A Little Bit of June

• It's been quite some time since I've sat in front of this computer to do anything other than scour Etsy and EBay for treasures to adorn my freshly painted bathroom walls. Yes, I've started projects again! Oh how I LOVE projects! A couple of months ago I got the itch to paint something, so I painted a bookcase for our bedroom. That wasn't enough to satisfy my, so I started to brainstorm ways to spruce up my kitchen...but that's gonna take a while....so I decided I was sick of looking at my hideous guest bathroom/laundry room. I've been brainstorming, painting, collecting, shopping, and decorating for the entire month of June thus far. I suppose it's now finished enough for me to be satisfied for a while. In fact, I finished today.



• All of my other time has been spent doing various other things. For one, I've enjoyed many lazy days with my Bible study girls. Oh how I love these girls! One girl in particular has a house/farm that is in dire need of demolition. However, she's making the best of it and we're doing a makeover on her bathroom...among other things.



• The kids got a nasty bout of illness last week, and we're praying that's the end of sickness for a while...and if God answers my prayer...FOREVER! Wouldn't that be nice??



• Synnove started T-ball and it's a joy to watch. She REALLY didn't want to play t-ball, but I sorta forced her to. I told her that she didn't have to play next year if she didn't want to. Still, she cried and pleaded with me and said, in typical teenage fashion,"why are you doing this to me!!??" Turns out, she kinda likes it...go figure. Her Grandpa made her a deal that if she hit the ball passed the imaginary base line that she would get a spankin' new 4-wheeler to ride. The whole ordeal is kind of a long story...but she has yet to hit passed the line. We're hoping that tonight is the night because she only has two more games until our 4th of July camping trip! She got to ride it on Father's day, but wasn't able to take it home from Grandpa's house. Of course, she's thrilled...and loves that it has "reverse."



• Adam has been working a lot...this week in particular. He's been prepping for this week's chemical safety audit for quite some time. He's also been working Saturday's and has spent many late evenings at home on the computer. That, as well as last months 2-week annual mill shut-down has kept him away from home waaaay too much. We're looking forward to his week off next week!



• Hmm...what else? Well, last Sunday was the first Sunday since Easter that we were actually able to attend church! Birthdays, graduations, weddings, work, baby showers, sicknesses...you name it. Our May/June gas bill was horrific.

Last minute family BBQ... first weekend in June

Lighting off the burn pile while being entertained by the "kids" on their "toys"

Because of some sort of miscommunication, Knappa's t-ball teams are the only teams that aren't coed. So, unlike the other teams, we get pink and purple shirts! Synnove is #9 with the dark helmet on.


Another last minute BBQ at the Kinder's with their family and another family I met through preschool/bible study. From left to right...Jim O'Connor, Synnove, Breanna Kinder, Kade Kinder, Tucker Regier, and Soren.

I thought that this shot captured the Summer Solstice quite perfectly...

A Couple of Memorial Memories

I know it's been three weeks since we went camping for Memorial weekend, but better late than never! This year, camping season couldn't come fast enough for us. We were all tired of being sick and tired, and we really needed a relaxing break. Every camping trip has it's own vibe, and I think this one had a great one. Only the die hard campers were present for this trip...but it was still fun filled. The weather was fairly decent, we played LOTS of games, we enjoyed late night movies, and we partook in the traditional potluck feast complete with steamed oysters.

We decided Lucy would have to stay home from this trip...and probably future trips. It's a bit sad, and kind of a hassle, but her barky-ness and puppy-ness is just too much to handle.

The same ol' camping pics get old after a while, so I only included a couple...

This wasn't Soren's first time on the 4-wheeler, but it was the first camping trip that we were able to leave him "fairly" unattended to blaze his own trails. He did fantastically! We are looking forward to our 4th of July trip when Soren and Synnove won't have to share....(more on that later).

On Sunday night, Aunt Alice brought out the silly string so that Synnove, Soren, FiFi, Taylor, and Bronson could douse each other with it. I especially love this shot because it shows off Synnove's recent toothless grin...

Preschool Olympics

Every year Miss Kara does a special party/event for the last day of preschool. This year it was "Preschool Olympics." Soren hasn't shown too much excitement when it comes to preschool fun. He's always very subdued at school. In fact, throughout the year several different parent helpers would come up to me and say "Soren actually talked to me today!" followed by something like..."and he talked my ear off!" If Soren decides that you're OK to talk to, he'll talk...and talk! He's such a serious little boy and his talking is usually of a serious nature. And lately, I've noticed, he's got a lot to say. Anyway, like I was saying before, he doesn't usually get too excited about preschool. There's no doubt that he enjoys it though! When the last week of school came around, he couldn't stop talking about the upcoming Preschool Olympics. He was actually very excited to participate, and I made sure he was outfitted for the occasion. Unfortunately, his shoes were a bit too small, but with summer just around the corner, I wasn't about to run out and buy him a brand new pair of tennie's.

He was shy when we arrived at school that day, as many of the kids forgot to dress for the special event. He was one of only 3 or 4 that were in appropriate attire. The first thing they did was create their number tags. Soren picked the number 100. After that, the kids practiced for their end of the year program, ate snack, then headed outside to complete 6 different events. We all split ourselves into pairs and rotated around the yard.

Soren was VERY serious about doing his very best. He was definitely faster and more agile than many of his classmates. He's also one of the tallest and oldest. He completed each even with vigor, and hardly cracked a smile the entire time. But, I knew he was having fun.

One of the events was an obstacle course that was timed on a stopwatch. It started with climbing the wall on the playstructure (below). He finished in 20 seconds! Miss Kara said that was the fastest of all 3 classes! Many of the kids took over a minute to complete it.

Once all the kids were done Miss Kara orchestrated a little medal ceremony. As the National Anthem played in the background, Miss Kara put a medal on each child and we all clapped. Everyone was all smiles...mostly the parents.

The next evening was the end-of-the-year program and graduation. Soren doesn't graduate until next year, but he was able to participate in all of the songs. He sang every word and did every hand motion. I was so proud of him.