On the way home from church Chris and I were discussing going to the fair.  Bella exclaimed from the back seat “I went to the fair!”.  “What did you see at the fair?, I asked.  “A butter cow”, she replied.  “Did you like it?” I asked.  “Yes”.  After a few moments of silence she burst out “And I licked it!”.  A few moments later “I’m just kidding”.

My grandfather just went into the hospital a second time. This time he is fighting MRSA, which is a strain of the Staph infection.  Please pray that he gets over it quick and has a comfortable return home. All the kids always look forward to the opportunity to see ‘Grandma Jane and Grandpa Dean’.  Hope to see you well at home soon Grandpa.

There are so many great options out there as a photographer in need of a website.  We have been a little bored with the site we’ve got. We also have some issues that are still unresolved. So bad customer service coupled with restricted creative options have led me to look for a fresh new design.  Back in the day* I did a little Flash design.  But since I have a full time job demanding 50+ hours a week and then assist Sarah with weddings on the weekends I don’t have any extra time.  So rather than stand on the nearest interstate exit with a cardboard sign that says ‘will work for a new website’ I decided to compete in an online competition. There is a popular company that has developed a sleek looking gallery software that is smooth has butter (pronounced ‘buttah’) You can either cough up the dough or compete once a month in their ‘best photograph’ contest each month. Top prize is the complete software package and installation free of charge. Here is our entry:

I think Sarah did a fantastic job with this shot. It was difficult to narrow down what I wanted to submit because of the many recent weddings we have had. Unfortunately, only one photograph can be sent in each month. So we shall see if this doesn’t tickle someone’s fancy.

Yes, it’s true. Kim and Andrew’s wedding pictures are done! Now I’m going to get working on your pictures- Vu, Jenna, Alissa, Angel, Emina…. yep, they’re coming!

Upon receiving her certificate of completion for her swimming lessons Mary Kate excitedly exclaimed “I can make these on our computer using Microscopic Word!”.

Remember the mouse under St. Francis? Well, he’s moved. I discovered him under the recycling bin this morning- as I was taking it to the curb. He left St. Francis and he is fair game now.

Lydia has discovered a new favorite snack. Snap Pea Crisps. Yum-o! She likes them so much that she will actually hold them and feed herself.

62 degrees? Check.

Torrential Rain? Check.

Swimming lessons? Check.

::sigh::

Today was the first day of swimming lessons. I purposely scheduled them late in the summer so that I would be able to fit into my swimming suit. Well, it kinda fits. You’d think I had 4 kids or something. Anyhow, we managed to be to our lessons early! ::shock:: Lydia, Bella and I had fun swimming while Carter, Mary Kate and Isaac had their lessons. After lessons and showers for all we left for the zoo. There are free train rides for members on Mondays we discovered . Lydia LOVED the train. She was so excited. Every few minutes she would turn around and smile at me before excitedly looking all around and randomly bursting into a dance move or two. It’s so much fun to watch your kids have fun but perhaps only a parent could fully understand that.
In other news, Lydia learned how to sign “more”. I know what some of you may be thinking (and many have even told me this). Why is she signing if her hearing isn’t that bad? Well, for starters, She only can say a few words- “more” not being one of them. Whenever she decides her needs aren’t being met Lydia screeches amazingly loudly. Words can not describe how loud she can scream. Signing helps to alleviate that. Every time we sign we speak the word as well, so she isn’t missing out on that. It’s so exciting to finally see her communicating with us in a very concrete way. Now we are still working on Bye-bye and all done but I’m sure they’ll come along soon. Oh, and she can do patty cake now as well as clap. Very exciting!!

The evening after our Science Center adventure I brought all the kids to a presentation by the local conservation society. After a presentation about the animals and bugs that call a pond home we were all given buckets and nets to go “pond sampling”. I’m sure we were quite the spectacle - me with Clare in the Moby, Lydia in the stroller, Carter carrying a pole taller than me, and Bella carrying a bucket of murky water and 2 small nets. The trail around the pond was difficult to maneuver with a stroller anyways and then add to that parts of the trail still washed out from flooding earlier in the year AND trying to keep Carter from accidentally knocking someone in the pond with his giant net it was really rather comical. The presenter told everyone, “They might get a little dirty but that’s ok because my motto is if you don’t get dirty then you didn’t have fun”. With this in mind Carter leaned a bit too close to the pond. Despite my constant badgering not to get fall in, as I was having nightmares about how I would rescue them with a child already strapped to my chest, he was practically in the water. When he finally realized that and attempted to move he was stuck. The mud ate his shoe. Out popped his stockinged foot. Meanwhile his new Chuck Taylor descended deeper into the mud, as if it were caught in quick sand. I was able to pull it out and get his other now stuck foot out as well without too much of a problem. Carter holds up his shoe and ruefully announces “At least I know I had fun!”. Shoe in hand, we walked back to the car, covered in mud, on the gravel trail.
This picture doesn’t do it justice but he soaked his shoe in the wading pool before I was able to get a picture of it in all it’s muddy glory.