A visit from old neighbors and new neighbors move in!

Last week Axel had vacation bible camp. He absolutely loved it. He learned a principle every day, and songs with arm movements that go along with it. They also came home with a "prize" that goes along with the principle that they learned about that day. Axel learned last week that God has the power to provide,  to comfort, to heal, to forgive, and to love us forever. He also learned 10 more songs of worship that he listens to every night before he goes to bed.

One afternoon, when I got home from work last week Axel and Phoenix were playing with chalk in the driveway. They drew for over an hour. They were both covered in chalk.

 But fun was had!

 Phoenix has been doing great with the potty training. She is essentially accident free during the day. She does not care where she goes, nor do I, as long as it is not in her pants. That means when we are out at the park she often goes wherever she is at. Here she is with a doggy poop bag walking to pick up her own poop.

 This is the second time she has insisted in picking up her own poop......and then

 throwing it away!

 It was sad that Annika has finished with her weekly help. The kids had a great first half of the summer with her. We got to see Annika again last Thursday though, because she was watching our old neighbors, Max and Mei Mei. Here is Sophia, Mei Mei, and Phoenix playing dolls. They were so cute and so girly together. Sophia turned 4 on April 1st, but she didn't seem to mind playing with Phoenix.

 Max and Axel played amazing together. Max has matured so much since we saw him last. He turned 7 in May and no longer looses his temper. I was really proud of how well the boys played.

 They were excited to be able to work together to build circuits, especially ones that make the fan fly.

 Axel used his baseball skills to catch the fan one handed in the air. They played for 4 hours without one disagreement! Axel was sad to say goodbye, but I am sure we will see them again next summer. Elisa, their mom, thinks they will move back in 2 to 3 more years, but only time will tell. The family that is renting their house plan on going back to Denmark next summer. It is amazing at how fast time flies.

 This Monday Phoenix went back to Angela's. She was extremely happy to play with her old friends, but the ultra exciting news was that our new neighbors moved in on Monday! They have two kiddos, Evelyn, 7 and Charlie who will be 4 in December. Evelyn played with Axel for a couple of hours so that her mom, Kate, would have a more productive time unpacking. Axel had so much fun with Evelyn that he couldn't wait to see if she could play on Tuesday night. Here are the kids very disappointed that no one answered the door. They checked again last night to see if they can play, but again, no one answered their door. I tried to explain to Axel that they are getting settled in and that we will have plenty of time to play with them, considering they live next door.

Phoenix had a rough week last week as she realized that she was no longer a baby. She started waking at night multiple times, struggled to get to sleep and demanded to be rocked. Luckily, a little more attention by rocking her at night and firmer boundaries has gotten her back on track and she is sleeping through the night again for the past 2 nights.

We continue to test drive cars every weekend and enjoy family time together. We have a birthday party this weekend and more test driving. We are on the countdown to school already. It is hard to believe there is only 3 full weeks of summer vacation left!

Daddy turns 40, new bunk bed and more

Last Sunday we finally did it. We purchased something that we have been talking about for some time. We purchased this awesome bunk bed with a trundle bed. It is solid wood and can be a bunk bed or two separate beds. The kids were over the top excited. They couldn't wait for their new bunk bed to arrive. They told us 3 weeks until delivery.

 On Tuesday, just two days later I made another huge purchase. I finally bought the Amish dining room table and chairs that I have been talking about for years! I received the biggest bonus I have ever received in my working career this past spring $4500 and all of it went to the table and chairs. They should last a life time so I think it is money well spent! It is suppose to arrive sometime within the next 3 months.

On Wednesday Daddy turned 40 years old. The kiddos put together two very nice projects for him. It was a very low key day.

When Daddy got home from work we played outside for a bit and then once the kids were in bed we played battleship. Daddy won! He said it was the perfect birthday present, since he has only beat me one other time :)

 On Wednesday while daddy was at work we went to  a "Magic Bubbles" presentation at the library. The magic ingredient is glycerin. Here Axel and Phoenix are making big bubbles.

