The Little Langemann Family: The rest of July

Technically, these are wooden trains, but Joy figured they could be indoor roller-skates. :o)

Hope told me this was a "biiiiig" truck that pulls other cars, like on the highway!

These few pics are actually from the beginning of July. Josh worked July 1st, but took the 4th off. It just worked better that way, as all of his clients and staff are in the US, and were taking the 4th off. So, we took a one-day vacation for the summer to the nearby Edmonton Zoo. Nothing like the Calgary Zoo in terms of it's showcase of animals, but the grounds are pleasant for walking, and it was a lot more "rustic" than Calgary. :o)

And carousel rides are free! It took several times around on it before Joy got brave enough to sit on her own horse.

Hope, however, warmed up to the idea a bit better. For a while there in the afternoon, it was just our two girls and one other little girl on it, and the operator was kind enough to run it again and again and again for them.

The pride and joy of the Edmonton Zoo, Lucy the elephant. A very tame elephant, mind you. :o) Her keepers brought her out onto the grass and let people come really close to her.

The little train,which Hope decided she was too afraid to ride, so Joy and I rode it, after standing in line for over half an hour!

One desire on the house was fulfilled this summer, in the painting of our doors. We got new doors just before winter set in, and now they are painted, in very merry colours, I might add. :o) We just love the warmth of the red door out front (a symbol of hospitality) and the green door out back is just plain fun, and reminds me of my John-Deere days on the farm. :o)

In better lighting, the door colour is more of a rose-leaf kind of green, not as yellowish as it looks here.

Sometimes it is just too beautiful to possibly eat inside. :o)

Kale from my garden, and soft goat cheese on some gluten free wraps Lorrie brought me from Denver. :o) Our kale grew really well, until the slugs found it. I think I will plant it again next year, I will just harvest it all right away instead of waiting for the leaves to grow really big.

Some of our little tea roses out front.

One shopping adventure. :o) It is so nice now that Philip is sitting and can ride in the front of the shopping cart without being in his car seat. Makes so much more room for groceries that way. I do pack him in the Ergo sometimes, and put the girls in the top of the cart, but for some reason my feet and back always seem to hurt after such excursions. :o)

A new, floor-sized alphabet puzzle. I felt like I needed something padding-ish for Philip to sit on on the hardwood floor, as he has a tendency (or had,) to fall backwards and bump his head real hard which always ended in tears. So, I got the puzzle partly for that reason, and also, because it was something fun!

This particular summer's day started out quite cool, and I had a bunch of ironing to catch up on, so while Philip napped and I ironed, I had Hope sort the toys from the toy box onto the alphabet mat, based on the first letter in each word. :o)

Should have thought to use the jolly-jumper frame for an ironing rack long before this!

All that was left of Joy's strawberry, and she specifically asked me to take a picture of it.

Uh-oh, stuck again. Philip pushed himself backwards on his tummy for quite a few weeks before finally figuring out how to crawl for real.

And does this boy ever love blueberries!!!

Hope put on many miles on her trike this summer. She would bike alongside me while I pushed the younger two in the double BOB, and we went quite far sometimes. (Like 20-30 min one way.)