"Summer lovin' had me a bla-ast, summer lovin' happened so fa-ast....

met a girl "climbing a tree", met a boy cute as can be...."

We had one last lovely day before summer started and we had to get to bed at a reasonable time.  (Although why we try with M and GQ I am not exactly sure.  They prefer to throw blankets/books/dolls/ at each other until 9:30 anyway.)

This is E climbing the tree out front.  It hasn't occurred to her to go up higher than that yet.

New school/birthday outfit from Grandma:

Don't I look angelic?

Don't be fooled!!!!

Back to School

In the summer, in the morning, I lie in bed.  Justin does not leave at 5:30 as he does during the school-year.  Baby S wakes up, eats, and joins us in our laziness.  And around 6:45 the other kiddoes rush in.  There are days that I keep my eyes closed and pretend to be sleeping, days that I give up on not being jumped on - and get out to make the bed, and days where we all manage to get along and be lazy for a half hour more.

And sometimes - instead of debating who has the best spot, who stole who's pillow, who kicked who, who's hungry, and whether or not E is screaming or talking in her regular voice - we have fun:

Which brings me to my point.

(You know, the one about me hating school.)

E goes to school on Thursday.  She will be in 1st grade.  And I am not excited about losing her again.

On Friday E joined Justin and I on our get-away date.  We ate BBQ and went to pick out a "back to school" outfit.  Since E has half a heart that wishes she were an only child (the other half enjoys people to boss/love) she had a great time. 

I cannot believe she will be gone on Thursday.  Which is why I quite enjoyed the homeschooling magazine I suscribed to last year when it arrived in my mailbox this week.  But I did eventually throw it away.  Sigh.

All because JCPenney did not send me a text...

Two years ago we moved to Iowa, and after getting everyone settled, I did this:

That is, I cut E and M's hair.  Let's just say that no one was very pleased with me.  E actually cried when I was finished.  Justin was horrified I'd cut off M's curls.  I was told to give back the scissors and contain myself from there on out.

Then, showing lots of self-control, I did this the following year:

Not so very terrible.  And E did request it this time.  I stayed away from M's hair, and did not get in trouble.

This year I never intended to cut the girl's hair.  But E kept bringing up that she might like layers or bangs.  And M kept insisting she wanted her hair cut to her chin.  Justin even agreed that M's hair was getting a little out of hand.  So, being reasonable, I decided to make hair appointments.  A friend here let us know that JCPenney would be offering free haircuts to school-aged children through-out August.  I decided to take E and M, and pay half for each cut.

I made Justin call and make the appointment.  (Because the phone is an evil device that I don't enjoy very much.  Those of you who have tried to call me know my feelings on the matter.)

JCPenney informed me they would text me with the time for the hair appointment.  But - insert sinister music - they never did.

Which is how this:

and this:

resulted in this:

Again. 

Please, someone take my scissors away!!!  This time around, E cried once more.  I had cut it much shorter than she had wanted.  M was overjoyed, but hinted she might like it shorter.  And Justin tried not to say anything, but was more than ready to take the girls to Great Clips to get it all sorted out.  He also told some story about how his mother had nicely told his father that maybe when the car was broken he should just take it to a mechanic, implying - I suppose - that I should never, ever, ever, ever cut the girls' hair again.

The girls are happy now, but I am hoping, hoping, hoping that I will manage to never do this again.

GQ starts the day right.

Says GQ: Mom, I used E's toothbrush today because I didn't want my toothbrush to get dirty.

Instagram Photos

Instagram photos.... July 2012

More Water

Baby S fell asleep after one of our pool runs:

Baby S cries when I put him in the water for the initial shock.  Then he contentedly chews on the boat handle seen above.  Luckily he has no teeth so I don't have to worry about him popping his boat.  That is the grass at the park here in Iowa.  Can you believe how dead ("dormant") it is?  No sprinkler systems here my friends.

Here we are at a lake that I cannot remember the name of now:

Best Buy

Currently, E abhors shopping.  As though I even go shopping that much.  Um, I don't like shopping either.  So, when we were told her we were going to Best Buy she threatened to leave the family forever.  Still, once we arrived the kids had a great time trying out headphones with Daddy.

Swim Lessons

This summer my goal was to swim, swim, swim - and get my kids more comfortable in the water.  I think we have succeeded now that August has arrived, but M started out swim lessons in the same place I always hung out.... on the wall:

GQ jumped right in and often had to be pulled back to the shallow end because he was apparently not much concerned about drowning.

Testing out the waters.

GQ would often join M on the wall:

E is officially a better swimmer than me.  Maybe I can go across the pool, but she knows way more swim strokes than I do.  She also has "invented" a mermaid stroke.