 VERY BIG BUBBLES!

 After the library we headed to Axel's swim lesson. This is what Pheeny does during Axel's swim lessons.

 Here is Axel swimming back stroke. If I get a chance I will try to post a video.

On Thursday we went back to the library to learn about fire and see a fire truck and fire fighters.

 Surprise! On Friday the bunk bed arrived 2 weeks early! We have the bottom part of the bed in Axel's room with the trundle bed.

 The top of the bunk bed is in Pheeny's room. If they show that they can sleep well we will have Pheeny try to sleep on the trundle bed. If she can do that a few days in a row then we will move Pheeny into Axel's room and make it a bunk bed. We will see what happens.....stay tuned!

 We still spend a lot of time in our park. Axel hasn't played in the sand for months. Yesterday, Friday, he did. He created a canyon. It took a lot of hard work.

 We dropped off some items at Goodwill earlier this week and ended up stopping by a park that was on the way home. I love these pictures. Phoenix was nicely telling Axel that she wanted to get off.

 When Axel tried he was just as scared. His eyes were closed for all of the pictures. So cute!

During Pheeny's naps on the weekends the boys often go on adventure rides together. Axel does 3 to 5 miles and they try to explore different locations each time. Here are the two before their ride today.

We are off to test drive more cars. We did Nissan last week. We are going to Honda today and slowly over the next couple of months we will test drive all of our options and figure out what car makes the best sense for our family. Wish us luck!

Happy 4th of July 2015

We had an amazing, action packed weekend. I had to get a picture of Pheeny looking so girly! She wore a dress or skirt every day for almost a week.

She absolutely loves the swing that we installed last Sunday. The Reddy's gave it to us before they moved and I finally installed it on the 28th of June.

We still play every night in the park. We ride bikes, run, play baseball, play in the sand, or whatever the kids want. A few nights ago we decided to run up and down the hill. I love this picture of Axel and I below. You can see him really trying to run as fast as he can. I love to see the determination in his face.

I also love this picture of Pheeny checking to see if daddy and Axel are close behind her.

On Friday we had our annual BBQ for Keith's and my birthday. Since Keith turns 40 on the 8th of July, he thought it would be cute for the kids to put up how old they are. You can see Phoenix saying 2, although she doesn't quite have 2 fingers up. The twins turn 4 in a couple of weeks, and Alex turns 5 next month.

After dinner the kids played baseball and then they just played silly. I am not sure whose idea it was, but Pheeny and Dellinger put the balls to make big butts and boobies.

You can see how much fun they were having!

After dessert, we headed to the park. Here is a super cute picture of Phoenix, Axel and Alex.

Axel got to show off his riding skills. Here is a great picture of him focused on making it up the dirt hill on his bike. He still hasn't made it all the way up, but he gets an A for effort. 

The gathering ended a little later than expected. I quickly bathed the kids and was trying to get them to bed. Axel came into Pheeny's room to say goodnight and I thought he went off to his room. As I was saying good night to Pheeny, she asked for a second blanket. I went into her closet to get another blanket. My little funny man was in her closet in the dark, giggling away as I screamed out of fright. Axel was so proud of scaring me!

On Saturday we went to Aunties house for another BBQ. Here are Phoenix and Braylin wearing the 4th dresses that Grandma Susan made them.

We all had a really good time. The kids played well together, the adults enjoyed some yummy food, and the day came to and end all too quickly. We sung Daddy Happy Birthday which was nice and embarrassing for him as well.

The kids had their usual cousin bath together before we headed home for bed.

On Sunday, the kids and I met up with the McFarrens. We enjoyed catching up and the kids had fun running around together.

It was so nice that they made time to visit with us. We always enjoy their company.

Daddy unfortunately re injured his hamstring kicking around the soccer ball on Friday night. As a result we are not longer spending the day together for his birthday on Wednesday. He will go to work like every other day and hopes to be recovered and back to his usual, happy, riding self by this coming weekend. Until next time......we will be enjoying the long summer days!