Going Green

We're going green...and yellow that is. Grandpa added a few green tractors to the red ones already collected in his barn. Logyn got to drive for a while and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

One Fish...Two Fish

I am once again very proud of my children. Earlier this week I posted about Mallory learning to swim in two days. I have another child who accomplished that task as well (whether he really wanted to or not).

On Monday, Logyn started swimming lessons at the local high school with Maddy and Loryn. Monday he climbed in and proceeded to scream the whole time. Tuesday he wouldn't even touch the edge. So on Wednesday he started lessons with Miss Rita. Wednesday he wouldn't even open his eyes and he even called Miss Rita "stupid". So we got goggles and came back on Thursday. He opened his eyes for two seconds but at least it was progress. And today after we spent fifteen minutes bribing him to get out of the truck...(drum roll please)he was swimming on his own!! He proceeded to jump into the pool with no one telling him so and swimming to the steps. Amazing! I cried! I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did. Notice Mallory bawling in the background. She still swims though!

Tooth Envy

Logyn is trying to loose his teeth before Maddy. Two days ago he came into the house just bawling like crazy with Mallory trailing behind. They apparently bumped heads somehow. I saw blood dripping from his mouth and just assumed it was his lip. I told him he'd be alright and to just sit down because I was getting supper ready. Two minutes later he let out a huge scream followed by, "My tooth is loose!". Sure enough, I could put my finger on it and wiggle it. I panicked! He's only 4 years old I thought. He can't walk around with a huge gap in his mouth for the next two years! So I called the dentist and he said that the ligament probably tore and that's where the blood was coming from. He said rarely does the root of the tooth fracture. He said he could look at it the next day. Yesterday afternoon I took him in for an x-ray and wouldn't you know it...the root of his tooth is fractured! What does that mean? Well, nothing really. It will hopefully "fuse" itself back together but only time will tell. As long as it doesn't get infected his permanent teeth shouldn't be affected. Just another day at our house I guess.

Swim Lessons

Due to many near drownings with Mallory she was enrolled in swim lessons this week. I am utterly amazed at the progress she has made. She started these lessons on Monday and already by Tuesday she was swimming on her own. Today I took video footage just to prove that I am not a liar. She may not be enjoying herself tremendously (as you can see in the pictures) but at least she knows what to do if she falls in a pool.

Here We Go!

It is that time of year again. Vacation time! This weekend we headed up to Silver Lake to start our summer. We were orginally supposed to be in Iowa at a family reunion but Maddy's surgery kept us closer to home. Even though we missed out on tons of fun with our extended family we still had a great time on our own. We walked the dunes, played in the icy cold waters of Lake Michigan, built sand castles, roasted marshmallows, etc. It was great! Despite the thunderstorms we survived well.

The kids loved the beach and riding in the dunes. We even got a little carried away this year and pushed the old suburban up some steep hills.

Taking A Dip

As many know we got a lot of rain over the last couple of days. When we woke up Sunday morning our street was completely flooded over and the end of the street was about the size of a pool. After naps yesterday the kids and I walked down there to check it out. Of course with 4 kids and a street full of water you can imagine what happened. Yup...they got wet. At first it was all fun and games and then I noticed Logyn just diving right in and going completely under.

This is looking towards our house.

As you notice Mallory has her bathing suit on now. I did eventually go get them since my kids all started to strip down to nothing after their clothes got wet.

And this is looking down at Loryn. I cannot get over how deep the water got.

Active 2 Year Old

No, this is not a picture of what child abuse would look like. This is a picture of what a very active 2 year old will look like at the beginning of summer. No matter how cautious we are she still finds branches to get scratched on, bugs to feast on her skin, and a close-up view of the cement driveway. Can you guess who this is? Yup...it's Mallory.

We've Been Busy

Yes, yes we are still alive and actually well. I know I've been bad about keeping everyone updated but things have been busy. Maddy has completed Kindergarten and we just celebrated her graduation last week. No open house or anything, just a simple hour long ceremony in a stuffy, hot gymnasium. It was all the pomp and circumstance you could expect from Kindergarten. The kids really did great. They sang many songs robustly and completed a play about The Little School Bus with broadway fashion.


Maddy's teacher had asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up. Maddy's response was a "mom and a farmer". She thought it would be great to be a mom with lots of kids because a mom can stay up as late as she wants.


Maddy and her teacher, Mrs. Clousing