A day in the life :) And I WONDER why I am tired!?!? Dan had class Wednesday, so just me and the little ones! Worked till 5, picked both kids up from preschool, then off to grocery shopping at hy-vee, got gas, got dinner on the table, cleaned up broken glass and puddle of caramel sauce off garage floor, rinsed off bleeding hands and picked out glass, played with the kids and watched some "elmo in grouchland", battled with potty training, 2 big time meltdowns by caleb, had a good conversation with kevin and stef, put kids to bed, worked out, fixed 4 pans of homemeade chicken enchiladas, baked oatmeal carmelitas, ate way too many oatmeal carmelitas, cleaned kitchen, dishes, get ready for splash day at preschool tomorrow, and some other things I can't remember now...all before Dan got home!.......it's a beautiful life!!

The kids are growing and learning so much! Ellie is keeping up really well with her big brother- she is fast and very interested in everything he is doing. She has also discovered the dog food and water- she loves to splash in the water and eat the food- EW! She is also doing some more sign language now- she knows the sign for "eat", "more", "all done", and we are learning "please" and "thank you". She is always surprising me at what she knows. She is also saying more words and imitating alot :) Her first word was "Hi!" and she even does a little wave. Her new one is tickling- she and Caleb were in the bath the other night and I was tickling her- she was laughing and laughing, then she turned to Caleb and said "Tick! Tick! Tick!" and started tickling him- they were both laughing so hard- it was adorable :)

Caleb is speaking really well now and "reading" lots of books. His new fave phrase is "in a minute". When we ask him to do something it is always "in a minute"...sounds cute, but can be very frustrating! He is also really in to labeling people and things as a girl or a boy. He likes to say "Ellie is a girl" or "Daddy is a boy", or "the truck is a boy", etc. Also, if you ask him how old he is going to be on his birthday, he will tell you "EIGHT!" Eight is his favorite number, so he thinks he gets to be eight on his bday. He also says that mommy and daddy are thirteen. hah! Oh, and he pooped in the potty at preschool today...AWESOME. We are trying a new technique of not getting super excited about it, and using more of the attitude that "yeah, everyone does it"...we will see if this helps-

The kids are LOVING to swim this summer! Caleb has never really been a fan until recently. He did awesome at Aunt Kelsey's pool and was jumping in to us and kicking all around. He even pretends to swim in the bath, putting his face under and blowing bubbles :) Ellie didn't have any problem with the water- she loved it and wanted me to let her down so she could swim- even tried to put her head in! She is a brave one......

New development since we last posted!! Ellie is going to preschool with Caleb now!!! yay! exclamation point! We are so happy to have her there with big brother- we love love love the preschool- they are wonderful and give our kids so much love! Ellie has already bonded with several of the teachers and is adjusting so well! It's really cute to see what they are learning- Ellie comes home with a little sheet each day telling us what they learned...the first few days it was "learned about adam and eve" and "learned to make yak sounds"...haha!

The other night Caleb did something really cute~ I had put him in bed, but he started whining and crying so I went up to his room and he said "I want to snuggie" so I wrapped him up on his blankies and then he said "I want you to lay with me" So I laid down next to him and then he said:

C: I want daddy (Daniel was at class that night)

me: Daddy is at school tonight.

C: No, Daddy not at preschool! Daddy growed up!

:)

Speaking of daddy, we had a great Father's day! Daniel woke up to a yummy breakfast and some little homemade gifts from the kids!

(Biscuits and homemade gravy, fresh fruit, mushroom and spinach fritatta...yum)

We had an awesome spur-of-the-moment visit from the Hunnicutts a few weeks ago! The kids had a blast and we had fun catching up with our friends! Its so fun when we get together- it's like we never missed a beat!

Picnic!!Caleb, Everett, and Adeline

Ellie and Adeline about the same size!

Caleb and Everett wanted to sleep together. Cute, but lasted about 5 minutes...haha

We took a couple of fun summer trips this month, too! The kids took a "vacation" to grandma and grandpa's and Daniel and I took a little couples getaway to the lake with 8 of our awesome friends!! We stayed in a great lakehouse on Tablerock lake (thanks to the Kuehn's!) and enjoyed relaxing, eating, relaxing, more eating, more relaxing, sleeping in, swimming, boating, more eating, more relaxing, need I go on!!?? It was much needed!Evening sangria and guacamole cruise :Jumped off of a massively high rock:


I also took a girl's getaway with Ann to "America's Victorian Palace" (aka Eureka Springs) last weekend. We had an awesome time (as always) and came back with alot of funny stories to tell. Here are some highlights:

Happened upon this:Went shopping all day Saturday and rode the trolley, got lost a few times, and bought large jars of candied jalapenos (sounds gross, but seriously good). Cool Artsy and Craftsy stuffSaw the "Great Passion Play", complete with real animals, huge set, Jesus appearing out of thin air, Jesus raising and flying up in the sky, and a crazy dove that flew into the audience and about took my head off. Later found out that was not actually part of the script. Hi-fived JesusGot a pic with the town celebrity, owner of the "Scruptious Tea Room" Cutest.Place.Ever.Saw and touched a real piece of the Berlin wall. This was especially meaningful on July 4, as we celebrated our independence, to stand before this piece of wall, thinking of the many hands what touched it and under such oppressive circumstances. Made me so thankful for my freedoms I so often take for granted. And thank you to all the soldiers who fight to make it possible. Wine Tasting!
Went to a cat refuge (which should actually be named "hall of shame for crazy humans" because each of the animals had a plaque describing how they ended up at the refuge- most of the time they were former PETS! Who in their right mind would own a TIGER/LION/BOBCAT/(insert other huge and deadly animal here) for a PET??? All fun and games until one EATS you! Needless to say, it was interesting, and cool to be that close to the animals, and watch the "feeding frenzy" when they came by with a wheelbarrow of raw meat- ew.
Had some interesting "coffee":
Not Sure: And Fourth of july wouldn't be complete without fireworks!

Well, enough about me! Happy late fourth of July!