Going Swimming Again!!!

Yesterday, we saw a break in the stormy weather and decided to go back to Mrs. Patsy's pool to swim. It is supposed to rain every day from now to next Thursday this week.

This is the first time that all nine of my mother's grandchildren were at the pool at the same time.

The kids had fun with these pictures...

They really had fun with this one.

Beautiful Weather!!! In July???

We have been spending a lot of time outside these last few days. The weather has been fantastic. Even the rainy days have slowed some and we have spent part of the day outside. I must confess that we have not been doing yard work or house work -- we have been playing croquet. We haven't just played a game or two -- we have played an hour or two or even five on some days. Nobody wants to be inside and we all (even the children) enjoy playing the game. The number of people playing is always changing as some of the kids get tired and do other things and then they wander back to play some more. But, today we did get in some other exercise. I have been trying to walk/run more anyway, but today I walked 4 miles, then biked 6 3/4 miles, then this evening we biked the same distance again. Kirsten and Alec went with me both times. The first time (in the morning) my sister and her two kids went with use. This evening my brother and his two kids went with us. Needless to say, I think I will sleep GOOD tonight. Did I plan on biking at all this morning? No. but the weather was so perfect for biking and the kids were begging to go, so I decided WHY NOT? I think I will enjoy working tomorrow to get a little rest. HA!HA!

Lots of Puppies!

My sister has three yellow black-mouth cur dogs and one of them had puppies 5 weeks ago. She had 12 puppies and one died and so she has 11 left. Sarah and Hannah spent the night with us on Tuesday night and on Wednesday we all went to see the puppies. Hannah and Sarah have a yellow black-mouth cur dog named Mercy and they enjoyed seeing the puppies.

A big pile of puppies -- and that is not all of them. We could not get them to be still long enough to take a picture of all of them at one time.

Hannah holds her favorite (I think), they kept moving around so much it was hard to tell them apart.

Preston loves the puppies.

Alec holds Lucky, the runt of the litter.

Claire loves on the one they are keeping - Trixie.

Sarah holds one who likes to sleep.

Brandon loves to let the puppy lick his nose.

Kirsten loves all animals, especially baby ones.

A Beautiful Ceremony!

Yesterday we went to the wedding of Kara J. and Tommy S. Kara is a sweet girl who was Kirsten's camp counselor last year. Tommy is the brother of a man in our church. They are one of the sweetest couples we have ever seen. They are the light of each other's eyes and they usually have their eyes on each other. They wrote their own vows and also promised to put Christ first in their marriage, their life and in all things. Kara's mother died last year of a brain aneurysm and it was an emotional wedding for everyone. Kara has four other siblings and they have all been homeschooled their whole life. Their family is a truly inspirational family as they have put Christ first and have continued to be a witness to everyone around them of their faith.

Kara smiles at Tommy in the way that we ought always to smile at our spouses.

This couple showed amazing restraint in their courtship and came to their wedding as an example of "true love waits." I hope all of our young people do the same. It was a special time for all in attendance to witness these two get married.

Kirsten was so glad to go to the wedding and gave Kara a big hug while Martha looked at Kara's dress (she said it was the prettiest dress she had ever seen).

A Fearsome Foursome -- Martha, Claire, Kirsten, and Margaret

This wedding cake was made by my friend Heather P. It tasted as good as it looks, too.

Sharing their first dance, while everyone smiles. The fire alarm sounded as they were finishing up their dance. I thought someone set it off because they were "smoking hot" on the dance floor. Actually, the alarm malfunctioned but the timing was pretty funny.

Jumping Off the Diving Board!!!!!

My mother and sister took the kids to swim today in Ms. Patsy's pool ( as the kids call it. ) Ms. Patsy goes to our church and has a great pool with a diving board. We have an above ground pool but no diving board and the kids think it is a special treat to jump off the diving board.

Kirsten loves to swim with flippers.

Kirsten loves to pose for pictures.

Alec doesn't love to stop for pictures as much as Kirsten does.

Alec is playing kickball off the diving board.

Kirsten tries to land on the big football.

Alec is trying to learn the proper form for diving; he has a long way to go.

Kirsten tries to land on this float.

Fun at the Splashpad

After track practice this morning, we went to the Splashpad. Kirsten, Alec, Claire, Brandon, Margaret, and Martha all had a marvelous time in the sprinklers.

Kirsten, Margaret, and Martha have fun standing under the bucket.

Kirsten loved the bucket and stood under it over and over again.

Pausing for a picture.

Alec stayed by the spray guns almost the whole time.

Claire takes a turn shooting Alec with the other gun.

Kirsten runs through the spray.

Martha gets a BIG drink!

What a fun time at Splashpad!

Love getting wet!

Alec is still spraying people with this water gun.

FIREWORKS!!!!!

We went to Ripley tonight to watch their fireworks show. It was pretty awesome! I decided to take my camera along and experiment with firework photography. I took many pictures and these are the best of the ones that I took.

Star Spangled Celebration 5K Run

This morning in Ripley, Alec and Brandon ran the Star Spangled Celebration 5K.

Alec is waiting for the race to start.

Alec and Brandon are checking out the finish line.

Ready, Set, Go!!!

Sprinting to the finish line.

This was not his best time but he was happy because it was hot and hilly.

Alec won 2nd place in his age division. All the winners received a fitting award of fireworks instead of medals. Alec cannot wait for the sun to go down so that he can light his roman candles.