best daddy

Chad was so sweet to take us to the woods for foil dinners before he left us to go to Wisconsin this week. He has really been putting in the hours lately so we were glad for this family time. Tate takes his job very seriously as arrow holder when Chad is shooting his bow. Livia focuses on her job of firewood collector when we do this. I like to just sit by the fire and enjoy watching my lovely family all around me. Livia has really been touching my heart with the sweet things she says lately. On this particular evening she kept talking about how much she loved her family. She loves being in the outdoors as a family. It is when she, like her dad, seems the most happy.

monkeys on my bed!

bread day

I have been making bread on Monday mornings as a new tradition. My kids love having their sandwiches on rolls and I love knowing that I made something useful- Also I find that bringing a loaf of bread or rolls to friends and neighbors always brings a smile to their face. At Grandma Rhoton's funeral, I noticed that almost all of her grand kids spoke of memories where they had made bread with her. She would give them a little ball of dough and they could shape it any way they wanted. I loved this idea and thanks to my mother in law I even now have little baby rolling pins for my kids when we do this. The poor little balls of dough get a real workover by the time the kids are done with them- they play with them almost the entire time I am rolling out the rolls. I love listening to music and baking with the kids. On this particular Monday we had ms. Abbie over for a play date. She had a ball with her little rolling pen. These girls were cracking me up with their conversations at the table- I think they forgot I was there because they were so interested in their dough balls. I learned that Kellie and I need to hurry up and give them both sister's already- what is taking so long anyways? Also they decided since they don't have sister's yet, they could just be each other's for now- so cute to listen to. These girls are little sweeties!

funny face!

Livy made me laugh so hard when she was putting the google eyes on her and Taters. Isn't it hysterical- or am I just really getting a sense of humor like a four year old these days?

Mom's just make things better.

This week has been a delight. My mom and sister came for a visit and all of the cousins had a chance to play together. We did so many fun things. I love it when my mom comes because: I don't have to cook, she spoils me, she takes over with my kids right before I have a meltdown, she teaches me fun crafts (we had another jewelry lesson) and she will always rub my feet- I love the attention. My sister's little girl molly is such a little character. We could all just sit and watch her for entertainment. Thanks to Jenny we all have new hairdo's- My sweetie pie cousin came over on her day off to pamper everyone. It was such a wonderful visit that I wanted to cry when I watched their car drive away this morning! Family is the best. Don't you just love these pictures with my mom and all of her grand babies? my personal favorite is the one with Rach kissing Molly. We cleared out my dining room and had ourselves a little photo session while they were here- lucky for me my friend Jen edited my not so good pictures and turned them into something a bit more artistic. Well, back to reality for me there are diapers to change and meals to be made and it is all me now!

ladybugs and grapes

Today Livia played against the Ladybugs. It was such a fun morning. Poor Tate wanted out on that field more than anything. He ran around kicking Livy's soccer ball on the side lines and pretended like he was part of something. It reminded me of when I used to put on a tights and a leotard to go watch my sister do gymnastics and totally pretend like I was in her class when in actuality I was only aloud to sit on the bleachers with my mom. Being the youngest is so hard at times. Livia did a great job- we were so proud of her and her great sportsmanship. At the end of the game the parents make a tunnel with their arms for the kids to run under and she thought it was so much fun to run under our arms. I just get so excited that we are finally at a stage in our family where we get to go watch sports our kids are playing! I think Chad wished Livy was a little more aggressive- I had to remind him it is peewee soccer- they don't even keep score- it is just to have fun!

Soccer

Four year old girls playing soccer should be a skit on Saturday Night Live. I don't think I have ever watched something more hilarious than Livia's practice yesterday. The poor coach! These little girls are so in their own little world. They focus for a couple seconds and then one will find a flower and they will all ditch their balls to go pick flowers or they will be heading for the goal and get sidetracked watching another kid and start up a conversation. My favorite was watching this little girl who was in my opinion convinced she should have been at ballet instead of soccer because all she wanted to do was twirl and spin on the grass. Too funny. I will be sure to take pictures at her game on Saturday. Her uniform swallows her whole. She definitely looks like a grape.

Tater Skater

All Tate wanted for his birthday was a skate board. The boys in our neighborhood ride them and he will sit and watch them in our front yard for hours at a time. He takes it so seriously that I couldn't help but get a few pictures of him. He gets on his gear and practices in the garage by copying what he has seen the big boys do. I have to admit he is pretty good- I was surprised at his coordination on that thing!

AAHHHHRRRRRRR!

Tate turned three and we celebrated his birthday this past weekend at Chad's parents house- it worked out great because his cousins were there. This birthday he really seemed to understand it was a party for him. He was so cute as a little pirate and the kids had a fun time searching for buried treasure and eating cake that turned everybody bright blue! Happy birthday my little boy- you are so much fun to have around. Your Dad and I get such a kick out of the things you say and do. You have such a great personality and you are so very loving to your family. We love how outgoing you are and how friendly you are to those around you. We love you so much Tater Salad!

fourth

My favorite is the picture of Chad's parents walking with the kids to the parade. We had such a great time in the white mountains for the fourth of July. First of all it was great to spend some time with Chad since he has been MIA for the past month with work. We relaxed and enjoyed family time together. The food was wonderful. Thanks Kellie for making the cutie pie flip flops for the girls- Livy won't stop wearing them! Thank you Andrea for letting us take over your home with our crazy bunch!

Summer is................

I want to go back to when it was just this simple- kids are so lucky........................................