Summer is upon us......

We had a busy week! Wednesday was the last day of preschool for BB. The kids put on a little music show, and then had a big potluck/last day party. The teachers are so sweet, and the kids come home with the best art projects. I'm really glad that LB will be there next year. We of course made cookies to share, because given the choice - I'll always bake rather than "assemble" or cook for these types of things. I mean, I like to cook - but not appetizer-ish type things. Our flower cookies turned out pretty cute, and all the kids loved them. Okay - confession. I've been saying "our" and "we", but the kids didn't help me with these. I made them while they were sleeping on purpose. I let them help with baking sometimes, but not when I want the end product to be fairly uniform...and without hair and fingernails.





I'm on a mission to catch up on my scrapbooking before the baby arrives, and have been enjoying the process. It's amazing how therapeutic it is for me. My family has been going through a really rough couple of weeks, and just taking time-out to do something that I enjoy has been tremendously helpful to my mental state. Even big Al can tell. I know because he has sweetly suggested that I take some time "in my room" when he can tell that I need to de-stress! I love that guy. Anyway, as soon as I have a collection of new pages - I'll post some pictures.


Today there was a Memorial Day parade in our darling small town. We were all able to walk in the parade with the boys preschool group. I took lots of good pictures, but almost all of them tell exactly where we live! So...sorry for the lack of pictures. Being part of such a sweet little event today was reminder #457 why I LOVE living in a small town. Everyone is so nice, and there is really such a sense of community here. There weren't massive crowds today....no shoving.....no pushing......just a really pleasant event. I sometimes forget and take for granted how BEAUTIFUL it is here, so it was nice to get out and really enjoy it. If I need to get to a "big city", I can do so fairly quickly. But I wouldn't live there again for anything! I'm happy that my boys are growing up in this town where things are simpler, kids stay young longer, and people really seem to care about one another.


Here's one picture that reminds me of a cute little moment with LB today.....here he is....bug hunting in the middle of the road.

Little Boy, Big Boy, and their buddies were loving all of the traditional candy-throwing that comes along with being in/watching a parade. Before we jumped into our place in the parade line, the kids were enjoying watching the firetrucks, Harley riders, and various club cars drive by and throw candy. After each car went by, we would let the kids go out into the street to collect whatever candy had been missed before the next attraction came by. Well little boy spotted a bug, and really couldn't have cared less about the candy! For the next few minutes, he and his new bug enjoyed getting to know each other by the side of the road....until LB inadvertently....killed him with kindness. He is bordering on an obsession with bugs these days. I have to keep reminding him that he has to show me the bug before he touches it. I have this fear that one of these days he'll come marching into the kitchen to show me the black widow he just found in the yard. Ugh - lets hope not.

Anyway, the parade ended at a local park where there was a big festival. Jump houses, carnival games, face painting, spin art - all free. We bought some hot dogs from the adorable firemen who were BBQ-ing them, and the kids played at the park and enjoyed the many events. As an aside, I'm convinced that being adorable is a prerequisite for becoming a fireman. Really. They are so freakin' cute. I've told Big Al on more than one occassion that he missed his calling!