July

At the Grove

Daniel as Peter Pan

Sophia goofing around with her friend Ella

Two new turtles in the tank

Daniel checking out the baby turtles

Fourth of July & hanging out with cousins

Sopo with Aunt Elizabeth and Brennan


Watching the fireworks

Sophia, Nora, Daniel and Brennan

Silly boys... I don't think Daniel understood the humor in what he was doing.

Playing at the fountains

Growing things

Sophia shelling peas from the garden

Broccoli and fallen mulberries

Volunteer plants have made the garden a forest of tomatoes

Out and about

Sophia found a monarch caterpillar munching on some milkweed

Sophia with Sweet Eyes, her favorite cow

Papa played hooky to take the kids to the zoo

Two little joeys

Building a shelter, complete with chimney and flag, at the outdoor play space

Playing at the splash pad

Arrr, matey!

The kids had a blast at our friend Rowan's pirate themed birthday party. We brought a watermelon pirate ship, wonderfully carved by Matt.

A map and hidden clues to lead the pirates to the treasure

Each kid got their own little treasure chest full of booty to decorate

Rowan's mama, Jessie, made an awesome (and tasty) cake

On another day fit for swashbuckling, Daniel became the infamous pirate, Blue Beard

Dinner Theatre

We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Bee Bampa...

Complete with a play performed by Sophia

Etc.

Sophia pretending to be Abraham Lincoln, practicing writing his name on the chalkboard


The kids helped make playdough and had fun coloring it

Sopo tied balloons to her wash basin to make a hot air balloon for her dolls. It lasted long enough for Daniel to come along and pop the balloons!

June - to Iowa and back again

Iowa

We started June with a paddle boat tour on the Mississippi with Grandpa Joe, Auntie Snefa and Uncle Chris.

Out in the yard

Sopo in the digging spot, building homes for Uncle Dan's tortoise.

Sophia and her friends at Miss Sophie's co-op

I walked into the kitchen to find Sophia with a pot out on the floor. In it, she had placed a cut up banana, some blueberries, milk, a pinch of salt, cinnamon and honey. What to do with it? Put it on the stove, stir in some oats, and enjoy a delicious fruity oatmeal! She's quite the creative chef.




Other things to make...




Lemons and limes ready for squeezing.

Pour over frozen berries and enjoy.

Father's Day fishing trip

A fine catch

The first day of summer

The children found some treasures in the garden in the morning.

A home baked pie with rhubarb from the garden added to our summer solstice celebration.

We found a fuzzy caterpillar crawling in the yard. The kids made a nice home for it and waited to see what it would become.

Iowa, again.

The end of June found us back in Iowa for a very special trip.

Daniel with Auntie Theresa.

Cousins playing in the Iowa summer rain.

And the real reason for our visit...

I was very honored to be with Neva and Chris to help them welcome Curtis Michael, born happy and healthy on June 24th.