VBS in Ancient Egypt

Well, I survived Vacation Bible School last week! Zoey had a great time, so that is good, and Max, well, he is my non-crafty kid, so he just thought it was okay. He was caught singing the songs once we got home though, so it gets to him in other ways. This year, the theme was Joseph and Ancient Egypt. I love the high school and middle school helpers, though. It is neat to see them with the little kids and acting out there parts if they have that kind of role. Here is Zoey wearing something she made in one of the marketplace shops:

Computer Time

Here's the background on this photo... We have futon mattress on the floor of our bedroom. Not so great for decor overall, but the kids had a sleepover in our room and we haven't moved it out. The night before, Ross was looking at the laptop before bed, so he just left it on his bedside table. The next day, we were all downstairs playing when Max went up to use the bathroom and never came back down. He was gone for so long, that I had to see what he was up to. I found him like this:



He'd taken it off the nightstand and set himself up all comfortable to play some computer games!

Max

I finally got to take a couple more pictures to capture Max at this moment.

Here is a thank you to Grandma Bette for the letter pillow things...





And just a mix of cute ones...
















I was going to photoshop his chin a little, but figured it captured the moment, so I left it! And although they don't normally want to participate in a photoshoot, as soon as I singled out Max, Zoey was eager to join in...

Ten on Tuesday

1. Fireflies... I ♥ them! I don't think I could ever get tired of them, either. Each night I take a couple of minutes and just stare outside into the dark and watch their magical, flickering beauty.

2. I just have to share THIS SONG with you! Love the lyrics and message. And Macy Gray is funky, and cool. It makes me very happy.

3. I love a couple of different lines from the song, but this one is my very favorite... "Stop and smell the flowers, and lose it, in sweet music and dance with me!" I love to play music in the kitchen and dance around. Last night everyone else joined me too! Don't want to forget that memory.

4. Well, I like the line about shaking your booty, too.

5. And hello... Happy Summer Solstice! A day late, but that's okay. Welcome to the official start of Summer.

6. The kids are in Vacation Bible School this week. I decided to volunteer, thinking I could just be in the background as the snack lady or something. I wanted to be there, but not BE THERE, you know? Well, I ended up being a group leader and Max is even in my group. I also have 7 boys in my group. I'm exhausted.

7. So for our anniversary this year, we are thinking of getting iPhones! Romantic, right? We went to check it out and Max grabbed the one in the store and totally knew what to do. He took a picture of himself!

8. I love it when people post things that they love... Here is something I just bought and I love it!

9. Are there things like that that you have? Share:)

10. We had a day filled with summer stereotypes... swimming, lawn mowing, popsicles, watermelon... Happy Tuesday, friends.

As Fate Would Have It...

When we plan a trip, we plan for an adventure. Or at least that is what I am going to think from now on! We more often travel to see family versus just a vacation, but I think that just goes with living far away and moving often. This past weekend we went for a quick visit to see Ross's brother and wife (Chet and Tabitha) and in our barely there for 24 hours, we saw ourselves in the emergency room. Max had fallen and cut his chin open pretty deep, so off he went. Thankfully, it was a quick bit of skin glue and we were on our way; however, we couldn't help but pause a moment and really think about how often this happens!

We can chuckle now, but seriously we have visited the ER at every family person's location at least once, sometimes twice. If we were home, some of the visits wouldn't necessarily require the ER, but that is what we do when out of town. Chet and Tabitha even felt bad, because Zoey busted her chin open once at their house years ago! I guess Max was just making the score even. Anyway, as I said in the beginning... I am now planning for the adventure!

A sort of funny side note... I read about two other little boys who had the same thing happen, one on the same day even. I bet the hospitals and urgent care are filled with this in the summertime. I would say boys will be boys, but Zoey is are resident stitches champ, so who knows?

And since I never know when the stars will align again with the weather and time of day and Max cooperating, I may not get my second set of pictures I was hoping for with Max. So for now, here he is in his new 6 year old glory!

Thoughts ...

So I am in the process of taking a couple of pictures of Max, just to document him right around his birthday. He hasn't been super cooperative, so it may be a multiple day process to get at least close to what I want! As we were walking around the neighborhood after one photo session, I realized that I never have pictures of me. We make a yearly photo book and every year as I search for a couple of pictures of me with the kids, I swear next year will be better. Well, with my new camera, I think it's gotten worse. I know that even if I don't care now, I will certainly regret it ten years from now! So, I am trying to make a better effort to get myself in the pictures...

here's a start:





Max lost another tooth last night, too! I actually fell asleep waiting for Max to fall asleep, so Tooth Fairy "Dad" had to take over!

