Auntie Angie's Visit, Part 1

This has been a blessed spring for us - getting to see so many Aunties! This time it was Auntie Angie we were all excited about seeing. :o) 

 Normal happenings around here on nice days... baby dolls, strollers - they belong outside - right?

 And lunch! Why have it indoors where it creates mess all over the floor for Mommy, when we can just eat on the blanket and shake the crumbs off onto the lawn?

 Sunday afternoon called for a special picnic on our new front patio (poured last summer, so we're just now enjoying it's usefulness.)

 Daddy brought the little table set out for the girls,

 while he and I ate at the bigger table. :o)

Then there is Joy. Why do you have to be at the table to eat? I mean, how boring!!! 

 Meanwhile, big sister Hope was all happy and dreamy being out with the birds and the flowers.

 The morning we were going to pick up Angie from the airport the girls busied themselves indoors like this while I cleaned up the kitchen. Joy absolutely cracked me up - pushing the dolly stroller with a purse strung over one arm and trying to talk on the Fisher Price cell phone at the same time! Boy! Is she a f-e-m-a-l-e or what? :)

 As it was slightly grey and cloudy outside upon Angie's arrival, she whisked the girls away to the rocking chair for one of many story reading times. :o)

But the sun came out the next day, and so we went out too! :o)

More pictures to follow.... :o)

Pleasures at home

I've been taking to bathing the kids in the morning during these summer months. That way they don't waste any outdoors time, as it's usually cool in the mornings, and I have much more energy at the beginning of the day than at the end, and bathing them takes a good bit of energy! :o) 

Hence, morning playtime in her favourite spot while Mommy does breakfast dishes. Notice where her favourite spot is? On the mat in front of the sink. Right where my feet need to go. :o)

She loves to play baking, just like her big sister does.

All clean and letting Hopey's hair dry.

I was preparing for company that night, and the girls were very underfoot, so I pulled out "the blanket" and had them try to play on it while I worked. :o)

 Our dear friends, Phil and Sandy Hartzler, from IN, were nearby visiting their daughter and family, and they graced us by coming over for dinner.

 Our girls enjoyed them too. :o)

 Sandy was very patient and creative, playing blocks with the two of them (as they each seem to think the block that the other sister has is the one they should have.)

 And Sandy was good to get them to help clean up when it was time for that. :o)

 Then Hopey really wanted to dance and sing. Phil, sitting there on the couch, wasted no time in starting up on a children's song, which turned to a good twenty minutes of all of us singing for the girls as they twirled around with some fluffy scarves.

 It was a great way to end the evening.

 Evening time with Daddy. Fun for the girls, and usually a bit of relaxing, mixed with exercise for Daddy. :o) 

 Look at the adventure in those eyes. 

 Look out Daddy!

 Awwwwww. 

 We've been teaching Hope how to play Hide-and-Seek. This evening, while I was still doing dishes, her and Josh got into it with the stuffed animals too.

 Hope loves it when you make grass whistles. 

 She tries to imitate the sound, which is so cute. 

 Our chubbier one, snacking during bedtime stories. :o) 

 I've been wanting to try something like this in Hope's hair for a while. Finally got to it. :o) 

 Haha. This isn't the best shot, because she actually gets her whole torso in the cupboard when reaching for the breakfast cereals on the back shelf. It's actually really nice. I don't like bending down into that cupboard when I'm pregnant, and the girls gladly do it for me!

 The time had come for putting flowers in the pots, and I decided to let the girls help me, rather than doing it all during their naptime.

 Joy still hasn't convinced herself that dirt isn't for eating, so she got a good bit of grit in her system that day!

 Bliss for Mommy. With the planters done, we had lunch, I put the girls down for their naps and prepared for a little bit of heaven on earth - planting my new front beds for the first time. :o) (Pictures to follow in later posts.) :o)

 Hee hee. These look so immature in this shot, compared to how they are now, but I purposely bought young geraniums so they could mature in their permanent environment. :o)

I love this colour, Strawberry Sizzle. It's the second year I've bought it, and I just love how the blossoms keep their colour. This flower head has since fully bloomed out, been pummeled by the rain, and is ready for dead-heading and it's second growth to begin. 

Just a bit of Hopey making music after supper one evening.

Fourth Anniversary and Gardening

May 18, 2012, was our fourth wedding anniversary. Having just had Melody here, we decided to just dine in with the girls, and have things more calm for their sakes. Josh did get off work a couple hours early, and brought home Tim Horton's coffee, which we enjoyed together on the front step before the girls woke up from their naps. We also took the opportunity to set up the solar lights we had bought for along our front flower beds. :o) It was special to do it together.

For dinner, I BBQ'd steak and ribs, make oven fries, and had cut up veggies, because I didn't have time to make a salad! :o) I put the tomatoes in the shape of a heart, and that was that! Later, after the kids were in bed, Josh and I watched the first part of a movie together and had brownies and ice cream. :o)

Josh took over bedtime routine about a month ago (and how lovely that is for me!!!) and the girls love story time with their Daddy. I usually hear spirited peals of laughter and some head bonks during the process of them getting to bed too, but at least they go to bed happy most nights. :o)

Little Miss long hair, after her bath. (I only bath them twice a week, her long hair being one of the reasons for that!)

Sunday after church pictures are always an adventure. I wanted to get some shots of them in their John Deere tractor dresses, as they still fit this year. I just took down the hem on Joy's and we were all set.

But to get them together and still....

....required Daddy's help! Hurrah!

"Hello girlies."

"Can you smile?"

"Oh! You can smile! Good!"

After a bit of searching around, we finally found a trike we thought sturdy enough to buy! Hope is still learning how to ride it. I think she'll enjoy riding around the new deck once Uncle Joe builds it for us later this summer, as she currently rides mostly in the garage, which is a lot of turns!

They love this old lawn mower from Great-Grandpa Neufeld!

Once again, our makeshift sandbox was set up and it entertained them for almost 2 hrs the first day!

Meanwhile, I got set up to plant the veggie garden. Waiting till after May long weekend still seems weird to me, but that's what my gardening friends in this region tell me is best. :o) Down at the farm we always had the garden in way before that. :)

Soaked peas and corn seeds, just like Mum used to do.

And, given that Joy was melting down with tiredness, and Hope still seemed cheerful and reasonable, I put Joy down for her nap and let Hope help me plant the seeds. :o)

I tell ya - those seeds got an earful as they went into the ground! At least they all should know what they are and that they are to grow so Hopey can eat what they produce! :o)

Mommy's big helper is still little enough to need a nap too, so when we were done and got cleaned up, I asked her to rest on the couch for a bit, and the little darling fell asleep just as Joy was waking up and I was needing to make supper. :o) 

I found Hope in the bedroom by herself, singing away one night.  

Her heart blesses me so much. :o)  And she loves to sing! 

What a joy to me and to our Heavenly Father!