Pet Show

Our wonderful library hosted a pet show this evening. Children under the age of 11 could enter their pets into the show. Spring entered Scout, of course. She has anxiously been awaiting this day to come. It was so cute. There were probably 75 different pets at the show ranging from dogs and cats to guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, iguanas, lizards, and many other kinds as well. Scout was a hit and he LOVED all the attention he received as people walked around and would come to pet him and play with him. Spring was in her glory showing him off and also seeing all the other pets. I didn't see Thomas and Sammy most of the night because they were off visiting all the other pets. Joshie enjoyed showing everyone the trick he does with Scout. It really is quite gross and I really need to get video of it sometime. Joshie will sit down and open his mouth wide (eyes squinted shut) and let Scout lick all over his tongue and mouth. The two of them sure enjoy it!

Scout won the award for "Whitest Teeth" which made Spring so happy. She kept saying, "I can't believe that out of all the pets here Scout has the whitest teeth!" Spring also won a raffle and her prize was a big stuffed horse. She was all smiles when she came running back with it. Scout was so tired from all the interaction that he fell asleep in the van on the way home. How blessed we are to have such a wonderful library that promotes fun learning activities for our children.

Campfire and Fireflies

We had a wonderful evening tonight. We made a fire in our firepit in the backyard. We roasted marshmallows for smores. Mary just liked roasting (or burning) the marshmallows and then letting someone else use them for smores. She didn't like to eat them herself. Joshie liked blowing the fire off the marshmallows. Scout loved cleaning up the marshmallows and crackers that fell to the ground. Thomas and Spring made pinhole planetariums and looked at constellations. They all had fun jumping on the trampoline as well. When it started to get dark (around 9:45 pm) they were in awe to see fireflies for the first time. They went around the yard and, with the aid of Dad, caught fireflies. It was so fun to watch them get so excited. Then we all just relaxed by the fire and sang some songs before having family prayer and them going to bed. It was a wonderful evening to enjoy the beauty we are surrounded by, to relax, and to enjoy time with each other. We will definitely be doing this again soon. We also think it will be fun to start the fire up in the morning for the kids to make bacon and eggs in a paper bag or muffins in an orange peel!

THE PATTERN...

...has been broken!















Free Myspace Layouts

Our Library

I love our library here in town. When we left Manteca for Lemoore the library program was one of the things we missed the most. We spent so much time at the library in Manteca; however, the Lemoore library left a lot to be desired and unfortunately, we didn't spend much time there. We are in heaven with our library here. We attend the library at least twice a week and we can spend a couple hours there easy. The entire 2nd level is the children's area full of books, games, puzzles, toys, train table, aquariums, and lots of places to enjoy reading together. A huge bonus is that it is air conditioned which has been really nice with all the hot humid days we are having. Free AC is always appreciated!

The kids have been busy with the summer reading program. Spring finished it today and received her final prizes. They also have storytime 3 days a week and lots of craft activities throughout the week for the kids. Thomas and Spring will be attending a science challenge tomorrow all about the science of water and on Saturday they get to attend a workshop on making pop up books. I am so grateful for the many activities and experiences they are having at the library here. They all ask me (including Joshie) if we are going to the library everyday.

Father's Day

Here are some videos I took of the kids for a gift I made for Joel for Father's Day. I did a slideshow of pictures from the last year with these videos interspersed and music. It was fun to hear their responses. We are blessed to have Joel as the father of our family. Happy Father's Day!

Summer Basketball Camp

Spring has been attending a summer basketball camp put on by the local high school Girl's Basketball team. It is every morning this week for 3 hours. She has been having a great time and she has improved so much. She has decided that she LOVES basketball. The first day she didn't make a single basket; however, the second day she made 13 baskets! That's on a regulation height net as well! She continues to get better each day. It has been so fun to watch her learn and improve and enjoy herself so much.

Akron Aeros Baseball Game

Akron is a city about 15 minutes from us. We were amazed at how much of a "big" city it really is. We felt like we were driving through San Francisco. Akron is home to a minor league baseball team for the Cleveland Indians. Last night each person that donated a gently used book received a free ticket to the game. The kids enjoyed going through their books and deciding which book to donate.

We all went and had a great time together. We were amazed at the seats we had...3rd base line 4 rows back. Joshie loved walking around the rows and up and down the steps near us. At one point somehow he fell (none of us saw him fall) and caught himself with his forehead. Those steps are made to be non-slip and they are definitely non-slip. His head hit and he came to a stop with his bum in the air and his head to the ground. He got quite the souveneir on his forehead from the game! We weren't expecting to make it through the whole game but the kids didn't want to leave. The Aeros won and we headed home. All 5 kids were sound asleep by the time we got home 15 minutes later. We plan to do this again a few times this summer. We love how close it is to home. We are really grateful for all this area has to offer families.

Our New Chef

Spring checked out "Cookbook for Girls" from the library this week. Yesterday she decided to make banana blueberry muffins. She followed the recipe and made these delicious muffins almost entirely on her own. We love them. They are seriously the best muffins I remember having. Tonight the missionaries are coming for dinner and she is planning to make milkshakes for dessert. I can see this being a summer of cooking for Spring.

Tour of our Home

New Family Photos

Just days before leaving Lemoore our friend, Amy, took family pictures for us. She did an amazing job. We received the disc in the mail today and LOVE them. When Sammy was looking at the pictures he kept saying, "I want to see a picture of Sister Evans." I guess he thought that since she took the pictures we should have a picture of her included as well. Thanks, Amy, for capturing these moments for us. I have included some of the photos here so let us know which ones you like so we can order you prints.

Keeping Busy in an Empty House

We had a fun week exploring the area last week while we were awaiting our household goods to arrive. We went to parks each day, the library almost daily, and played with the few little toys we brought with us on the plane. The kids really like the park with the hiking trails. We hiked for a while and they found a river to play in. This entertained them for a long time and they were all soaking wet and muddy for the drive home. We will spend a lot of time there this summer, I think. The kids were so good. We were happy to recieve our household goods on Saturday though and have been busy ever since unpacking and organizing.

Spring's New Look

Spring decided she wanted her hair cut shorter. I don't know for sure but I have my suspicions it had to do with the heat and humidity here. She requested Daddy to cut her hair so he did it tonight after work. We think she looks much older with it cut short.