Canada

There's been so much going on, I almost don't know where to start.  We went to Canada last week to visit family and friends.  It was a great time.  On the way home, our brakes started grinding just as we approached the border.  With a long drive left, we stopped to get the brakes worked on. God directed us to a Midas where we were able to get in and out in about 2 hours.  We're thankful for how He intervened and allowed this to happen early in our drive and He led us to a place where we could get the repairs done with minimal wait time. It ended up being a 16 hour drive home, but the kids did great overall.

While we were in Canada, our Baby Girl celebrated her 4th birthday.  She is so full of spunk and has a really bubbly personality.  She is very athletic and is always on the go.  I think she charms everyone she meets.  Her aunt surprised her with a wonderful birthday party with help from Grandma.  Our girl's choice of theme for this year was unicorns and fairies.  Her cousin made her a unicorn pinata.  The cousins had a great time together.  

Other updates:

Baby Boy has started to spend some time in his jolly jumper.  He really enjoys it!  I just have to make sure the other kids don't push him because they like to see how far he can "swing".  He still isn't sitting up by himself, but he gets stronger by the day.  If I sit him up, he either topples to the side or bends forward.  He rolls around a lot now.  He just started blowing raspberries yesterday.

I gave Big Boy a haircut this week.  It is way shorter than before, but I like it more as I am getting used to it.  He is starting to say more words that I understand, but still doesn't say a whole lot of words that I understand.  He used to say "uh-huh" instead of "yes" when we'd ask him questions, but now he says "yeah".  He is always getting into things.  He wants to do everything his own way and doesn't want help with things.  If I help him with something he wants to do, he undoes it and then does it himself, even if it's wrong.  Talk about a strong will!  He also likes to do whatever we do.  When Daddy is working on something, he wants to try to do what Daddy does, which often can be dangerous when there are tools involved and he gets upset if he can't "help."  He is a sweet boy and gives lots of hugs and kisses.  He also recently got 1 of his 2 year molars.  He often puts his fingers in his mouth, so the others must not be too far behind.

Soccer season is over.  Big Girl scored her first goal in the last game of the season.  We're so proud of her!

We have 25 days of school left, so we should be finishing up in mid July.  I plan to take 3-4 weeks off to get organized for the next school year and then start back up in August.

We've had a lot going on here that we've been praying about.  Our riding mower stopped working just before we left.  We ordered the parts this week and Hubby and a friend repaired it yesterday and Hubby mowed our tall grass yesterday.  Our friend also helped us get our push mower working again. It hasn't worked in years.  Also, our air conditioning was acting up when we got home.  I had just changed the air filters a week or two before we left.  We replaced them again with different ones and things seem to be running fine. Then Wednesday night after church our check engine light came on in the van. Hubby is at a friends house right now and they're looking into that.  We praise God for how He works in these situations and uses people in our lives to help us.

Here are some pictures from our trip.  We went to the zoo this past week with Nana and I'll try to post pics of that soon.

on the long trip to Canada

Our big 4 year old on her birthday

decorating their unicorn plates

meeting his Great-Grandpa for the first time

Mom and Dad on their 42nd anniversary

We got together with some good friends.  Unfortunately, Big Girl was sick and stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa.

fun at the park with the cousins

Baby Boy snuggling with Grandpa around 5:30am Saturday morning before we headed back home