New neighbors

I met our new neighbor, just down the street, the other night.  They're not from around here.

"One of the things we weren't ready for was all of the animals!"

I laugh to myself, preparing for a horrifying armadillo story.

"Yeah!  Look what we saw at the bridge the other day."

And he shows me these creatures.

Then he shows me the dead armadillo photo.

"Shot that with a 22 in our backyard," he says.

We like, very much, the new neighbors.

Family

 Noah with a cinnamon roll.

Heaven.

 Noah with a little sword play.

Complete with slicing sword sounds.

 Utter cuteness, his name is Jacob.

We'll spoil him later.

 Maybe a little daddy napping for the new again father.

 Don't let the smile fool you, NOT a fan of the huge bucket of water spilling out at the water park.

 Yes, a big fan of cousins sledding him around on a blanket.

 Everyone a big fan of Aunt Brian getting donuts.

 And Noah gets a little more mentoring.

And a very serious lesson.

The Girls' Birthday

 We dumped the boys for the day, and headed to the store for donuts. Just us ladies.

Then we watched Alice in Wonderland.

Then we made "Tangled" hair with some packing material.

 Then we planted an herb garden or two.

And we made and decorated cupcakes.

Then I looked up at the clock, and it was noon.

It know it has been too long since I focused my undivided attention on these people that when I do, I am again surprised at how much energy they have.  But, we had the pool for the afternoon.  And this was the most restful part of the day, watching twin five-year-olds jump, swim, jump, swim, jump, swim. 

Saturday Mornings Recently

 Have been for slushies with the neighbors.

And tie dye T-Shirts when we're feeling really messy.

We've had a lot of rain recently...

Sigh

Certainly one thing to fill my iPhone with junk photos.

Another entirely to blatenly prop your feet on my counter and document the forbidden act.

Particularly when I don't know whose feet they are.

Drumsticks

Elaine carefully ate the chocolate and peanuts off the top, worked her way down the cone, then chomped the chocolate out of the bottom, leaving a perfectly formed mass of ice cream in her wake.

Happy Fifth Birthday Girls

 So for some mommy reason, I've been telling them they have to be five before going off the diving board.

Dutifully, I spent the day with them last Thursday, and we headed for the pool.

Alida is not one to hesitate.

 Elaine had to consider a little while.

 So Alida lapped her.

 And Elaine considered.

 And Alida added a little bounce.

 And Elaine asked a few questions, such as,

"What if I sink?"

 And Alida did a belly flop.

 And Elaine was even exasperated at her own self.

 And Alida, undeterred by the pain of the belly flop, just started flinging herself into the pool.

And Elaine finally summoned her courage and went.

And there we were for two hours, off the board, to the side of the pool, off the board, and on and on.

Daddy Back

 A frustrating long two weeks for him, and us.

Time enough for him to grow the deployment 'stash.  (sigh)

KU at Sunrise

Pretty sure I never saw that when I was attending...

Sam's Club

Just me and the brood. It had to be done.

That was fun.

Funny to everyone watching us though.

Returning from Kansas

I think grandma and grandpa tuckered them out.

Afghanistan

Packing the morning of.

Two weeks, in and out.

We hope.

The Good Thing About Cousins

They tend to have things like lipstick.

Huck Finn

Better when you talk someone else into doing it for you.

Me and He and our Mini-Me's

High Adventure in Kansas