Singing in the Rain....

Well, more like Playing in the rain!! The kids were dying to swim the other day, and we got home just as it was beginning to rain. So we put on swimsuits and mud boots and headed out into the rain for a little fun. We tried to convince the kids to fill their buckets with rain water and then dump them into the pond.......hey, it's getting low!! hahaha Well they had other plans anyway.......they filled their buckets and dumped them onto the patio!! Good Times!

Bringing daddy a wet chair!! lol
Stud....
Sassy....
I see you!
Who can fill their bucket first??!! :}
Love him.
Love her.
If you carry them on your head they will fill faster!! hahaha
Yes, keep carrying them on your head while they are FULL.......we're rotten!!
They caught on fast that they were being tricked! Too bad Ella couldn't take two steps without spilling water all over herself.
She was loving it!
All this hard work.....
Just to dump it on yourself!! She's a riot!! :}

My New View

I loved the view the other morning during the sunrise......the colors were amazing. Of course it never looks the same through my camera!! It was even better when Brutus was standing at attention on the opposite side of the pond.....but the second I opened the door he bolted over to me!! go figure.

The view of our wind turbines.......I'll have to get used to this sight.....

One of our many many many frogs just chilling out.

July 4th (a little late!!)

We had a wonderful 4th weekend. Of course Joe was home and the kids and I had tons of fun hanging out with him for the long weekend. We always go to Lisa's party, and this year we let the kids swim in her pool w/ the bigger kids. They loved it!! We probably got there around 6pm and they swam until 10pm....only getting out to pee and eat. They had a blast!! The fireworks for Van Wert were on Monday night. And it's our tradition to watch them from our porch. Well, this year I was watching them solo. Joe had to leave early in the morning, so he went to bed early. And the kids were exhausted from a busy weekend, so they went to bed early......so it was just me and the dogs!! Kinda nice and peaceful. :}

Last Swim Class (of summer)

Once again I am sooo far behind on my posts!! hahaha The kids finished their last swim class a few weeks ago. So now we're on break because classes aren't offered during the summer. So I guess the pond will have to do!! :} I am so impressed at how well these two do at swimming. Ella has always sort of been a natural. And Evan has improved so much from the start of this class that it's amazing. They love swimming we swim everyday that we can. And I'm getting much better at letting them go deeper in the pond on their own. They will now swim from the beach out to the dock (w/ arm floaties of course). But they go through all the right motions that it won't be long before we're letting them swim w/o any assistance!!

** Family Pictures **

It's about time......only a year and a half had past since our last family picture was taken :\ The wonderful Keith Mongold took the following pictures and many many more that I'll never be able to choose from!! I LOVE so many of them. I woke the kids up very early on a Sat. morning and drug them out to this session......and much to my delight they cooperated very well (at the beginning), so we were able to capture quite a few with happy smiling kids!! These make me so happy to look at......I should really try doing this more often!!

Minus Evan's forced smile, this one is my FAVORITE!!

LOVE these guys....
Ella striking a pose with her hand on her knee. Where's she get it??
Too cool.
Beautiful.
Most days they really do love each other!! :}
These ones all made me laugh. Ella was too worried about posing to ever look at the camera!!
Ella posing again......Evan cheesy smile.
Here we go!! hahaha
The kids loved the lighthouse!!
'Mommy, seats made just for us.' :}
Kids beginning to wear down.....
Lost all interest at this point.
Joe was trying to 'persuade' Evan into one more........not interested!!

Time Flies.....

My goodness.....where has June gone??? I've obviously been a slacker this month as this is my first post. We've been very busy with play dates, LOTS of swimming (almost daily), watching Kung Fu Panda 2 at the Sky Movie (drive-in) and just hanging out!! Before I know it the summer will be over. So enjoy these few random pictures.......they may be the last ones for the month. lol