Boom, Boom

Sorry about the direction of the video. I used my phone since we were outside, and I've never done that before! :) I didn't know it would be sideways. oops!

Now, that's out of the way. Samantha is a daredevil on her bike and most things. This afternoon she decided that riding like this was fun:




which is actually pretty tame, considering some of her other non-videoed stunts. Can you hear her saying, "Boom, Boom" while she moves her bottom on and off the seat?

Everybody is like Somebody

We started school last week. Anna Kate in second grade and Lucy in kindergarten. I had forgotten that last school year, Will was not walking, or climbing, or running . . . . he didn't really start walking until the middle of April. This year is quite a bit different, since very little is out of our little guy's reach. We like to do most of our school day at the table - all together. And Will wants to be with us, or, rather, in it all. We're figuring it out and settling in to a nice routine, little by little. The weather is still so nice here that we are outside as much as possible! Here are a couple of snapshots. Every little body in our house wants to be like somebody. The girls play with their dolls most of the day, in one way or another, and they have really started playing with the Disney Princesses. What little (wonderful) mothers I have! Anna Kate and Lucy tried a number of different ways to swing with their dolls today (Anna Kate even tried to put Jasmine in Will's swing, but he was not for sharing. He immediately insisted on swinging!), but this is what they decided was best:

Oh my goodness! So sweet! And they thought it was "genius." In fact, one of my favorite quotes today was this. At first, Lucy tried to tie herself and baby Sarah on to the swing by wrapping a jump rope around her abdomen and tying it. I assured her I did not like the plan. :) Anna Kate told Lucy, "Genius!" It didn't work, though, and my fears were relieved. Then, I suggested their baby carriers. To which Anna Kate said, "Mom's always a genius, Lucy." Lucy responded, "But I was a genius first!"

Here's Will, being like somebody.

Yes, around here, we're always thinking about winter. In the spring, it's that winter has passed or is passing ("Thank God!"). In the summer, "Winter is coming." So, Dave's chopping wood, to give it time to season before we use it in our fabulous stove, which heats most of our home most of the winter. Apparently, Will has been watching Daddy not only chop wood, but throw it into the pile.

So, I realize we've been a little bit m.i.a. What's a month and a few thousand miles?

After a week home in early July, we headed west.

This is a Staff Conference summer, so we spent 10 days in Fort Collins. What a treat! The conference was excellent. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids from our opening night Carnival. The big girls braved the swings, attentively listening to the ride operators' directions.
And Daddy bravely put all four children on the car ride. I obviously was over reacting when I showed some nervousness regarding letting our little less-than-17-months-old son ride a ride alone. He and Samantha rode this ride many times.
We met a "new" cousin (he's about one month older than Will). Here he is enjoying the stream at the Denver Botanical Gardens.
And the newest cousin. . .. .
We spent a couple days with Auntie Hannah and Uncle Cory and Daniel in Omaha on our way to Colorado. Uncle Cory loves popsicles. The girls love that Uncle Cory loves popsicles because he shares!
There are so many memories. After Colorado - a short Sheehan family reunion and staff conference - we headed to El Paso for a visit with my family and a couple of partner churches. It was a great visit, really relaxing and refreshing.