Last Days of Summer

I was working diligently in the kitchen this morning, wiping counters and putting away dishes when I happened to glance outside. The boys were both playing at the sand and water table. I immediately left my work and grabbed my camera. I only got one shot of the two of them together, but it was worth it. The fact is that our lives are changing very soon. Luke and I will be doing preschool together in our home three days a week during the morning. While the preschool schedule definitely allows for free play and exploration, there will be more schedule than our lazy summer mornings have held. Part of me is extremely excited to be returning to a structured schedule. And part of me will miss watching the boys spend their morning inventing a new way to play with the Brio trains. But all of me rejoices that both Luke and Paul will be starting the BSF preschool program together in a few weeks. It's going to be great!

Before the picture, a quick quote from Luke. He was showing me his money, an odd assortment of change acquired mostly from grandparents. When I asked him which coins were his favorite, he pointed to the dimes and said, "I like the diamonds the best." Who doesn't? :-)

Brothers

Luke's New Song

Luke has taken to making up new songs. Today while we were driving to a friend's house he sang these words from the backseat. As soon as I got to a stoplight I started writing them down because I loved them so much. I double checked them with Luke and he confirmed them, so here they are for your enjoyment. The tune is completely nebulous and changes every time, so just make up your own.

One time Jesus and His disciples
were riding in a boat.
Suddenly a big storm came.
Jesus woke up
and made the storm stop.

Jesus is powerful.
Jesus is powerful.
Only He can make a storm stop.

I love it. He told a story about Jesus and shared a principle truth that he learned from the story. He's such a BSFer!
Speaking of which, classes start soon. Are you interested in studying the Bible? Are you available either one evening a week or one morning a week? Visit www.bsfinternational.org and find a class near you! :-)

Four Years Old

Luke turned four years old today. Yesterday evening after having finished all the preparations for today's celebration, Erik and I had so much fun reminiscing about where we were four years ago. In some ways it really hasn't been that long and God has brought us so far. When Luke was born we were living in a little tiny house, Erik was underemployed, and we were about to take huge leaps of faith. It's incredible to me how far the Lord has brought us in just four years. As for Luke, that guy just seems big and mature to me. His long legs can't possibly belong to my first-born! And at this very moment, he is quietly playing with the wooden "build it yourself" cars he received for his birthday, using skills I didn't realize he had. Love it.
The celebration itself was held at a train park about an hour from our house, way out in the country. The drive itself is fun and entertaining, with many sights of farm machinery and farm animals. There was the slight hiccup in that the party was supposed to start at 11am and the park doesn't open until noon. A few phone calls and most people realized they were no longer going to be fashionably late, but right on time. :-) As for us, we drove into the little town and enjoyed french fries. Luke was completely delighted!
Upon our arrival at the train park, I was once again completely thrilled with this venue. Picnic tables, wide open spaces, and trains. A mother's dream come true! The last time we visited Luke was only two years old and wasn't willing to ride. Today was completely different. As soon as we had settled our stuff and a few guests had arrived, Luke was ready to ride! Paul was close behind. We all waited patiently in line and hopped aboard. We waved to everyone and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Here are the pics to prove it!

The boys watching the trains. It is so fun to have friends with kids that are Luke's age!

Luke and Mommy riding, followed by Grandma and guest.

Opening presents in the special red chair.

What a spread! Hot dogs, chips, strawberries, carrots, and water! Luke ate mostly chips. It's his birthday, so I let the nutritionist part of my job description take a backseat.

August So Far

Wow. It's been a month since I posted. We have been doing some really fun stuff, but I have been busy. I guess the biggest news is that Erik and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on August 7th. We were so blessed to have a week to ourselves at the cabin in Sunriver. Many thanks to the grandparents for making this possible. We are grateful to God for your love and support of us and your grandsons. Best anniversary gift ever! Here's a picture from our trip.

Our good friends, Bob and Liza, joined us Thursday for the remainder of the week. We all took a jaunt over to the lava cast forest. Bob took this picture of us. Pretty cool.

In other news, the boys have been enjoying swimming lessons at our local community center. Luke is doing very well, learning to put his face in the water and float on his back. He is very enthusiastic about going each morning. Most days he is well behaved and obedient to his teachers. He did so well during his first two week session that they moved him up to the next class. He's no longer a goldfish; he's a penguin. Cuteness. Here's some pics.

