Christmas in July

We celebrated a small Christmas in July this year.  I went down to the basement and dug up a small gift for each child.  We sang Christmas carols and called family members and sang to them.  We also had a paper snowball fight and drank hot cocoa.  It's nice to have a little taste of the season we remember Christ mid year.

Little Miss Librarian

Ashley was playing librarian this evening.  She set herself up in the Library/Music room.  She put on a pair of paper glasses and made everyone library cards.  She then specified on each card how many books that particular person was allowed to checked out.  We all got to pick our books and she scanned them using her little wooden iron.  I just love all the fun make believe games I get to play with my children.

Kayaking With Daddy

Don took all three girls out kayaking.  They went over to Blackhand Gorge and went up the shallow river there.  Alexis rowed herself, Don tied Emily to his kayak, and Ashley rode with Don.  They seemed like they had a good time and each girl brought home TONS of rocks and pieces of shiny glass and various bits of nature.

Wibbly Wobbly Sitting Up

Adam has begun sitting up for a few seconds at a time.  He's still pretty wobbly and everyone finds it fun to sit next to him, cheer him on, and then catch him as he topples over.

Pioneer Day

Our church had an old fashioned pioneer day for families.  They stated with rooms full of games and activities.  The girls had fun going around and doing all the activities.  Afterwards we ate dinner and then there was a program.  The girl decorated their wagon for the parade.  When we got home they had fun pulling each other around in it  The most exciting part of the night was the desert contest.  Alexis won 1st place!  She made a peanut butter pie and it was scrumptious!  She was the youngest one to enter, but she won on her own merit since the names of the bakers were hidden from the judges.  She was so proud of her ribbon and Emily told me she wants to enter next year if they do it again. :)

Bouncing with Daddy

Don has loved bouncing every baby on the bed and they have all loved being bounced.  Adam is no exception and squeals and kicks for more when Daddy bounces him.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Ever since Adam was teeny tiny, Alexis has been teaching him.  She reads to him, talks to him, and tries to get him to copy different faces and expressions.  I think she seriously taught him to roll his R's.  It's a skill I do not have and she does it with him and now he's doing it himself.  It's so amazing to watch how he copies her facial expressions and tones and so cute how he laughs at her.  I don't doubt one bit he will continue to follow her example as he grows and this pleases me very much.  She is such a great example to all her siblings and we love her so much.

Look at That Baby

Somebody loves playing with the baby in the mirror.

Sewing Fun

Alexis and Emily have been sewing a lot recently.  Alexis received her own sewing machine as a Christmas gift, but it wasn't a very good machine.  It kept getting stuck and jamming up and really acting up.  So I returned it and got her one like mine and it worked much better. Emily just borrows mine and they have fun sewing together.  They have a book of simple projects for little girls and they have fun doing the lessons and making little projects.  I love seeing them working enthusiastically on skills together as sisters.  Such sweet memories being made.

Sweet Little Blessings

Ye Old Mill

One day this summer, when Grandma and Aunt Becca were up visiting, we took a trip up to Utica.  We went to a library program there where the girls made flower pots and planted flower seeds.  Then we headed over to Ye Old Mill and had a picnic - in the car.  It was very hot, and so we decided to stay comfortable.  After our car picnic we went inside the Velvet Ice Cream Shop and got ice cream.  It was very yummy and we even played Emily's favorite make believe - Baby Poor - as we were eating our ice cream. :)

Grandmas Birthday

Grandma turned 60 this year and so we gave her a little birthday party.  We all chipped in to get her a big present.....her own laptop.  She loved it.  We baked her a cake and spent the evening with her.  We love Grandma so much..  She is always there for us and I couldn't ask for a better mom or Grandmother for my children.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Dolly Breakfast

One night after the girls were tucked in bed I had a last minute idea for a surprise.  I made up some simple invitations and taped them in the stairway for them to find in the morning.  When they woke up they excitedly found their invitations and grabbed one of their dolls.  Except for Ashley.  She really wanted to bring her teddy.  :)  I set the table and made pancakes and cut up some fruit, including tiny pancakes perfect for a little dolly's size.  It happened to be a morning Grandma, Becca and Grandpa were there, so they got to join in as well.  It was such a sweet morning and we all had such a good time.

Summer Bowling

We had fun bowling this summer several times as a family.  We discovered that if we went as an activity for our Monday night Family Home Evening, they had a special glow bowling going on where they would play music and put on colorful lights.  Even Adam bowled a couple of times.  :)  I think everyone got at least one strike at some point and we would all cheer for whoever it was.  Ashley was always so excited to bowl and was the most enthusiastic whenever she got a spare or strike.  Alexis worked on her form and was always trying to make it to at least 90 points, which she did several times (and then some)!  Emily was always so cute trying to get the ball down the lane and several times we watched it slowly venture down, wondering if it was going to ever hit the pins.  But her strength improved as the summer went on.  It was definitely a lot of fun and something we look forward to every year.

Grammer Family Annual Get Together

We had our annual Grammer family get together in the beginning of July in Pennsylvania.  It was a full week of playing with cousins and visiting.  We had a great Family Home Evening, saw a patriotic musical show with fireworks on the 4th of July, played at the lake, played with water toys, and just enjoyed everyone's company.