Roman Home

     Love-hate. That is the phrase I would use to describe my relationship with school projects. On the one hand, it means designated one-on-one time with a child working towards a goal. On the other hand, it is another monkey on my back. Parents are supposed to be involved, that much is clear, how much though is left up to the discretion of each family. I struggle with the balance. It is hard for me to sit on my hands and watch things done not quite the same way as I would do them. David is totally my project guy though. He likes to build and create. This is what we came up with. All five rooms are labeled in Latin.- Kitchen, atrium, bedroom, dinning room and gardens. There wasn't a whole lot of direction other than the five listed rooms that had to be included and the explicit instruction not to buy doll furniture. I was very pleased with David's planning, effort, and the end result. He got an A+. Go team. 

Summer kick off

The Kenex building was epic.

The bike riding was double fun.

The silliness was palpable.

 

The chess was intense.

 The visit was memorable.

Toothpaste hair

Because sometimes the youngest two get left alone to their own devices. Lincoln helped her get the lid off. No noise isn't necessarily a good thing. 

Cruise for Two

I've been bugging Zach for a decade to take me on a cruise. Being around a lot of strangers was not his idea of fun but this year it was in the budget so he humored me. High lights included:

-Parasailing on Catalina island. It was a much more gentle ride than I expected.

-Snorkeling, which was not as gentle as I expected.

-Eating authentic churros in Mexico

-On board comedians

-The top floor water slide

-Learning the thriller dance

-And especially spending time with Zach.

Some of the exotic creatures we saw on our ship

We also saw sea lions when we docked in Mexico. These blubbery animals were either sleeping, barking, fighting or sticking their nose in the air. Not so different than some of the people I've met. 

A huge thank you to Amyjo and Jarrod who drove all the way up here from Texas to watch our kids while we were gone. It takes a brave soul to do that! Sounds like the kids had a blast with their Aunt, Uncle and cousins though. Thanks Mary Poppins!

Peek-a-boo

Pretty sure I love these two. David has been a big help this week while Zach and Gabe have been away on their trip to London. Alara is a tough nut to crack sometimes, but I think she is warming up to David. She even told him "I love you David" today at dinner time. It was darn cute. 

Bumblebee Dress round 2

I remember when Mimi gave this dress to Ruth and I took pictures just like these on the very same stairs. I've looked for the files but I couldn't find them unfortunately. Ruth was a little rounder when she was this age (Alara is 20 months) but at 5 1/2 yrs.she has thinned out a lot. They look like sisters but not twins. And Lincoln just wanted to get in on the picture taking as long as the camera was out. 

Grandpa Barry

The ladies just love him.