Nice weather for ducks...

So much rain.  And clouds.  And humidity... the garden and my flowers look lovely, but it's too wet to enjoy them.  And the weeds.... oh the weeds... 

Anyway.  So we all went to the T-fest Saturday afternoon and then I went to work in the food tent and Bob took the girls to the carnival.  *sigh*  I so do not want to be one of those families... however, Cecily did like the cars and the horsies and the dragon ride.  She's very sad that the carnival went away.  They got soaked on their way home when the storm came through. Bob said Cecily was shivering and not excited about it, Emmy loved it. Bob got them both bathed and dressed and fed them supper before I got back- pretty impressive!

Sunday we went to the parade.  It was hot.  I was not excited.  Haha.  Cecily liked running for candy.  Emmy liked looking at all the interesting things.  And then we went to hymn sing in the evening... it was probably a little bit too big of a day for the girls, but we survived. 

Sitting in their chairs...

mmmmm..... ice cream cone. 

Someone doesn't want to get in 'dirty' water.  It could be a long summer.

This one does not have such delicate sensibilities.

She's determined to get up on the chair... no luck yet.

Daddy gave her a whole cupcake.  No wonder they like him best.  "Da! da! da!"

I'm just taking my baby for a stroller ride.

Fresh peas!  One nice thing about the clouds and rain is the bumper crop of peas!

Little miss Emmy loves not having cabinet doors.  So ornery.

Our neighbors granddaughter has been in and out next door- she's 6 or 7.  Cecily likes to ride her bike on the road with her and swing on their swings.  She must have been bored one day because she rang the doorbell and asked if Cecily could ride bikes with her... but I was trying to make supper so I said no (and I don't think it's a good idea for a 3 year old to be riding her bike on the road without an adult watching.  She doesn't really look for cars.)... she came back twice in 10 minutes to see if we were done with supper yet.  Ha.  So I said she could play inside if she wanted, which Cecily loved.  And then she asked if she could eat with us.  Um... sure?  I made chicken tikka masala, it's Indian, and I didn't really think she'd like it.  She ate the rice and roti; Cecily ate very little she was so excited. Bob was working late that night so they did finally ride their bikes when he got home. *grin*  I'm not sure I'm ready for neighbor kids...

Saturday my family got together to celebrate Grandpa and Grandma's 65th wedding anniversary.  Karen brought Jackstack and it was amazing.  The girls both ate tons of the beans- they make the best.  Cecily was less interesting in the brisket.  She prefers steak, odd child.  We got a four generation picture with Grandma and Grandpa... they are pretty wonderful.   

The kids played outside...

and then we came inside and G and G talked a little bit.  Paul was entertaining another generation of kids... this looked so uncomfortable.  hehe.

We spent father's day evening at Rustin and Sharon's.  The girls wanted to swim, but the water was pretty cold still so Cecily mostly just stood on the ladder and shivered. 
Blessings.

The end is in sight...

I feel like the last two weeks have been centered around the kitchen...  and most of my nights after the girls are in bed are consumed with prepping or painting.  Woot.  But.  Progress is being made. 

 

"Take a picture of me on the step stool!"

 Oh you know, just chilling in my highchair.

 So before we ripped into the kitchen I was starting to feel very overwhelmed with everything that needed doing.   So I asked Mom if she would come play with the girls one day so I could get some work done.  She ended up coming the day that the mulch was delivered. Dad needed to go to Pekin so he dropped her off and then when he was done he helped me mulch.  It was much appreciated.  It was also hot and humid.  What happened to lovely June days?  Anyway, while Dad and I were sweating and working soooo hard, Mom and the girls were going for a walk, and running through the sprinkler....  for the record, my mother never ran through the sprinkler when I was growing up.  Ever. 

We didn't get completely done before they had to leave so Bob helped me finish when he got home from work.  And he got to push Cecily higher on the swing.  She wants a swing set so badly.

 Uppers done on one side, moving on to the next section. Notice the not painted over new range hood! 

 They love the sandbox. 

 And the mini slide.   Check out that lovely mulch job in the background!

 Last Saturday, Mom decided that Cecily needed to come to Lena and Michelle's garage sale and the farm.  So off she went and we got lots of work done.  Or something.  Bob got the turtle pool down from the attic and we filled it and Emmy climbed right in.  She was sooo cold but she loved it. 

 She's teething and grumpy.  (Unless she's outside or eating.) We've had some rough days. 

 Ready for sanding the lower cabinets! 

Cecily came home from Grandma's with a kite, cotton candy, four stuffed animals, and a guitar purse from Rita.  We attempted to fly her kite on Sunday before the storm came through; she mostly just ran around the yard with it.   
Blackberries!

 On Tuesday I dropped the girls off at Bob's parents' and headed for Champaign.  Lori, Kandace, Carli, and Cliff rode along with me to Ned's recital.  For his Masters in Violin.  Yeah.  He's good.  It was pretty amazing.  I'm not up on the violin, but there was one part where he was sustaining a note with his bow and playing different notes with his fingers- craziness!  He played about an hours worth of music- from memory.  So incredible.   

I had to tease my parents a little bit.  His recital was in the same room as my piano recital- that they didn't come to.  tsk.  Haha. (If I remember correctly, I told them about it but didn't really want them to come because I was so nervous I was going to mess up since I'm really bad and I was the only non-music major in the group.) 

Anyway, it was good to walk the hallowed halls again (albeit briefly).  A picture to prove I was there:

 While I was gone Bob and his dad trimmed the overhang off of the drawer fronts so we can attach the new fronts eventually.  They look so funny sitting flush with the cabinet boxes.  It's not a big color change; we're going from yellowish cream to a creamy white.  And I already sanded those drips out.  (This. paint. is. so. drippy. It makes me twitchy.  But it's awesome when you paint things flat on the ground...) 

Somehow we've still managed to eat regular meals with the kitchen looking like this. 

I just have to make multiple trips to the living room.  Good times

Bob went on a walk with the girls on Thursday... down to the carnival.  Cecily got to ride the 'horses' and she really wants to go back and drive the cars.  *sigh*   

Today the girls and I went to "That Bob's" visitation.  So sad.  When we were younger and Mom and Dad would drag us to Gridley we'd have to make the rounds of the relatives...  Aunt Dorothy, Joyce, Aunt Carolyn, Susan.... then we'd have to go over to the men's side and get to Uncle John, and 'that Bob.'  He always remembered my name- "and how's Jenny?"  I'm glad I got to talk to him out in the hallway at Jesse's testimony. 

The girls did pretty good in the line, although Emmy neeeeded to pick the flowers.  Then we came home and went to the turkey fest for supper.  It was hot and humid.  yay. 
Blessings.