One major perk was that while Kaine and Halle were at vbs, I had at least 2 hours to kill! One of the days I took Layla out on a "date"--it was so much fun to just be with her!  I feel like that never really happens. 

So we went to one of our favorite parks that we used to go to:

Then we took a walk to the candy store in Grabill.  We love that store:)  Then I took her to my favorite, Grabill Country Sales (I think that is what it's called).  It is an awesome store.  If you are in the area, you should check it out!  They have really good homemade ice cream:

Then after I picked up Kaine and Halle, we all had lunch out at Wendy's...it was a fun day!!

So then on that Thursday, when my mom drove them up to Leo, I was able to spend the whole morning with just Layla and Daisy!  That was really fun, too!  Life is just so much easier with less kids!  I love having 4 of them, but it is really busy and I don't get as much one on one...so it was a lot of fun.  We took a walk to a park.  (pictures below:) ).

So...the verdict:  VBS was lots of fun!  But is was really tiring for my kids.  I'm not sure if I will do 3 weeks of it again next year.  It took a few days for their bodies to recover.  But I'm glad I did it this year:)  Thanks so much to my mom and Nathan's mom and Jenna for watching Daisy soooo many days!  I appreciate it so much!

enduring the heat!

As much as I LOVE summer...I will admit it was a tad hot there for a few days!  At the villa we decided to get the sprinkler out.  Halle LOVED it!

And Layla liked it...but not quite as much as her older sis...

This was Daisy's first sprinkler experience EVER...and at first, she didn't know what to think.  I think the cold water shocked her:)

But as you can see, she ended up loving it, too!!

Sadly, that day ended on a very bad note when Halle (who is terrified of bugs, I might add) got stung by a bee:(  If you live within a 1/2 mile radius of us...you probably heard her screaming!  I was a little worried someone would call the police to investigate!!



Thankfully, it didn't scar her too much.  Here is Halle with a new sprinkler that Nathan bought her on a "daddy date"...and she was out there, loving it again.  I guess she forgot about the bees!

Praise the Lord for sprinklers on a hot day!  Now I wonder what we will do on the hot days when we live in a jungle??  We might have to get creative:)

summer highlight #3...

Bike rides!!

Nathan and I have always loved taking bike rides, and that hasn't changed--even with the four blessings that we now bring with us!  (Okay, so Nathan obviously does most of the work...what can I say?  He is stronger than me!)

Here is my load:)

Usually we don't do this, but at times we will ride our bikes to get ice cream:

But we usually go to a park...our kids' favorite!  They all four LOVE parks!!

**Side note on Daisy's hair barrette...Nathan teases me when I put a barrette in her hair and he says it looks like a piece of trash is stuck to her head:)  Since she is still very bald, it looks like it is floating in midair...but the reason I try to stick something in there is because if I don't, she almost ALWAYS gets called a boy!  The other day I had her at Walmart and an older man looked at her and said, "Hey, big guy!!"  Okay, first of all...BIG??    And second of all, she was wearing PINK!  Sigh.  That is why I must put a barrette in her hair!  Although Kaine and Halle get quite a kick out of it when people make comments to her like "Hey big guy" :)  Anyway, just a side note:) **

Our kids' latest favorite bike ride destination--the tank!!  This is located down the street from us, and is used to be a real army tank (at least I think so)...and I was not in favor of this, by the way!  I was nervous about it and we were getting some "looks" from the cars passing by!  But our kids thought it was so cool!  (Especially Kaine!)

Bike rides are a definite favorite highlight of ours!  More to come...

summer highlight #2...

More "life at the villa"!

Some of you may remember my post from our Christmas break about our "villa"...we still love staying in our "villa" :)  It is air conditioned, nice, and it is just kind of fun to stay in since we only stay there a few months a year.  Our kids love it!  Random life in our villa:

Layla and Daisy are easily entertained:)

This is the look Daisy gives me when I tell her something is "no".  She gets very offended by that:)

Having a "birthday party" for their dolls/stuffed animal...complete with a tiny birthday cake:

It is so cute to see Layla with her doll--she is starting to act more and more like a "mommy"...and I love that!

