Quick 5

We've had an incredibly busy week, and I don't feel like we have a lot to show for it!

1. Next week will be the bomb. Our Kimble family is all coming to town, and then we're going to spend the week at a condo up in Winter Park. I hear it is supposed to be in the 90s for Denver next week, which means low 80s for the mountains. Our timing is impeccable.

2. Our basement restoration is almost complete. Lee finished painting and we finally got all of our stuff under control. I am no longer ashamed of our basement. It's quite lovely down there. And clean. And worthy of guests.

3. I finally planted my garden. It seemed like it was now or never, so I bought some plants from Lowe's and put them in. I put in zucchini, sugar snap peas, an heirloom tomato and red bell peppers. And of course there is our ever thriving raspberry bush. We just might get fruit out of that this year (if we can beat the birds to it.)

4. Today is our 11th anniversary. We're celebrating big, going to see a movie in a real theater that has been out for less than two weeks! Then we'll go to Bonefish Grill, and probably hit Lowe's afterward.  This is married life, folks. And my heart is happy.

5. I forgot to add this last week. Is it because I'm jaded to the wonder of them? I hope not! May it never be so!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Quick 5

It's a soggy Friday, and our sump pump is working just fine!

1. Last Saturday was the first Family Hike of the summer for our church. They even had a barbeque after, but we couldn't stay because Lee had wedding to go to. But we were able to do the entire hike. We just plunked Bria in the wagon and went. She was relatively happy the whole time, although water and granola bars might have had a big hand in that. Joya walked quite a bit of the way too.

2. Monday was a garden day AND our first MOPS play date of the summer. The girls and I were at the church from 8:00-9:30, and then went over to the park. I learned that that is TOO much playing outside for Bria. She was practically catatonic at the park. She just stood and stated. We didn't stay too long. But she was nice and worn out for her nap that day.

3. We celebrated Lee's 36th birthday this week. He had slowly been collecting his birthday presents over the past month or so, which consisted of camping and hiking gear. So for his birthday I made phillies, and Alaina thought he'd like ice cream with mini-Reese's peanut butter cups and hot fudge for his birthday treat. She was right.

4. The girls joined the summer reading program at our library. They each got to choose a book to keep, and Alaina has already started racking up her minutes. She's a champ at knocking out reading minutes. When they signed up, each girl got to decorate a star with her name and a picture. Joya wrote her name and drew a rainbow. Alaina wrote her name and drew a ninja and a death sign.

5. Bria is growing by leaps and bounds. She's started speaking in full sentences and asking, "Why not??" when I say no to something. She might not be intelligible to the rest of the world yet, but she's getting there.

Hope your weekend is nice and dry!

Quick 5 - Birthday Edition

In lieu of one single party, we decided to make Alaina's 7th birthday a days-long event.

1. It all started Sunday with Alaina's birthday treat of choice: ice cream cones. I put a candle in one, and we got to share the moment with Gramma and Grampa via Skype. Summer birthdays are the best because of all the ice cream options that make the most sense.

 2. Then came our traditional Red Robin birthday burger. Because Alaina and Lee's birthdays are so close together, we get to go enjoy TWO free burgers around Alaina's birthday. (And by burger, I DO mean grilled cheese for Alaina.) The girls were so thrilled to eat in an actual restaurant, it didn't really matter what they ate.

3. Then on her actual birthday, she got to eat the cereal she picked out for the week: Chocolate Lucky Charms. It was the treat that kept on giving, since there are still a few bowls left.

4. And then she had a fun day with her BFF, Avery. We had a picnic at the park (which ended early when Bria face planted into the concrete), then the girls built her new Legos and ate popsicles. THEN Grammy came and took the girls to paint pottery and then to eat at Texas Roadhouse, where Alaina got to sit on the birthday saddle. But wait, there's more! Since Lee and I had things to do at the church, Alaina got to go spend the night at Grammy's all by herself. It's like she doesn't even need her mom anymore.

 4.1. Remember these two?

Or these?