Luke's best back float so far.

Bubble blowing with Teacher Anthony and Teacher Jeannie

Paul just started this week and has been a bit more hesitant about the swimming thing. I attend his class with him. The first day he spent the entire thirty minutes glued to my hip, with his arms wrapped tight around me. The next day I think he might have unglued himself for a total of four minutes our of the thirty. Improvement! Wednesday and today have seen him continue to be more comfortable. His teacher, Kalynne, is the sweetest girl. She gives him high-fives and smiles even when he is somewhat surly. Back floats are his least favorite. The whole pool can hear our attempts. That kid can SCREAM! He will survive. And I'm getting an amazing workout each morning, wrestling with Paul, lifting Paul, and basically doing squats for a half hour. Here are a few pics my mom snapped from across the pool.

"See, Oma. This pool thing isn't so bad."

Happy Second Birthday, Paul!

We celebrated Paul's second birthday yesterday by having a fabulous dinner party. There were eleven adults and ten kids. It was so much fun. We served Yum Bowls, a concept rather blatantly stolen from Cafe Yumm. Our version includes Cuban Black Beans, brown rice, Yumm Sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow peppers, cheese, and olives. Delicious.
The birthday boy enjoyed the party and did very well. Here are some pics.

He was so excited about the trucks on the cake! He did eventually blow out the candle.

And then he ate the cake! Yum.

Luke ate cake, too.

This play mat folds up into a carry case for the cars/trains. It was Mommy's favorite gift! :-)

Building, Snails, and Haircuts

Paul discovered the joys of this super fun building set this week. He loves to put it together differently every time, in stark contrast to his older brother, who HAD to make it look like a pyramid each and every time.

Luke and I were unable to get the last tie on his red tunnel untied, giving it a rather rounded look. He looked at it and determined it would make a fabulous snail shell. And it did. Here is the snail.

Lastly, I took the boys to have haircuts this morning. They were so perfectly behaved! Luke sat in one chair while Paul sat in the other. Simultaneous haircuts occurred with Mommy spending the bulk of the time getting Paul to look the proper direction. Afterward the boys played with the train table and ate lollipops, or as Luke calls them, "polly-lops." Here are the results.

Luke was so focused on this new puzzle that there was no getting him to look at the camera.

Paul was more than happy to look at the camera. He looks like such a little man now! Christie at Kids Kuts put some product in his hair and this was after he had taken a nap on it. Pretty wild and terribly cute.

Fourth of July

We had a great day yesterday filled with lots of fun and good friends. We headed to our John and Holly's house where their precious 9-year old daughter decorated Luke's bike for him in preparation for the parade. This is the most fabulous neighborhood tradition ever. Engine 9 from the firehouse arrives about five blocks from their house. All the kids in the neighborhood decorate their bikes and follow the fire engine around the block three times. Most of the parents walk along the sidewalk and there are some very sweet retirees sitting in lawn chairs also. Then the fire engine parks at a corner and sets up the best sprinkler EVER down one street while allowing the kids to shoot a hose down the other street to hit a traffic cone. Meanwhile there is the most amazing potluck going on. And free Popsicles. Luke rode in the parade this year. Paul shot the fire hose. They both had three Popsicles a piece. Wow.
After the amazingly long naps, we headed to Tim and Abby's house to enjoy their hospitality for the evening. Another sweet potluck. Thirteen children under the age of ten, ten adults, a Slip N Slide, sprinkler, kiddie pool and no trips to the emergency room. Awesome! The boys did extremely well, but we did end our evening around 8pm. I think Luke forgot all about the fireworks from last year, so he wasn't at all disappointed. The kids were asleep by 8:30pm and we followed suit pretty quickly. Long, fun day.

We were one of the first families to greet the fire fighters. Grandpa introduced Paul to this wonderful woman and she brought Paul up into the engine. He was a pretty happy guy. The hat is heavy, hence the somewhat apprehensive look on his face in this shot.

Luke is ready to ride in the parade.

And they're off!

The best sprinkler ever. The temperature was between 85 and 90 degrees by this time.

Same lady who brought Paul up into the engine helped him shoot the hose. He was one happy boy.