Falk Visit

Kevin's family from California came for a visit last week. We were thrilled to see them for six days in a row! These pictures are from when they came to visit us in Ames the first day. Chelsea spent a loads of time holding and playing with Garbirella during the week. She was wonderful with her and Gabriella loved the attention. Dawson and Josiah were instant pals and we barely saw them after dinner as they were very busy setting up a town in the boys room. Ben, Rachel and Kevin enjoyed a game of Monopoly. We finished the evening with the girls reading books to Gabriella before bed.

Splish-splashing in our little pool

The boys are having a ball in our little pool during these crazy hot Iowa days. Ben's favorite thing is to run across the yard and yell "Cowabunga!' before jumping in. Josiah follows Ben's lead, but he's a little shorter. He runs, yells "Cowabunga," then comes to a dead stop as he gets in one leg at a time then finishes "jumping" in.

Rolly Polly Turtle

Gabriella started rolling around in July, and has since been hard to keep on her blanket. We keep putting her back in the center, and she just rolls on over. Until recently she only rolled one direction, so it was easy to put her on the end of the blanket and give her some space to roll. Now she can go both directions and pivot, so watch out, here she comes!

Gabriella went through a week of fascination with her bottom lip. It spent most of the week tucked inside her mouth making little pucker sounds. To me she looked like a little turtle, especially when peaking out of her green sling.

The last photo is just silly.

Shaffer's

The van went in for a little minor repair at Shaffer's recently. Not only did we get to borrow a loaner car for a whole week, (which Ben loved), but the boys got to play in the wooden cars at their building when we picked our van up.

Swimming Lessons

The boys just finished two weeks of swimming lessons. They both really enjoyed it. Josiah learned to get in and out of the water, blow bubbles and get his hair wet. His coach was wonderful and he was excited to go each day.
Ben learned to do an amazing front glide and back float in Swim America. He was hard to get out of the pool as he loved showing us his new tricks.

They have really enjoyed the water even more since their lessons.

Slip-N-Slide

These pictures are from when we had the neighbors over for some water activities in the back yard and the slip-n-slide was a big hit. Ben became more and more daring with each try. Josiah prefered to slide down it with the water off so it didn't spray him in the eyes, but you still get a good run.

Visiting Grandma Falk

This photo is from a visit it see Grandma Falk mid-July after her fall. We are so greatful that she is feeling better and that her hand is healing so well. Look at those smiles!

Raspberries

Gabriella the Lawyer

Gabriella recieved this adorable outfit from a family from school as a gift. It is very girly with its frilly tutu and big ribbon flower. The other day Ben asked if she could wear her lawyer outfit. I had no idea what he was talking about. "You know, the one with the big flower bow." Why is this a lawyer outfit, I asked. "Because in Mary Poppins all the lawyers have red carnations in their suits and when the Dad gets fired they crumple up his flower." Those were bankers actually, but I thought it was a funny note to share.

Sandwich Kisses

Come on, you know you want to hug me!

4th of July

Grandma and Grandpa T joined us in Ames for the 4th of July parade on Main Street. They sat with Gabriella while we ate our pile of pancakes before the parade. Yumm! The kids enjoyed the parade, especially the cars, and the candy always keeps their attention.

Indoor Pool in Branson

Gabriella isn't sleepy, so I thought I would post some photos. These are from Branson on a rare rainy afternoon. The adorable red-head is our second cousin Bella. Gabriella loved the water and didn't mind the splashes. The kids enjoyed spinning her for quite a while before I realized that maybe wasn't such a good idea...

Gabriella, Morning Person

...in truth, all three of the kids are pretty morning-friendly.

This morning, however, Gabriella is lying very contentedly in her bed, cooing and kicking her legs and watching her mobile -- and smiling at anyone who cares to come peek in on her. A little bit ago, Lisa noticed the mobile was turning on then going off again rather quickly. When she checked to see what was happening, Ella was turned with her feet pointing toward the music box base of the mobile and as she kicked her feet were hitting the button.

The continuing vigor of her kicks leads me to wonder whether she was perceiving the cause/effect?

Regardless, the sweet contentment she's showing this morning is a delight (and pretty doggone convenient too)!

Be blessed today - K

SPLASH! TV and the Web converge.

Josiah is taking swimming lessons this week, enjoying especially the time to play, "Motorboat, Motorboat," and "Timmy Turtle." He has proudly shared his successes, including: putting his face in the water and opening his eyes (with his snazzy red goggles on); jumping into the "deep water" where his instructor catches him, bringing him back up OUT of the water after he goes under; doing bobs.

On Tuesday morning, he left two of his stuffed buddies (wolfie and raccoon, for the record) sitting in his bedroom in front of the (pretend) TV. He instructed Lisa to turn it on for them and set it to the channel, "www.carrpool.pbskids.org" so that they could watch him at his lesson!

Just now, as Lisa reminded him of the fun things he would do at swimming lessons today (bobs, etc), Josiah interjected, insisting, "I don't think we'll do bobs today because every day is different!" (verbal emphasis)