Manly Things

The girls I headed to Minnesota last week.
The boys stayed home.
Chad said they were going to do manly things.
(And take care of the new puppy.)

So... what "manly" things do you do on a boys weekend- with a two year old?
You go to the spray park. 
*because the boy loves to play in water!
You take the new puppy for walks.
*because he needs to get out some energy!
You go to a baseball game.
*because the boy loves popcorn and baseball bats!

You also take the boy to an indoor football game.
*because he loves helmets and peanuts!

 
I know we were only gone for 5 days, but it seems like he grew up so much in that time!  Man, I missed that kid!

child labor far away

depressing, huh?

the girls and I go away on vacation and they get put to work.
chopping firewood no less.
with croquet mallots.
who does this?
oh... who?  
You really want to know.
Can't you tell?
It's Princess Ariel (Jada).
A Witch Princess (Sidney).
and their maid (Gracie).

being the maid is hard work.
er... more work.  ??
Anywho...
the REAL princess around here is April.

Yes.  She's a DOLL!
And here are three big-time benefits to being
such a sweetheart.

1.  You get the royal treatment. 

What's that you say?

Pull you in the wagon around the yard?  Ok.

"HEY!  You left me here!"

2.  People feed you GOOD!

sneaking jellybellies.

Shh... don't tell Mom.

 looking at them and choosing...

 someone else getting half...

the drop off...

the innocent look...

 3.  cousins to play with

Barbies, bubbles, house, books

Even though keeping the Princess is hard work (and by hard work, I mean entertaining her, loving on her, laughing with/at her), the girls are having such a good time here with their cousins.

 But, we do miss Daddy and Trey.

 

make over

THE BEFORE PICTURES

mangy

dirty

long nails

hair in his eyes

soft white hair

___________________________

THE AFTER PICTURES

 shaved

clean

nails cut

"Schnauzer cut"

handsome.

We found an amazing groomer.  

Can't wait to see how this hair grows out 

in the next 5 weeks.

That's when our next appointment is.

But, she definitely knows what she's doing.

And guess what?

She thinks Jazzy is a mini Schnauzer/Westie mix!

I wonder what he'd look like with THAT cut.

We'll see...

This is what we do

What do you do when you have ONE child?
Because you sent the others to VBS with friends?

You go to Wal-Mart to buy the puppy who is CHEWING everything in your house some chew toys, rawhide bones, and a teething bone.

And you let your ONE child wear your sunglasses because he's a monster who wants to crawl all over the cart.  In and out.  In and out.  The front, and the back.  But, THIS- the glasses- keeps him busy for a whole 5 minutes.

Until he sees his sweet friend and tries to give her a hug.  The SAME friend who he's afraid of most of the time because she likes to tackle.  A GIRL who tackles?  Hmm... weirds him out, I guess.

She wasn't havin' it.
Good thing he looked cool.

Jasper

Meet our new puppy- Jasper!
Or Jazz.
Or Jackson.
Or Jack.
We think we've decided on Jasper, and call him Jazz.

 He's 6 months old.
I said HE, but I keep calling him a SHE.
Our last dog was white, and was a girl.
I hope we don't give Jasper a complex.
He IS neutered!

 We got him at the Wichita Humane Society.
He was a stray.  and DIRTY!
One bath is not enough.
He'll need another one soon.  But, he's anxious, so I don't want to overwhelm him.  We already have three loud kids.  

Let's hope the Schnauzer part of him holds true- I don't want a shedder.  But, like the woman at the shelter said, "All dogs shed, eat, drink, and poop."  

We love him already!
How could we not.
JUST LOOK AT HIM!

friends

Here are a few friends that J and T get to hang out with each day!  J was super excited that she gets to go to daycare two days a week this summer!  We're not used to going to play with daycare friends in the summer.  I guess I've always kept them home with me.  Mommy will get some much needed time to clean out closets, spend time with friends, and actually plan a meal or two.

 We're so lucky we've found houses that love on our kids.  These are really special people!

summer list

Remember, the point of this is to be intentional about how you spend your summer with your kids.  

Try it.

This is our 2nd annual summer to-do list.
It's fun to look back at last year's list.
A lot is the same.
We have our favorites.
Happy summer to you and your children!