Summer Fun Days

Lehman’s held their Summer Celebration this weekend.  It was perfect timing because Jeremy was out of town on Saturday, and we needed something to do.  The girls had a great time, as always. 

We began with riding horses.  Madison went first on Hank.  Madison rode again.  I think, by the time we headed home, they had each had four free rides!

Ellie went second – yep, you heard me right… Ellie rode a horse!  (Last year, she adamantly refused.)  She rode both Olaf and Hank. 

We headed inside for face painting.  While we waited, we made flower dolls, sample homemade ice cream and toppings, and locally made granola.  We discussed what each one wanted on her face as well.  Madison said flowers in the end (we had to narrow down her selection quite a bit). 

   

Ellie said rainbows and butterflies.

    

The artists did a great job!  I am always so impressed with their creativity and their kindness when listening to what the kids want.

We also rolled pretzels (well, play-doh), listened to Honeytown, munched on samples of jam, crunched on popcorn, indulged in cotton candy (pink and blue), and hung out with the animals… again.  Madison tried to get near a pig, but they were a little jumpy.  They both (yes, Ellie, too) petted the bunnies that a worker held.  And Madison enjoyed petting this donkey.

        

I think we were there for two hours.  It was great.  We had lunch, naps, and then went to Chuck and Patti’s house for some swimming before supper.  It was a good day.

We have two more fun, free days coming up this week.  It is almost like we live in a big city with all the action around here!

Beauty Day

I decided to do “beauty day” with the girls on Wednesday.  Madison was wanting her fingernails painted, and I decided to add a few things to it because we had no other plans for the day.  She was really excited as we talked about it Tuesday night – we needed to decorate, we needed to visit Grandma and have Grandpa come see, etc, etc.  Well, we didn’t do everything she asked, but I think it was pretty successful.

We decorated and put on their “spa clothes”

They entered and had oatmeal face masks first.  I mean, what is a beauty day without face masks? (Right, Sandy?) 

    

I painted their toenails while their face masks were drying.  (Ellie on the left; Madison on the right.)

    

We admired and washed off the face masks.

    

Then, we moved on to fingernails – only Madison wanted hers painted; Ellie was losing focus.

We ended with hair.  I French braided from one side over the top to the other side on Madison’s hair.  It wasn’t awesome, but I was pretty proud of it.  They did each other’s hair.

Finally, it was my turn.  The girls took turns spraying and combing my hair.  There were moments when there were clips in it, but by the end, it was just wet and straight. 

I would call it a raging success. 

Fun with Daddy

The other night, I was cleaning up supper.  In the other room, I heard a lot of giggles while the girls played with Jeremy.  I could hear something about Ellie driving a car, car noises, and pretty soon Madison was driving too.  I ventured in there, and this is what I saw…

The focus on Ellie’s face says it all…

It made me happy to continue listening as I finished wiping up the table and countertops.  Sometimes Daddy knows how to have a different kind of fun, and the girls love it!

Parade

In what may become a tradition for us, we joined Jeremy’s parents for the Fredricksburg parade – the biggest small town parade.  Two years ago, when we first moved, we went together.  Ellie was 6 months old, and she HATED the loud horns that were blasted at the beginning of the parade.  She spent the next hour or so crying.  Last year, Jeremy took Madison (or maybe both girls???)  while I was in Phoenix for conference.  I think the experience was better.  This year, it was grand. 

We had a spot under a tree right by the road. 

   

We arrived early. the waiting was the worst part. 

We finally heard the loud horns; Ellie was prepared and undaunted. 

I had brought little bags for the girls for the candy that would get tossed our way.  The girls waved at passing vehicles hoping for a treat.  Jeremy and I pushed them into the road with moving vehicles! (Seriously, what do parades teach kids anyway?!?)  In between candy runs, we took a few pictures…

    

Jeremy’s grandpa’s tractor was in the parade…

…as was a camel – the grand finale, should we say?

Jeremy’s parents, Ken and Lois (his aunt and uncle from Indiana), and we went to Guerne Heights for lunch afterwards.  For whatever reason, the wait was atrocious to get our food – at least an hour.  It was fine though because the girls could move around and weren’t stuck in a booth, and a table in the shade opened up while we were waiting. 

Parades, candy, and family.  Good times.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

In June we celebrated 8 years of marriage!  Pretty exciting, I think.  I met Jeremy 9 years ago online, was wooed by him for a year, engaged for a half of a year, and now married for 8 years. 
He is kind in how he speaks to others, trustworthy as a spouse, committed to our marriage, loving to our children.  He has the patience of Job… and may feel like Job with his cranky wife sometimes! 
We have journeyed together to do voluntary service work in New Orleans and Colorado, weathered through job hunting numerous times, survived pregnancy and labor together twice, adjusted to a relocation, and are navigating the waters of parenting two amazing gifts from God. 
I have learned that marriage is what I hoped it would be – a commitment to your best friend (who is a guy, so it is ultimately a little different than your best girlfriend) that leads to laughter, tears, support, joy, and new discoveries. 
Marriage is a few things I didn’t know it would be – a commitment to

• growing as partners (it will never be just like it was),
• learning about the other (likes, dislikes, habits, personality… all the things that come out when you live intimately with someone),
• working to love and respect each other (how can I support Jeremy in all circumstances and at all times),
• and improving myself (I am not perfect… I know this was news to me too!  I cannot change another person, but I can be a better person, more rooted in God’s call to respect my husband).

We went to the Inn at Honey Run to celebrate while Luke and Steph watched our kids overnight, and Maynard and Gloria returned them the next day.  After dropping the kids off, we went biking at Cuyahoga National Park on the trail (11 miles with a return trip by train).  We ate out, which was a great treat for me.  We hung out at the inn, hiked on a few trails, and saw a few sights.  Overall, it was good to just to get away, reconnect, and rejuvenate.  We managed to get one picture. 

Jackson Community Days

We joined Steph, Sam, Lilli, and Grandma for an evening at Jackson’s Community Days. We do not live in Jackson, but Luke works in the community, so I figure we were legit.  It was much grander than I imagined.  I figured some booths with some fair style food booths.  There were real fair rides there!  The first stop was a free face painting treat.  Lilli picked snowflakes; Sam chose bear paws; Madison liked the butterfly; and Ellie predictably picked Elmo! 

    

After stopping by to say hi to uncle Luke and collect free loot (band-aids, coloring books, balloons, etc), the kids scoped out the rides.  Madison definitely wanted the ferris wheel.  Sam and Lilli wanted this other ride that went around in a circle.  Ellie wanted the Ferris wheel, too.  Grandma treated each kid to a ride!  They were super excited.  Originally, I thought Ellie would be too small, but at the last minute, Grandma suggested we measure her.  She was tall enough!  She was so proud – “Me big” she kept saying.  Grandma, Madison, and Ellie boarded the Ferris wheel and enjoyed the ride.

    

Sam and Lilli did their ride as well.  We saw some pretty crazy faces from Sam!

We ended the night with free popcorn, corn dogs (Sam and Lilli), and a very loud carpool ride home!