Had to try giving Daisy a lemon:)

Here is Daisy imitating Kaine at the breakfast table...she does that all the time!  She loves to imitate all of her older siblings.

Kaine is such a great older brother!  I love that kid:)

There is a big parking lot behind our villa, and on the end of it is a big pile of stones/sand.  Kaine likes to dig holes in it--it is kind of like our own personal HUGE sandbox!

Thanks again for the villa, Dad and Mom M.!  We are loving it and we appreciate it so much!

summer highlight #1...

Meeting my new nephew! 

Less than a week after we arrived back home for the summer, we were so excited to hear that Jill had gone into labor with their new baby boy!  We were thrilled to travel back up to Jackson to meet him. 

So...I know this is more than a month late, but welcome to our family, baby Abel James!  We love you already:)

We had to get a "Kaine and Abel" picture...Kaine is in love with his new boy cousin already.  He is so glad to have another boy around!  Kaine held Abel for a long time in the hospital:)

More summer highlights to come...

still alive!!

Yes, we are still alive and kicking after something like FIVE weeks since my last blog post!  A very busy summer + no internet access at our house = no blogging.  Oh well...I hope to do a few updates these next few days.

So...an update on our family...

Daisy is getting more personality by the day!  More on her later, though.

Nathan has been a very hard worker!  He is working hard this summer doing landscape work fulltime, and I am adjusting to being at home with our kids every day.  It has been going pretty well!  We miss daddy being around so much, for sure, but the kiddos and I are enjoying our time at home as well.  However, at the end of every day, we are soooo ready to see him!  Here are Layla and Daisy waiting outside for daddy:

And the kiddos running to give him hugs when he pulls up!  (Do you love the gorgeous view that we enjoy from our backyard?)  :)

I think Nathan and I are both surprised at how TIRED he is at the end of every day!  Landscaping in the heat is tiring him out.  He is always ready to go to bed soon after the kids go to bed.  In this picture, Nathan fell asleep on the kids' bedroom floor as we were putting them to bed on night:)

As tired as he has been, though, Nathan never complains and I know he works so hard.  I am so thankful for his amazing attitude and great work ethic.  He has really been enjoying getting to know the guys that he landscapes with, too!


As for Kaine...he has been loving tball!  He is sad that he only has one more game...and he is already excited to play next summer!  Hopefully Halle will join the team next year:)

We also love going to his games to watch. We were so glad Aunt Jenna could go to a couple of them when she was home to visit!

And Halle...she is still the same sweet Halle!  One thing though...with this busy summer, she has been taking less naps and getting pretty tired...and she has been having these "night terrors" or something like that.  I am thinking it could have something to do with her being overly tired?  If anyone has any experience or advice about this, I would greatly appreciate it! 

And Layla...she is so fun!  She is doing great--talking more and more (beginning to talk in sentences now) and her potty training couldn't have gone better!  She did awesome with that!  I am thankful I don't have to worry about that this summer. 

Our sweet baby Daisy...she is getting so much personality!  She is so adorable and beginning to say a couple of words (she says "cracker" and "pa"--for grandpa!)...but poor Daisy has had somewhat of a rough summer, too.  She has been teething up a storm!  When we left NTBI in May, she had 8 teeth...and now a month later, she has 13 teeth! And they have not been easy, either.  They come complete with fever, tons of drooling, and plenty of fussiness.  Not to mention, the poor baby had this nasty virus earlier this week--super high fever and she was miserable for about 24 hours.  In this picture, she just lay on the floor like this (cool washcloth on her head) for at least a good 5 minutes--she was one sick baby:( 

But other than that, Daisy has been great!  She is starting to "stand up" like this:

And her new favorite thing to do:  climb stairs!!

So there is a quick update...hopefully there will be more to come!