Max is so cute!! He's such a happy baby. He loves to take baths. He plays in the sandbox a lot with Freddy and gets so sandy we have to take baths alot.
Alec has been working on earning some money to buy a hooverboard all summer long. He paid for half it with a sticker chart we've been working on to help him go to sleep better. He was so sweet when it came to let the other kids have a turn.
Freddy doesn't want to take naps anymore but he also falls asleep in the funniest places. He likes to be covered completely.
Our trek daughter, Emma Grace McGrew needed a place to stay for just a couple of weeks as she started college before she got married. We cleaned up Gwen's room for her to 'rent' from us and have that little bathroom next door all to herself. Originally, we were maybe going to rent out the guesthouse to her but when she said she only needed it for a month and when Trevor and Rebecca contacted our branch about needing a place for a year we felt it was best to offer it to them and let Emma Grace stay with us for a month without any charge but her mom insisted on paying us something. It was a good excuse for me to meal plan and try to make good dinners regularly since Emma Grace ate with us. It was fun to share some of our family favorite food with her. She has since texted me a few times for recipes for some of the things we made for her. Apparently Tuna Toasties has become a 'go to' for her and her new husband. :) We love Emma Grace!
Chris got an email about another community event that the MSU Marching Band was putting on in our 'old' backyard at the first place we lived when we came to MS. They had carnival games for kids beforehand and then invited kids to learn how to follow instructions to march on the field and then they gave us a preview of their show for the Football game the next day. Max was so cute and raised his hands when the band was playing. He loved the music.
We found this GIANT mushroom in our yard. It has been SO SO SO SO rainy.
Max is getting into trouble.... climbing up on anything and finding food.
I decided to still do preschool this year but make it super low key. Like not charge any money but accept whatever people wanted to contribute, as long as they told me in advance that they were coming. I only did it once a week for 2 hours. This way, I could feel like I could cancel any week if I felt like it was too much and not feel bad about it. Also, my prep could be as minimal or as elaborate as I had the time and energy for. Most people paid $10 a time and sent snacks or supplies every now and then. I worked it out with my good friend Amy Duclos that she would send her daughter, Addie for the entire day on Tuesdays when we did preschool and then on Thursday, she would take Freddy for the entire day. It was a good trade. I decided my curriculum would just focus on a single letter every time and we'd work our way through the Alphabet. So we started with A is for Apple and made mini apple pies
More Homestead fun: on the zipline, digging for bugs, making nature owls and people out of bark and grass.
Max doesn't like to crawl on his hands and knees on hardwood floors. He'll raise up on his toes and hands until he gets to carpet.
Gwen and I finally got to this spoon mirror project we've wanted to do for her room for a while now. It turned out kinda good!
Freddy started soccer!! He's been asking to do it for over a year as he's watched Charlie and Alec do soccer with Chris coaching. We decided this would be the year for Freddy. The first game was on one of the hottest days of the summer. He was dripping, we were all dripping and he just wanted to sit on the sidelines and drink for most of the game.
Freddy shared all these toys with Chris one Sunday nap while he was sleeping.
B is for Bears. We went on a bear hunt
Remember I said we've had lots of rain? Our garage floods with TONS of water all at once. We've not had any problems for the first 5 years of owning this house but now we get flooded all the time. Its frustrating and so overwhelming... theres just no stopping the water! We even dug up all the rocks and installed a catch basin and a french drain pipe to get it to the backyard faster, but it still floods.
Again, I'm trying to have my personal study time during Max's nap and Freddy just can't resist coming and playing in the same room as me.
I chaperoned a field trip for Charlie. I think we went to watch a play put on by MSU.
His friend Elsa has been in his class for the last two years. She's such a good kid and good school friend. This, I think, was Charlie's favorite teacher. Mr. Harrison. Mr. Harrison would play football with the kids at recess and had fun lego starwars incentives and seemed to really enjoy being with the kids. Charlie just ate it up and Mr. Harrison loves Charlie.
Our neighbors the McWhorter's have a daughter Gwen's age: Mallie Brynn. They have many 1 or 2 playdates a year but Gwen is always invited to MallieBrynn's birthday bash out at their 'barn' on this beautiful lakeside property where they have cows and stuff just a mile or so down the road. The 'barn' is actually a super nice hosting place, with a big kitchen and gathering space. Its gorgeous. Even though Mallie Brynn goes to the private school in town, she's friends at church with some of the kids Gwen goes to school with, including her good friend, Ainsley Gray.