And here is just a random picture for fun!

Max's Birthday!!

Max had a nice birthday. We had a special lunch (McDonald's...we've done it twice now, so it's sort of a tradition, I guess) and then we had friends over for dinner. Pizza and Cake!

When our friends walked in the door, he announced, "Hey guys, its my birthday!" He was really excited all day, which is what I love.

In the morning we took our birthday measurement. Since we move all of the time, Ross made a life-size ruler when Zoey was born. It's our portable "mark your height on the wall" thing.



This is the only time Zoey wasn't happy and supportive during the day:


Whether we have a big party at the house or not, we always decorate the night before so the kids wake up to party decor and streamers galore!! (Not really that many, but it had a nice ring to it.)



And we always get balloons. The disposable tank that you use yourself is a big hit. The problem is that you have to wait until only an hour before your event or the balloons may lose helium and start to fall... So Max painfully waited to blow up balloons all day! I guess it added to the excitement though.







He was excited to hold them all!


Zoey was equally excited for him as well, which made it nice. She was helpful the whole day!

Earlier in the week, we went to pick out his cake. He either wanted Mario Bros. or Toy Story... No Mario Bros anywhere! I think there must be a licensing thing or something because I know boys out there just love Mario! Anyway, Toy Story it was and he was happy either way...




And presents, of course!


Thanks family!

And Here he is... Our New Six Year Old:

Sidewalk Chalk and Summer Fun

Nothing like a new box of crayons... or sidewalk chalk that looks like crayons...



Here is a picture Zoey worked on the other day.



And with all of the rain we have been having, she gets a fresh canvas nearly everyday! The storms bring clouds though, and with that we get some pretty sunsets...



I like the sunset pictures, because it really gives me a chance to play with the camera and learn more about exposure. It is fun to be learning something new and enjoying it too~

Zoey and School Days

Here I am a little behind the bandwagon on posting Zoey's first and last day of school pictures. I wasn't here for Max's last day and forgot to ask Ross to take his picture! Here is Zoey though... I don't see the changes day to day, but looking at this I know there has been a lot of growth for her this year (on the inside and out).

::Max at Six::

Our Max is SIX today! Somehow it just doesn't seem possible... Every sixth birthday we have is celebrated on the actual day of the week we were born, so yay! this one is even extra special... (have I mentioned before that I am a little bit birthday crazy? I find ways to make even certain birthdays more special than regular birthdays!!) Really, I just love to stop and focus on the person and how special they are. Not that we shouldn't do that every day... but this way there is cake!!

So our Max was born on Friday, June 11th. Six year ago. Changing our hearts and lives once more. Always for the better.

Max at Six:: You smile and laugh each day. You always have. You "get" humor that is beyond your years sometimes, but can crack up over silly slapstick stuff as well. If you are crying or upset for any reason, we only need to pretend to fall or bump into something or quote a funny saying from a movie, and you quickly dry those tears away.

Max at Six:: You sing and entertain yourself so well! You can entertain yourself for hours on end. We often hear you in another room, playing with toys or games and just singing away. Your imaginative play is very creative. You can turn any object into some sort of character and act out a show or event. It is fun to stand back and watch. You love to dance to certain songs as well. We can play a song and soon hear your feet running towards us to join in!



Max at Six:: You change and grow by leaps! Our thoughts and memories of Zoey growing and learning new things is as more of a steady incline. With you, it is like stairs where you are level for a while and then all of a sudden, within two weeks it seems like you change into a different kid! This is how you are and have always been. It is like you internally change and then when you are ready to share it with us- you do and we are wowed!

Max at Six:: You are so funny. Things you say and do daily crack us up... I think to myself every day, "This kid just kills me!" You can also quote movies and do accents so well I sometimes have to take a second look to make sure it came from your mouth!



Max at Six:: You are sweet and caring. You are protective of all of us and give hugs and kisses all of the time. You have a tender heart. You are a darling brother.

Max at Six:: We think you will be an engineer of some sort... you love to help put together things that come with instruction books. You keep the instructions to look over them and remember building them with your Daddy. You build and play with legos as well. I sometimes feel like I can actually see the gears turning inside that head of yours. It is amazing to me.




Max at Six:: You are strong and have good balance and must.be.first.... this causes problems when playing with Zoey who has an edge on you right now. Just the other day they were playing soccer in the yard and Zoey was dribbling all around and running faster and Max finally just got mad and tackled her!

