I know, lots of posts lately! That's summer for you. It's especially exciting and note-worthy being in the new house. Not to mention, this is probably the last summer/month/week/who knows, that I'll be home with the kids, so I'm taking lots of pictures.

We finally got the kids swing set over here from the other house. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Rieck! The girls missed it, and absolutely love being able to play on it again.
Lila: Woah, one handed! Woooaah! This is the first year she's wanted to go on a big-girl swing. She's slowly working on pumping her legs.
Seriously, look at this kid. She always takes the most gorgeous pictures when she's on the swings.

Check it out: a bird made a nest with 5 little eggs in my hanging basket! I don't know what kind of bird it is, but it'll be fun to get a chance to show the kids the babies when they hatch.

Love. I found the kids on my bed watching The Wizard of Oz, like this:

Turned the corner the other day and found this. I knew they were playing, but had no idea they were making such a mess... or that we had so many Barbies! We're apparently short on clothing, though.
Today I promised the kids a picnic at the park, but because of the rain we had a picnic on the floor instead. They liked it just as much, and after, we went and saw Madagascar 3 at the theater. They ate an entire bag of popcorn! I've never taken them to a movie by myself before. They're at a good age, so it worked out well and was really fun.

Summer has begun!

Elsa getting off the bus on her last day of Kindergarten!
I brought the kids to the all-school, end of year party. They had crazy hair, face painting, bouncy castles, dance party with dj, and tons of food and drinks, all free. The kids played in the playground for awhile, and I took a pic of the scene. This is just a quarter of it.
One of the things you could do was just... blow bubbles. They not only had bottles of bubbles, but a basket of bubble gum. Kinda different and simple, but the kids loved it.


Saturday was over 90 degrees, so we went to Rush City Water Park. We'd promised Lila we'd go once she stopped sucking on her fingers, and she has! I used that bitter nail polish, and to my surprise, it worked immediately. She had her fingers in her mouth about 80% of the time, so it was a huge habit to break. I never thought anything could break her of it, so it seems like a miracle! A very well-deserved day.
Elsa, Tim, and Lila in the little kid part of the water park. Special note to uncle John: the colorful cones on the right are the "cups that dump". :)

Here Elsa and I show off our muscles. The kids conquered the water slide! Lila was afraid at first, but by the end it's all they wanted to do.



Grandma and Grandpa went to Nebraska and got the girls some cute cowboy boots! They love them and wear them all the time, even in the 90 degree heat. Lila says,"It's too hot, I need a new dress!" I say,"No, you need to take off those boots!" :)

 


We went to a birthday party for friend Maddy on Memorial Day weekend. Lila took a swing at the pinata.

Candy chaos!

A good old-fashioned gunny sack race!



Cousin Avery came over last weekend and the kids danced and played.


Lila has gone from being afraid of the kitties, to being OBSESSED with them!


Here's a cute pic of Lila and George. He gets most of the love (and strangulation) because he seems to love it. Ringo is too smart and stays away. :)
 


Auntie Emma came over the other weekend and the kids showed her the kitties and played with water. We've had some HOT weekends recently.



We had a retaining wall that needed to be built since we moved in. The weather has finally cooperated and our awesome neighbor lent us his Bobcat, so here is the beginning. Tim took all the stones out of the foundation of the old barn last spring, and they've been lying in a pile ever since.

Here is the wall with the stones up close:

And here is the whole wall! I love it. The boys did an excellent job.


Elsa's other bottom tooth came out yesterday! Two teeth in less than a week. I'm hoping the new ones grow in soon, because the top two are loose, too! She's such a big kid now.

 Yesterday morning we went to the park in Osceola to have a birthday breakfast for Shane. The weather and food was great, and the river was beautiful. The kids liked wading in the water at the beach and got their clothes soaked. Afterward, we went back to grandma and grandpa's house and went swimming in the pool. It was such a fun weekend.
Cousins: Lila, Avery, and Elsa.

A visit from the Tooth Fairy

Monday night, Elsa lost her first tooth! She was working it all night, determined to get a visit from the tooth fairy so she could "get some cash"! Lila was very happy and proud and gave her a sweet hug.
Wasn't it just yesterday she got those bottom teeth?! The other one is super loose too, and will probably be gone within a couple weeks.

What's New, Pussycat?

Our new barn kitties, that's what! Meet George...

and Ringo.:) They're so cute. I'm super allergic to them, but they're outside cats so it's cool so far. George is a lover, and out of nowhere will climb your leg, all the way up to your hip until you hold him. His tiny claw marks give me hives.

Lila graduated from preschool on Monday! We had a picnic with her class, but when we got there I saw a lot more extended family members than I ever remember seeing in previous years. I called Tim to see if he could join us quick, and he surprised her by showing up. She was so happy!

Here she is with teacher Sherry, the same teacher Elsa had.

And here is her BFF, Summer. Aren't they cute? Lila looks so grown-up to me here, I can almost imagine her as a teenager. I think it's the long hair. She's starting to lose her baby look. :(

This is Elsa before going to a birthday party, in her "new" garage sale dress. She's such a big kid.

Last weekend the girls had their dance recital. It was a very long day, and Lila *just made it* through the performance.

10 mins later we were in the car and she was asleep. She still sucks on those fingers! We're going to try to rid her of the habit this summer. I'm going to need lots of luck, and possibly some holy water.

The weather has been pretty nice. Since I water the grass constantly, the kids got into their suits and ran through the sprinkler.

Tim has been very busy painting the house. For those of you who thought we actually painted the house beige with white stripes (and I learned there were many!)... REALLY?!?! The material came pre-primed. The new color is gray, and trim and porch posts will be white.

You know what this is? It's a Hummingbird Moth! I'd never seen one before. Google it, it's crazy.

We got chinese for dinner the other night, and you know how you're supposed to grab the fortune cookie that's closest to you? It's true. This is the fortune Lila got:

Tim and the girls model their new hair accessories from Claire's.

You can really watch the storms roll in over here.

I know, Lila, I KNOW. You can't hear me! :)

In other news, Elsa rode her bike tonight with no training wheels! For just a short distance... we still have to practice more, but she was so proud. She's also had a loose tooth since December, and it still hasn't fallen out. Now she has three more! I told her she has to work them and wiggle them, but she doesn't like to. Poor kid is going to have no teeth to eat with if they all fall out at once! :)

Easter and more

This year for Easter, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Riecks house. It was grueling 3 minute drive. :) We didn't get an official count, but there were probably 50-60 people there! It was very fun, and not nearly as chaotic as it could have been. We lucked out and had really nice weather, so everyone got to spread out a bit and relax.

Easter morning.


The day before Easter, Jenny and Shane and Avery stopped over. She's pretty used to getting smothered by the kids - it doesn't even phase her.


The dads were in charge of the egg hunt. Once everyone got the go-ahead, they were off!


Outside finding eggs together. I was impressed with how they shared and helped other kids find eggs.



Grandma hung a bunch of sheets and flowing fabric from the clothesline. It looked cool, and all the kids loved playing with it.


We had pictures taken last weekend for dance class. Here's a preview of their recital costumes.


Ah, ye olde homestead. We can't wait until it warms up a bit so we can plant the lawn! There are trees to cut and clear, wood to stack, retaining walls that need building, and the house needs to get painted. I look forward to posting before/after photos of everything we get accomplished this summer.


Lila is getting more and more into coloring and is good at staying in the lines.


March 17th, 7:33 p.m. It's about 70 degrees outside and the kids are comfortably watching the moon rise in their summer pj's from the front porch!