Church Picnic

We had our 4th of July picnic last night at Paul and Jeanette's place. We had a great time and the boys did WONDEFUL! They have a pond and also an awesome creek on their land. I didn't remember the creek being there. (We didn't get to go last year since we were in New Orleans...did I mention that I miss New Orleans?) After dinner, the boys played in the creek for a couple hours. Aedan fell into the creek, but he was fine:) Josiah spent his time trying to catch salamanders. As they are getting older, it is getting easier to come to events like this. We did have help watching them...actually, Vivian and Randall (two of our youth) did all the watching. They are both sooooo great with our children and we REALLY appreciate them. Ryan and I actually had adult conversations. Mercy was great...she didn't cry at all (except on the way home). She downed a whole bottle at the picnic! Bottle=Freedom for me:)

Family pic (taken by Tera)

the boys...check out Aedan's cup cake

Mercy chillin out

Randall and Aedan at the creek. Aedan is pretending to fish with his stick:)

quote of the day:

Aedan sat on my lap at the computer, and asked, "Where's daddy." I replied, "He's at work." Aedan said, "What's he building?" (I think both Josiah and Aedan equate work with building something. ) I said, "He's not building anything...he's at work." Aedan said, "Is he building a cross?"

Mercy at 2 months

Mercy had her 2 month check-up today:

Weight: 11 lbs 5 oz (75th percentile)

Height: 23 inches (89th percentile)

She is still wearing size 1 diapers, but will probably be out of those soon:( Also, she is quickly growing in her 0-3 month clothes and will be wearing 3-6 month by the time we go to the beach this summer. She's not as large as the boys were at this age. Josiah was 14lbs, and Aedan was close to being 14lbs. She did well with her shots. I felt so bad for her, though. At least I was sitting behind her; not having to look at her face. Glad it's over with for now...until she's 4 months, that is.

quote of the day

Josiah comes into the kitchen holding his glitter gold piggy bank and says,

"Mommy, I want to give my money to Romania."

3 hot mamas and 9 kids!

Yes!! 3 HOT mamas and 9 kids:) Last week Ryan was on a retreat with the youth, so I was by myself with the kids for 4 days. I know that may not seem like a lot, especially in comparison to some friends' husbands who have been overseas for months at a time, but to me it is a long time. Ryan Russell taught on the retreat, so Christie was in town with her 4 kids. I am so glad that she came. The week was made much sweeter by spending time with Christie and Rachael. Everyone came over to the house for a couple meals, but we spent most of our time at the pool:) The kids did great, and were worn out from swimming each day. I am super glad that there is an extra year in between Aedan and Mercy. Last summer I felt like I had to be in the pool with Aedan, which would be hard to do with a 2 month old. Josiah and Aedan are able to swim on their own with their floaties on. I keep my eye on them, but I don't feel like I necessarily have to be in the water with them.

Rachael, Christie, and I

Note: We were called "soccer moms" this week...we don't look that old, do we?

Count them! Caedmon (almost 7), Caleb (5 1/2), Justin (5), Athan (5), Josiah (4 1/2),

Charis (3 1/2), Holland (3), Aedan (2 1/2), and

Mercy (2 months) in the beautiful swimsuit from the AZ O'Briens:)

Mercy and I in the pool

Before the Russells headed out, we took over the Burger King play area with our troops:) Everyone is smiles for fries and kid meal toys!...all nine made it into this picture.

Christie's husband returned from space earlier then mine...she met him on I40. Mine returned around 7:30pm that night. The kids were so glad to see him:)

VBS 2010

The boys GREATLY enjoyed VBS this year...Saddleridge Ranch! They were eager and ready to go everyday. I remember two years ago when Josiah cried almost everyday at VBS. He was all about Bible school this year, though! "Family Night" was on Friday night, when the children sang the songs they learned from the week. Below is a short clip:

Thanks to the boys' teachers this year...thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

New!

New Baseball bats and T-ball stand

Lately, Aedan has been hitting balls around the house with fake bats...or whatever he can find. He was thrilled to get a real bat.

Josiah taking a swing

Ryan helping Josiah

SWING!

New helmets for our scooter riding:)

Josiah is great on his scooter!

Aedan has improved a lot since the boys got these at Christmas. He's able to ride around like Josiah now:)

A new pool to play in:)

A new baby for Grammy to hold:)

Thank you for the fun things, Grammy!

Love, Josiah and Aedan

Caroline's visit

Caroline visited at the end of May. We went to Burgess Falls, the park, and hung out around the house:) Here are some pics:) (These pictures are in random order...I downloaded them mixed up and then had trouble moving them around.)

Burgess falls

Caroline with Mercy

At the park

reading a book

at the falls (again)

Mercy did great on the walk to the falls. She loves her carrier:) I am so glad to have it.

Smiles:)

I think she's smiling cause I put a bow in her hair!

Sleeping Beauty