The County Fair

Both Jude and Jonah got to visit the county fair with their classes, which involved their first ride on a school bus. (What?! No seatbelts?! We might die!) Paul, Asaph and I got to tag along with Jude. Lots of local fun.

Me (on the left) with some other preschool moms & kids observing the mama pig (not pictured!) with her 6 piglets

Jude (second from left) and Paul (the short one hiding behind the glass) checking out the Lionel trains

Jonah (on the right...with the name tag that says "Jonah") with some first-grade buddies

The preschool class with their information booth freebies getting ready to load back on the bus

I'm a Soccer Mom!

So, it's official. As of this week, I am now a soccer mom. Complete with minivan. Startling how it sneaks up on one. Less than a decade ago, I was an über-cool, late-night-latte-drinking, hemp-jewelry-wearing art major. And now I push a double stroller around town, sing along to "The Letter Factory," and stand cheering on the sidelines taking pictures of little kids in oversize shirts running around after a ball. It could happen to you. And frankly, if it doesn't, you haven't really lived.

Anyway, Jonah's favorite recess activity is playing soccer, regardless of how much bigger all the other players are. In fact, we finally told him we wanted him to spend at least one recess a day doing something other than soccer. (Nothing against the sport, of course. We just don't want him turning into one of those obsessed, maniacal Brazilian-type soccer fans who cause deadly riots when their World Cup team loses. Got to be well-rounded, and all that.) So, since he was playing it so much without knowing the rules, we thought it would be great to sign him up for a real live team. And while we were at it, we got Jude in on the fun, too. Both kids get to play with classmates. Here are some photos to document this new stage in our lives.

Jonah with his coach

Jonah defending the goal.

Jude coming in for a high-five from his coach

Jude kicking the ball—and almost getting it to go somewhere

The summer in pictures

Well, hello everybody! Because this is my first blog post ever, I decided to do all my catching up in one quick photo flyby of our summer. Enjoy!

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Some highlights from June

Our anniversary, June 10. Yes, it is snow. Sometimes I do miss Texan weather more than I care to admit!

Jude's 4th birthday, with his oh-so-tasty dirt cake (which is neither dirt nor a cake. Discuss.)

My cousin's wedding in Tacoma.

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Picking huckleberries on a Sunday evening in July

Some friends from church invited us to join them picking huckleberries one evening at a lovely spot about 30 minutes from town. The kids loved hunting down undiscovered bushes along the trail, and we all got to enjoy the fruits of our labors, baked into some Saturday morning muffins.

Jayson, Jude & Asaph in the wild

Jonah with a choice huckleberry

Spring Valley. Ain't it pretty? Just one of the many reasons you should come visit us!

Paul and a friend from church. Does this remind you of a scene from Genesis?

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Family Reunion at Lake Tanwax

For those of you who weren't there, this is what we do every July with my mom's side of the family. I have many (yes, many) cousins, and we all actually like each other. Really. And there are boys galore, which means tons of fun for my four kiddos. This year was marked by one unique feature--namely, that the stomach flu picked off dozens of us before the three days were up. (We, thankfully, made it home before anybody in our household got it.) But we still managed to enjoy all of our usual reunion activites, including...

...swimming in the (brrrrr) lake [Paul]

...playing Scrabble® [my mom and my cousin]

...playing more games [my lovely cousins]

...and more games of another sort [more cousins]

...and then letting the kids play, too [Jonah with his second cousin & his first cousin once removed]

...enjoying the view [Asaph & Jayson]

...and eating ridiculous amounts of food (though not necessarily while standing in a circle)
Exciting activities not pictured: Jet skiing, bon firing, singing, cooking, bicycling, and cleaning up. Cleaning up is a family specialty.

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And then came August

This summer flew, as they always do.

Our nephew came for a visit with Jayson's mom and taught Jonah some fancy fingerwork on the piano. (By the way, we now have a real piano on loan from one of Jayson's former students! Thank you, Jenny!)

Grannie M with her boys! (We just needed Jayson' brother to complete the picture.)
Paul thinking deep thoughts

Asaph with his fun new hat from Aunt Lynn

Paul helping get the yard ready for new grass

Jayson and the boys have spent hours breaking up the packed clay in our barren back yard in the hope that we'll have some grass growing there before next summer.

My big boys on their first day of school! Jonah's in first grade, and Jude started preschool this year. Summer's over!