Max at Six:: You are a wrestler and a snuggler. You love to wrestle with Daddy every day. He is delighted as he waited years for this! When you were recently sick, the doctor specifically said, "no wrestling!" and so you waited until given the green light, and then it was "Game On!" But with mommy... (and daddy, too) you are a snuggler. And I LOVE IT. You touch my face and snuggle under blankets and are just the sweetest thing!



Max at Six:: You do things in your own time and you know what you want. You are tentative to try things new under pressure, but given space and time, you gain confidence and we are so proud of you. You have taught yourself so many things.

Max at Six:: You are a joker and a talker... and we are thrilled that you are now chatting away and sharing with us your funny sense of humor. You are still reserved around many besides your family, and that's okay.



Max at Six:: You sleep where you want. I just have to mention this for my own memory... When we tuck you in at night, we never know where we will find you once we come back up to bed for the night. It stopped my heart the first time it happened. I went upstairs for that final check and you were not in your bed! Now as I walk up the stairs I wonder where you will be... did you stay in your own bed with books and animals around? Are you in our bed, on top of the covers? Or did you snuggle up in the guest room and tuck yourself in?








Max at Six:: Is not the same as five, or four, or one. We love you more now than before which doesn't seem possible. We look forward to this year ahead and are thankful every day for the blessing that is YOU. We love you, little buddy, stinker, Max-man, and our sweet Max. God Bless You.

They Didn't Get the Memo...

...that Summer Vacation started!

The kids were up early still! I was pretending to not hear them and was sort of hiding out in my bed when I heard Max run to the bathroom.

He started to pee and when he was nearly finished I heard him say with pride, "Whoa! That was the longest pee I ever had!"

Glad to know he started his day with a smile and one for the record books.

Ten on Tuesday

1. So here goes... going for ten. I will have to have pictures of course.

2. When it rains, it pours, doesn't it? Especially with kiddos and sickness. Lots of antibiotics in our house, but glad to say we are all on the mend.

3. We are gearing up for Toy Story 3. We had to go buy the first two, but I can say now that with being sick and just laying around a ton, we are all caught up and ready! Watching a movie over and over again will do that for you.

4. With summer approaching, we get to catch lots of frogs and toads. They are kind of cute in an ugly way... I like this guy:



5. And with all of the crazy rain (thunderstorms!!), spiders are everywhere! Check this guy out, just loungin' with his leg hanging down:



6. I would love to have a big vegetable garden to go and pick dinner from, but I have no idea what to do and it seems like way too much work. Deep down I'm just not that kind of gal. I sort of get the same feeling from a farmer's market, so that's good... no work for me:)

7. I love Jack Johnson (not the guy himself, but the laid back, sitting on a beach chair in Hawaii, watching the waves and the chillaxing feeling you get from his music). His new album just came out and he's touring this summer. So bummed that he isn't coming super close to us!! He usually plays in open amphitheaters, so I guess that limits things. The Hollywood Bowl would be a great place for this!

8. I just wrote "chillaxing".

9. I need to make a list of things to do this summer! A mix of fun and adventure and lots of water!!

10. Last Day Of School for Zoey (Max is already done)!! Can you say SUMMER!! hello, i *heart* you!

Flower Photos

A couple of weeks ago I was searching through ALL of my old pictures (before we were digital and never had a print made again) looking for a young Rachel in my cap and gown. I couldn't believe how many pictures I had taken of flowers! I knew the whole "picture taking thing" was something I was interested in, but it was funny to look back and see that it was present even so long ago. Whenever there was a bouquet of flowers around, apparently I tried to capture it. (Seriously... tons of pictures.) I was never satisfied. And now I know that, as Ross often tells me, I didn't have the right tool for the job! Now I do and am excited to capture flowers, the way I wanted to in my mind so long ago!

The tiger lilies have bloomed (thanks to Max, hee hee) and are lovely:

Only One

The boys were having too much fun to stop and document it. Only one picture came out of the boys "Man-cation 2010"... But it is a cute one:



I sure missed this guy. He was waiting for us at baggage claim and ran to us with big smiles and lots of hugs!

Rachel's Graduation

Zoey and I spent half of our time in Phoenix, and the other half in Alamogordo, NM for my neice Rachel's high school graduation.

Class of 2010! Yikes... that sort of makes me feel old! HAHA



Here are two sweet girls...



And Zoey and I got to put together a photo-collage of Rachel for her party. We had fun doing it!



Just because I thought it was so cool... here are a couple more of the awesome cake:





Congratulations Rachel. We are proud of you and love you!