Fun Day 2015

Friday was the last day of school for the year.  Wow.  That went fast..too fast.  Anyhoo... the kiddos had a lot of fun celebrating summer with their friends.  

Andrew and Olivia finished the year with all A's.  I don't share that to proclaim that they are super smart or perfect.  They worked extremely hard everyday and put forth their very best efforts for 9 solid months.  This year that equaled A's.  Hard work, determination, strong study skills, and consistency are what they learned again this year.  In my opinion, those are the true measures of success.

Yeah for summer and NO SPELLING LISTS!

Fourth and sixth grades will just have to wait because this momma has a summer of fun planned for her cutie patooties.

Garden 2015

Our garden has been neglected for the past 2 summers.  We were just a little busy caring for a baby.  (On a side note, can you believe that this will be our 3rd summer with J Man?)  Anyhoo...last night we prepped our garden and planted eight tomato plants.  I think that we are sure to get at least one tomato.  (fingers crossed)  We still need to pick up a zucchini plant or two.  Olivia is bound and determined to make a lot of zucchini bread this summer.  

Planting a garden is the exception to the idea.."Many hands make light work."  

Popsicles equal a job well done or a momma's way of finishing the planting without loosing all her brown hair?  I will let you decide.

Sweet Summer Memories

Last week, I found myself reaching for the camera in an attempt to capture a few of the real life moments of this summer that are etched in my memory.  The following photos are blurry, grainy, taken with a flash, and at odd angles.  With that said, they are 100% real life and beautiful to this momma.

 Have I mentioned that he isn't fond of tummy time (and that is putting it mildly)?

Yep...these are the moments that I treasure!

Our Bestest Summer Yet

Our entire family is in agreement that this was our "bestest" summer yet.  Why?  We brought Jaxson home!  The timing was absolutely perfect!  Andrew and Olivia spent hours snuggling, loving, and playing with sweet Baby J.

Here is our family on our first official day of summer break...

Here is our family on the first official day of school...

Can you believe how much Jaxson has grown?  It blows my mind.

(Please note: I washed my hair, AND I wore make-up.)

Remember this photo...

Fast forward 3 months...

For your viewing pleasure...

Because we are crazy, and I bribe my children to take serious photos with the promise of participating in silly ones...

Yep...bestest summer EVER!  So thankful for this relaxing 3 months spent loving and enjoying my family of FIVE!

The Back Up Camera

I am a spoiled brat.   I know.  I have two really nice cameras sitting on my desk.  

The battery died in my "chosen" camera so I picked up the other one to discover the following three photos that Scott snapped this summer.

I will take this opportunity to inform the blog world that I am quite the Sorry player.  I am tough to beat, and I play dirty...even when packing a newborn.

 This photo was taken on June 20.  Cute?  My arm was numb from holding the 50 pound 2nd grader while she took a 2 hour nap.

 This photo was taken on July 30.

Observations:
*Jaxson man has really grown.
*We must nap a lot.
*These two will ONLY nap while I am holding them!
*I don't seem to mind.

Apple Pickin'

We ventured back to the zoo last week with our friend, Natalie.  It was a beautiful day with a high of 84.  Let's just say...going to the zoo was obviously not the creative choice.  The zoo opens at 9:00, and both parking lots were full by 9:37.  We did manage to tour the insect house, and we snagged front row seats to the Sea Lion show.

 (Nat didn't want to get wet.)

 The butterflies were a plenty, and they were absolutely beautiful.  This portion of the zoo always reminds me of the creativity of God and His attention to detail.

 Did I mention that we waited A LONG time for the Sea Lion Show?

 Well...we did!

However, I personally think that it was worth the wait.  Every time I watch this show, I think....I sure do love living in St. Louis!