I love it...

When she tells me old people have a hard time getting up. Then, mommy isn't old,

so I shouldn't have a hard time. Grandma will though.

She asks my mom why she's always itching so much. (Dry skin,

but it was the most hilarious observation, my mom couldn't stop laughing)

When she doesn't even have to try to be silly

When she dances to the beat of her own drum

When she picks flowers and says they are the bouquet for her wedding

When I just get sweet, funny, playful Lilla.

10 Smile Tuesdays

Is it June 15th already? It's hard to believe half of the month of June is already over. It's gone fast with so much to do and many places to go. It's like we just blinked and we are now headed toward July. It's very hot here, although extremely wet, so right now we are just trying to stay out of the humidity and remaining thankful for our new air conditioner. We had seriously thought of not getting it put in until we could pay for it outright, but being as hot as it is now, I honestly couldn't even imagine that.

Anyway, on to what has made us smile this past week:

1. VBS. Lilla will be attending 5 VBS programs this summer. Sound a little over the top? My friend calls it the VBS circuit, which I find hilarious! I really want to inundate her with the word of God in a fun way this summer, the programs are free and she gets to spend time other kids. So, last week started the trend and this week she's in a new one. Good times!

2. Visit from Uncle Bill and Aunt Jean. My aunt and uncle live all the way up in Minnesota, so we rarely see them. Every summer my aunt, who is a music professor, comes to IU for a conference so were able to stop by for a breakfast soiree on Saturday. So fun!

3. Ballet. After month's of persistence, Lilla finally got to start ballet this week. She likes it ok, but admitted she misses gymnastics yesterday. I have a feeling we are headed back to the mats when ballet is complete. She sure does look cute in that tutu though!

4. Green grass. Although the rain is getting a bit tiring, I must admit, I do love the bi-product of all the green grass and leaves. That is very lovely!

5. My brother. My little brother, Chris, was in a very bad skateboard accident two days ago. He wasn't able to walk afterwards, and has been in ICU. It looks like some vertebrae were fractured and they will be doing surgery later on in the week, but he is regaining movement in his legs. So that is positive. Please pray that he will make a complete recovery and won't suffer life long back pain!

6. Baby Lucas. My friend, Claudia, had a baby two weeks ago. He was born 6 weeks early. He just needs to start eating without the feeding tube and he'll be ready to go home. Yay! Isn't he a cutie?

7. Water. On Thursday we went to an aquatics center and had a great time playing in the water with friends. Friday we headed to a friend's pool for some more water action. Love the summer for water play!

8. Garden fresh vegetables. My veggies are starting to produce and that is something I love to see! My zucchini are going crazy and I've got tomatoes that just need to turn red. Lots of flowers on the cucumbers too. Oh, and the lettuce is huge. Yummmmm!!

9. Anna time. While Lilla has been at VBS all week, it's been great for Anna to get a little time by herself with mommy and daddy. That is very rare for her, so I have a feeling she might enjoy it a bit!

10. Garage sales. Oh, how I love garage sale time. I didn't find much this week, but, I did find two Barbie jeeps so the girls could each have one and bargained them down to 50 cents each. I also got some balls for Anna's ball pit for a buck and 50 cents for a compost bucket. Gotta love it!

What has got you smiling this week?

Easy

I was just thinking of that old Gershwin song, "Summertime, and the living is easy..." Well, I'm sure when Gershwin wrote the song the summers were kind of slow and calm and full of fish and cotton. Of course the only fish we have now are shrimp on the grill and the cotton is in our dresses. Life is just not that slow pace it used to be. Always seem to be going, going, gone. Some of the things that have filled up our days lately?

1. Soccer practice. We signed Lilla up for an instructional soccer class. We now know, she is not, I repeat, not, a soccer player. So, on to the next thing.

2. Ballet. She has lately insisted she is however, a ballerina. So, we found an inexpensive ballet class at the parks department and she really does love ballet. She's had one week so far so I'll fill you in on how that goes.

3. Swimming. Today we were at a local pool and the girls had a blast! We spent hours there and woah, were they ever tired on the way home. They loved playing and splashing and just having a good time being kids.

4. Garage sales. Last week I started back into it. I love garage sales. I take very little money but have fun just hunting for treasures! I found some beautiful pillowcases for $1 a piece that I can't wait to make into pillowcase dresses.

5. Gardening. Much of my garden time should be better explained as weed pulling. I seem to live for it these days. We now have tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, 3 types of squash, green beans, watermelon, broccoli, eggplants, onions and herbs growing. Hopefully we can get some sunflowers to grow too. Oh, and there are raspberries, blueberries and blackberries on the bushes. And apples, pears and peaches on the trees. Got to love that!

What has been keeping your busy lately?