5. We do have quite the summer project. We're working as much as we can at Redemption Gardens, a garden that is being built at our church. I've shoveled alpaca poo, spread dead leaves and watered, and this week we got to begin planting. We've planted peas, corn, squash, pumpkins and beans. The girls have helped, but mostly they like to play with Abby on the playground. We can't wait to try the vegetables that are going to come out of this garden.

I need a nap.

Happy 7th Birthday Alaina!

Happy Birthday Alaina! You're 7!! You're like a real, full grown kid. Having you as a baby was a dream come true, but we never knew what a joy it would be to watch you grow and learn. You are thriving in school and have such a thirst for learning. You often come to me with facts about things that I never knew, and you know them just because you read it somewhere. You are funny and kind and such a big help to all the grown-ups. Right now you want to be either a firefighter or a vet when you grow up. You love to read Captain Underpants books, and you like Legos and ninjas. I love watching you learn to do things for yourself, like making your own breakfast and getting yourself ready in the morning, from getting dressed to brushing your teeth. I'm sad that you think you're too big to hold my hand, but sometimes you forget that's a rule you made and you hold my hand anyway.

We pray that you'll grow to love Jesus more and more this year. We pray that you hate sin and get caught when you're guilty, and that you'll always learn to think of others more often than you think of yourself. We pray that God protects your life and your health, and that He gives you the wisdom you need to have a great year in 2nd grade.

We love you so much!!

Love,
Mom, Dad, Joya & Bria

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Quick 5

Apparently I could not live in Seattle, because I have been extraordinarily happy about the sunshine this week. Weeks and weeks of rain is not my jam.

1. Remember how much I dislike March? And then this year I was all like, "Oh! March wasn't so bad!" Well, March decided to make up for it in May. This May has kicked my butt, and I fully blame March for that. I'm glad to see this month go.

2. Our Memorial Day festivities consisted of a walk around the lake at Clement Park. There were so many people there walking their dogs and witnessing us dragging a screaming toddler around the lake. There was no peace there for that hour. Bria wanted to walk when she was in the wagon, and then if she walked she wanted to be in the wagon of course. And then there was the idea she got in her head that we would be going IN the lake, and the world knew of her displeasure when she realized that we would not in fact be going in the lake. I can't decide if we don't do things because she's difficult, or if she's difficult because we've always just stuck close to home. And we also can't decide if we should just suck it up and stay home because she's difficult, or suck it up and deal with a screaming two-year-old and force her to go do things with us. Ah, the joys of a two-year-old.

The post-walk pass out

3. Of course God can take ALL things and work them out for the good, even the trivial things like flooded basements. Our carpets are finally dried, cleaned and freshly padded, so all that is left is putting things back together. But we're taking this opportunity to paint and organize in ways that we've always just put off before. Lee painted our smelly storage room, and the change has been dramatic. So much so that we have to stop calling it the Smelly Room. (That will be a hard habit to break.) We plan to build shelves in there, but we have family coming into town in a few weeks, so for now we're just stacking things again, this time in a much smarter way, with only plastic tubs touching the floor. Next step is to paint the whole basement, which again is a job we've been putting off, but since the furniture is moved out of the way anyway...

4. Our family crossed something off our bucket list this week: Cleaning Gum Out of Hair. Alaina's gum accidentally fell into Joya's hair. Joya was NOT pleased. But the peanut butter trick worked like magic, and no scissors had to be involved.

A very reluctant/forced thumbs up

 5. I finally decided that Alaina is old enough to make her own breakfast. All the breakfast stuff is out of reach (and needs to be thanks to a Food Sneaker in our house) so I still have to get down what she wants, but she is capable of preparing it.  For her first ever breakfast she chose to make peanut butter toast. So she did.  Both she and Joya were giddy with the idea that she was actually cooking. I look forward to her getting faster so maybe this can be her chore even during the school morning rushes. But she IS almost seven!

Coming up next week: Alaina's 7th Birthday Jubilee!