Welcome Summer!

This past week the temperatures soared into a range that justified filling up the kiddie pool- and actually letting the kids get in! We did it a few times, actually, but I made sure to take pictures of the first. Nora has always had the water bug, Wells, not as much but I often wonder if it's just because he hates being cold because he loves the bath. I made sure to set the water out the night before so it was nice and warm by the time they got in, also it was so hot out that chills were not a concern. Wells had a great time and they both played happily until I made them dry off for dinner. The best part was sitting in the shade next to the pool flipping through the mail while they entertained themselves together. Bring on the heat!

The Boston Temple

We held an activity for the children on the grounds of our local temple Saturday morning:

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/boston/

It turned out be a clear and mild, but very windy day. We took the kids on a tour around the temple and taught them a little about that sacred building and some of the things that are done there. It is one of 131 operating temples with 9 under construction for those who may be curious. We feel very fortunate to have one so close to our home. Growing up in Philadelphia, our closest temple was a 2 1/2 drive to Washington DC but my what a temple it is:

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/washington/
After, we attempted a little photo shoot, for better or for worse. Here are the best of the lot. I was totally amazed as I flipped through the pictures that there was one that had all of us looking at the camera and smiling- even Wells. As that is a very rare event, it promptly became our up dated blog header even though there is a strand of hair blowing into my eye and a wedding party standing behind us.

Growing up Way Too Fast

Already drinking (root beer) and cavorting with (baby) girls... what's next???

Busy Little Bees

We hold a Friday morning pre-school rotation and I'm in charge of crafts. We made these adorable bee hats at our craft time this morning. The kids spent the rest of the day 'buzzing' around the house and stinging each other (and me). On another note, as of yesterday, Josh is completely finished with classes- for the rest of his life! He turned in his final project yesterday for his last class and then came home early (well, 6 pm- early for him) He seemed a little surprised to note that I was more excited about this milestone than he was! One year to go... the finish line is in sight and none too soon, Wells climbed out of his crib independently this morning (luckily without getting hurt) and Nora broke her toddler bed while jumping on it. Did I mention that their (shared) room will not fit a twin bed? Just a peek into what's on my mind lately...

Nora's Primary Talk

In church on Sunday Nora gave her first talk in Primary. The topic was "My faith in Jesus Christ is strengthened when I obey". I'm not sure if you will be able to make out any of the words from this video, so here it is:

"When we learn about Jesus, a seed is planted in our hearts. This seed is called a Testimony. Just as a seed needs sun and water to grow, our testimonies can grow when we obey the commandments.

Some of the commandments are: praying, fasting, going to church, learning about Jesus, and using His name in a reverent way.

I hope we can all nourish our testimonies so that they can grow within our hearts."

She actually wrote most of it herself, illustrated the words that she couldn't read easily and helped make the visual aid.

At her request, Josh went up to help her from the stand and Wells was there to watch also. She did such a great job and we were all so proud of her. We took the video as soon as we got home. Go Nora!

Bike Riders

I hope these videos don't make you too dizzy. They were just so classic that I absolutely had to add them all. As you can see, we got Nora a bike and Wells has adopted her old tricycle. We took advantage of the great weather (no rain) and they both tried them out for the first time today. The results were hilarious. At least I thought so- after finding out that no one was seriously hurt...

Patriots' Day

We finally made it to the marathon after living here for almost five years. It was really fun to watch. We got there just in time to see the fastest man and woman runners race by and stayed- at mile 19- for a couple of hours. The kids tried (mostly in vain) to hand oranges out to the runners. I can't believe anyone can run that fast for that far. Kudos to them! To end the day, we met with some friends at one of our favorite ice cream spots. Sorry, the ice cream pictures came up first- out of order. Happy Patriots' Day!

Nora's Birthday Party

We took the plunge this year and had an all out party with Nora's girl friends. Because she is such a social butterfly, we had to rent a space to hold the crowd. We had a pretty good turn out with all but 5 of the guests in attendance that Nora had invited. The activities included- an obstacle course, a few crafts, limbo, dancing, dress-up, pizza, cake and ice cream. We hope the guests had a good time- we know Nora did! We've been really lucky to have met a huge number of wonderful little girls in this area. Most of these girls we've known since Nora was a few months old and I feel so blessed for the cherished friendship that she's enjoyed in her life. An added bonus is to have been able to spend time with all of their fun moms! Thanks for a great 4 years!

Waiting for Summer

Nora was so excited by how warm it was today that she talked me into filling up her kiddie pool. After the water was in, I realized that it was far too cold for actual human submersion. She was really disappointed- and still insisted that it wasn't too cold for her. Given her track record of cold tolerance, she may well have been right, but I would have been in pain just watching. There's always tomorrow...

Memories

April 4, 2006
April 4, 2010
Four years later I still can't believe she's mine.

Happy Birthday

My little bunny had an Easter Birthday this year. This is by far my most daring cake experiment and I actually think it turned out pretty cute! Happy Birthday, Baby!

More Egg Hunting!

Waiting for the go-ahead.
Checking the unlikely spots.
A short break to regroup.
Look at me keepin up with the big kids!

We had another egg hunt outside with the cousins in Rhode Island. This one had a little more healthy competition. I'm proud to say that I feel like both our kids stepped up to the challenge.

Easter Morning

Some may say that we spoiled our kids this year for Easter. Well, maybe that's true. I wanted the day to be really special because it was Nora's birthday and last year we were traveling and their egg hunt got rained out. We started the day with a small indoor egg hunt at home right after breakfast. Here are some pictures of the kids with their loot.

Gardening

Despite a very busy weekend we managed to plant our garden on Saturday morning. This is our second attempt at a garden and the first, last summer, was met with varying success. We discovered that our choice for the garden spot is not exactly the sunniest part of our yard. Oh well. We had fun and got a few delightful treats out of the deal. Not bad for a morning's work! We will be excited to see what happens this time. I'm looking forward to cooking with fresh herbs... if they come up.