Ten at the End - Week of VBS!

June 12-18th

Well, this end of the week recap is coming in pretty late! The past week was all about VBS!

1) The theme was "Pandamania!" - Where we learned that "God is wild about you!"

2) Evan got to be with four other 3 yr old boys and they were fearlessly led by my mom! Evan and his buddy Pierson spent most of the week pretending to be "Iron Man" and fighting off the "bad guys".

3) Elena got to be in a group with her friend, Emily. She was thrilled about that.

4) I spent the week helping out my friend Jayne in an area called "Spotlight Drama." We took pictures each day to make a slide show that would re-tell the day's Bible story. It sounds a lot more complicated than it was.

5) Every year I see such a noticeable difference in Elena's behavior after her day at VBS. I really believe that the spiritual truth that is being spoken to her and over her all morning "guards her heart and mind" and I see the impact!

6) I discovered our church library during the week! I knew it existed, but I could never seem to find a time to go. Well, I think that will now change!

7) At the library I found out about a reading challenge our church is doing. 6 hours of reading = a prize! Elena would lose her right arm for "A Prize" so needless to say she has been pouring through the books and is almost done with the challenge!

8) Asher did great in the nursery this year. Last year was a little rough, so I was happy for the contrast. I think one reason he did so well, is that he was in there with his friend, Dylan. Dylan and Asher are three weeks apart, now neighbors, share a love for balls, and can each say the other's name. So basically they're best buds.

9) Poor Ben; not only did he not receive one home-cooked meal this week, but he even had to go to the store to get the frozen entrees.

10) We have the beginnings of a Bamboo Forest growing on our window sill, thanks to the awesome pre-school crafts!

Asher - 1.5 Years

You love to urgently call my name a dozen times in row with your eyes wide, like your going to follow it up with an amazing story.

You say so much now. A few months ago I realized I should write down all the words you know, but now I feel like the list grows daily. You attempt to say everything and I can't keep up!

You start your morning off with a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats that has been swirled in milk for a couple seconds and then placed delicately in the middle of your tray... but you're not high maintenance or anything.

"Cars" is said with a Jersey accent and you talk about them all the time. Asking for them before you go to sleep.

You're so cautious about the pool, but will happily leap to your death off of the couch.

Throughout the day you turn to me and say, "Daddy??" I assume you're asking about his whereabouts, so I answer with, "Daddy's at work". Then you nod and say, "Oooooh" in a very mature voice.

Now that you're sharing a room and seeing Evan get his bedtime hugs, you want in. And you insist on getting the last one before we leave the room.

You finally have hair! You're getting so many comments on how it curls up behind your ears. So cute.

And while you're lean on hair, you make up for it in teeth.

Going, "Bye-Bye!" is always a fun idea. And if I say either "shoes", "church", or "go"; you run to the shoe basket, find your shoes, and follow me around saying, "Bye-Bye?!? Bye-Bye?!?"

We all love you, dearly. Elena tells everyone that you are the only one that can make her laugh when she's crying, and Evan recently told his VBS teacher that you were God's good gift to him.

Elena's Ballet Recital

This past year, Elena has taken ballet and tap at Heather Stolle School of Dance. The end of the class-year is marked by a very large recital. Elena's class did a tap number to a Shirley Temple song ...could there be anything cuter???

Both sets of grandparents made it to the show, as well as Uncle Nate and Aunt Abby. It was so sweet of them all to support her hard work that way.

And I feel like I need to give a special mention to these boys, who patiently cheered her on, every week for the past year. Asher actually learned quite a bit of the routine!

"Evan look at my flowers!"

"I SAID, LOOK AT MY FLOWERS!"

Ben and I were pretty sentimental watching her up on that stage. We'll be taking an indefinite break from dance next year, and so knowing that made us want to soak up this performance!

Ten at the End!

1) Haircut - finally got one!!

(yikes! cheesy jazz hands)

2) Laundry Room - I love our huge laundry room, but have never been a fan of seeing all the mess stored in it; especially since it's the room we first walk into upon arriving home. So Ben purchased pipe, cut and hung; while I purchased drop cloths, cut and ironed. And voila we have lovely curtains. Only bummer is that THEY STINK! Literally, they stink like an old damp basement. So now I need to wash and iron them again.

3) Peach Picking - Our playgroup headed to Fredericksburg to do some peach picking! It was so much fun. The weather wasn't too hot, company lovely, and now I have a huge box of green and bruised peaches rotting on my table (the kids weren't too discriminating as they picked).

4) VBS - Here we come! Leader training was this week and the kids and I are so excited!

5) FUNNY STORY - Evan is learning the art of introductions. Ben was with the three kids in Old Navy. A little girl walked by Evan and he immediately introduced himself. Then he continued with, "This is Elena, this is Asher.... and the big guy is Ben!"

4) Asher turned 18 months! I've GOT to get pictures up here and write about what he's been up to.... oh yeah, and schedule an appointment to get those immunizations.

5) Splash Pad - Asher is NOT a fan. But the rest of us had fun hanging with friends at the Bandera YMCA. That place is amazing!

6) We came this close to buying wood flooring. But I think we'll hold off another year.

7) When Evan thinks an object is not where he left it, he gets very serious and whispers, "Maybe the bad guys took it!"

8) Our A&M flag has been flying high since the Aggies won both the Men's and Women's National Championship in track and field (third year in a row). Ben keeps talking about how "these are the glory days of A&M athletics..." or something like that. Hopefully football can carry their weight in the fall!

9) We have birthday parties to attend almost every weekend for the next month. As soon as one is over the kids begin counting down until the next one. They love them some cupcakes!

10) We are so glad SYTYCD is back on tv (So You Think You Can Dance)!

Ten at the End!

1) The week started with a Memorial Day cookout at my parents! Yummy food and fun pool time!

2) Ben's newest motorcycle arrived. Let's briefly review the history of the non-four-wheel vehicles he has had: The Go-ped, the Buddy Scooter, a Ninja motorcycle, and now a 1963 Honda motorcycle. If you want more specifics reasons for the purchases and subsequent sale of each of those, you'll have to talk to him.

3) We just got these hot wheels race tracks. The kids (AND DADDY!) have been very busy creating death defying drop offs from our upstairs landing.

4) Ben has built some amazing lego creations with the kids, one of them being a robot. This week Elena recreated that robot. I was pretty impressed since it had been a few weeks she saw Ben do it, and this was done entirely on her own!

5) Does your toddler know when their birthday is? We were at the pool and someone asked Evan when his birthday was. They specifically asked if it was in August or September. He paused, squinted his eyes appearing to give it some serious thought, and then slowly replied, "SAN ANTONIO."... I love that kid.

6) Elena comes up with the most random crafts. That girl loves her some tape.

7) Along those lines, she makes us cards on a daily basis. They are always filled with flowers, hearts, rainbows, and stick figures hugging. In fact its making me think that I should give her "just because" cards too!

8) Evan and Asher share a love for Hot Wheels, and at any given time you can hear simultaneous "Vroom, Vroom" noises coming from the play room. It's pretty amazing to see Asher walking around hugging 3-4 cars at a time in the exact same way Evan did at that age.

9) We have all been looking forward to this weekend, because Ben's family was coming in to town...

10) And they were coming into town for Elena's end of the year ballet recital!! We were all so proud of her! And I think it deserves its own post.