Bucket List

We have been busy making 

 progress on our summer bucket list.  We started this tradition last summer and had so much fun planning the things we want to do this year.  It's a great way to make sure we make the most of our time and enjoy every minute of this fun season.  The slip and slide was top on the list and they loved it.

 Next, came the backyard campout.  Which was really more like  backyard evening hang out in the tent and then go inside and sleep where it's comfortable : )

 Homemade chocolate chip peanut butter cookies...yum!

 Wrestling with daddy wasn't on the list but it was oh so fun!

 Everyone says she looks just like her daddy, but I think we kinda look alike in this picture.

 Cooper loves to fly.  I wanted to get a pic from this angle so I could remember his happy face every time he flies.

 Our next choice to check off the list was our visit to the arch.  We've been to the arch grounds for several different things, but we've never gone up to the top.  

 Not so sure what I think of these little eggs you ride in to get to the top!  It was a fun experience, but once is enough for me : )

 Great views of the city

 Cooper has no fear and laid on the window to look out...made me nervous.

 The beginnings of a great summer.

Lasts

 There is a children's book by Karen Kingsbury that I love and hate all at the same time.  It's called Let Me Hold You Longer.  The first paragraph says:

Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts:  First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst.  But one day you will move away and leave me to your past, and I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts...

This was an official last for us.  It has been a wonderful year of pre-school with loving teachers, sweet friends, and so much learning.  But on this morning, I couldn't focus on those things very easily.  I had a knot in my stomach knowing that this was a last.  I thought the transition of Lainey going to kindergarten would be a little tough, but if this day was any indication, I might need to have several bags of chocolate handy on her first day to help me cope.  She is excited and talks about kindergarten all the time.  Mommy, on the other hand, just wants this summer to last forever.  

 Skip ahead a few pages in the book and it says:

My life keeps moving faster, stealing precious days that pass.  I want to hold on longer---want to recognize your lasts...For come some bright fall morning, you'll be going far away.  College life will beckon in a brilliant sort of way.  One last hug, one last good-bye, one quick and hurried kiss.  One last time to understand just how much you'll be missed.  I'll watch you leave and think how fast our time together passed.  Let me hold on longer, God, to every precious last.  

So this may seem a little dramatic talking about college and she's not even in kindergarten yet, but this is me treasuring a last.  

A few other moms and I arrived for pick up a little early to watch the kids through the windows.  Happy as can be.  Giving big hugs to each other and their teachers.  I, on the other hand, was choking back tears knowing that a big change is ahead... but am so grateful for the person God is shaping Lainey to be.  

Now, enough talk about change.  We have 2 and 1/2 months of summer and I intend to pack it full of fun.  Bring on the bucket list!

Our Little Family

 My friend, Rachel, and I have both been really wanting new family pictures.  So, rather than book an expensive photographer, we decided to put my camera to good use and try it out ourselves.  She took these pictures of us today and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.  I'm taking her families next week and am hoping I can do as good of a job!

Strawberries and Sunscreen

 There are two smells in this world that make me think of summer.  Fresh strawberries, and a bottle of sunscreen.  Sometimes, in January, when I am so tired of the gray sky, I will pull out a bottle of sunscreen and think of summer.  Silly, I know, but whatever works.  When I was a kid, my parents would take us once a summer to a strawberry patch in Smithville.  I remember how good it smelled and decided my kiddos needed to experience the same thing.  Of course, we went to Eckerts because it is the best orchard in the world.  If we ever move away from here, we will plan vacations to come to Eckerts.  I just love it.  We put on our sunscreen, enjoyed the warm temperatures, and picked 5 pounds of the most wonderful smelling strawberries you have ever smelled.  And we might have sampled a few along the way : )  Don't worry, another reason why Eckerts is the best...they tell you to eat as many as you want while you pick.

 Can you tell it was hot?  Lainey and Coop have some rosy cheeks.  I think the high was around 94 degrees.  Definitely our warmest day so far.

 Oh, I wish you could smell these!

 After we got home, and cooled off a little bit, we made some strawberry jelly.  I know, I was feeling extra domestic : ) 

The finished product and the end of a perfect day.

Mr. Personality

 Cooper is such an expressive little guy.  He's always got his eyebrows up or down or wrinkled or crinkled.  Now, he's mastered his mad face, which he loves to bust out when mommy is correcting him : )

This kid would do just about anything for a laugh.  I think one of my challenges in parenting him is going to be keeping a straight face when I need to.  Although...I'm sure in a year or two it won't be quite as cute!