For the July! And Bouncing! And Swings!

How are we halfway through July already?  I feel like we've spent summer watching it rain.

Happy 'For the July!'  We all wore our 'July clothes.'  And flew the flag.

And enjoyed the brief sunshine.

Take a picture of me with my flowers and the flag!

We didn't do anything super special on the Fourth.  I made a flag fruit pizza... woot woot.  In the evening we headed to Ron and Kary's to watch fireworks. 

Cecily and Emma ran around together and watched fireworks together. 

Emmy loves to slide.

Trying out Ron's bottle launcher.

Then it got too dark for pictures, but we brought sparklers (from Tate), Aunt Shelly brought glow sticks for the kids, and of course we watched the fireworks.  Emmy loved it all.  She would point and say 'ooooooohh.'  She was pretty much having the best day ever.  *grin*  We stayed for snacks and got home late... oh well.

Sunday evening was the annual Koch family water fight.  There were kiddie pools and a slip and slide for the kids.  Emmy especially loved the slip and slide.  It was rather funny to see. 

She would also scoot after water balloons.....even onto the gravel. 

In context:

I didn't get many pictures of Cecily since she didn't stay in one place long enough.  And then my camera died and it has been deemed not worth fixing.  Cecily was done with swimming and inside as soon as they started shooting off some fireworks.... it was 'too loud' for her. 

So the next pictures are cell phone pics and I have an old phone....  they're not very good. 

Someone takes full advantage of the fact that we don't have cabinet doors yet.  

The girls and I went to the farm on Wednesday to make applesauce.  I'm not sure why, since Bob and I don't love applesauce and I don't love making it.  The girls do though.  Grandpa was twiddling his thumbs a little since it's so wet so he got to play with the girls too.  And clean out the chimney access... haha.  We came home with 15 pints of sauce. 

I have no desire for a strawberry patch so I stuck some everbearing plants in with my flowers.  She's tall enough to reach in and pick them even if they aren't even pink. 

On Friday we went to a birthday party at Monkey Joe's- for two boys that Cecily has never met.  So weird. *grin* Bob works with their dad so we all got invited to the party.  It was fun, even though I didn't know anyone and most of the guests were Spanish speaking family.  They served us pizza and cake and we all sang happy birthday.... and it was not in four parts like I'm used to singing happy birthday.  Ha!
The girls both loved it.  This picture is posed because she wouldn't stay still long enough for a picture. 

Emmy loved bouncing and would point at the big slide until Bob would take her down it.

I forgot to warn Cecily that 'Monkey Joe' would be coming to the party.  She was very unsure, poor girl.  The boy next to her in the red hat was one of the birthday boys.

So Alex and Rafael's birthday's were well celebrated, and the girls each got a goody bag to take home and a balloon to share.  I tried to figure out my new camera while they checked out their loot... 

Candy and toys... they loved it and now Cecily thinks she's going to have a birthday party there. Sorry, not going to happen.  *grin* 

Saturday morning was rainy, but we put together our new swing set anyway.  Poor Cecily had been waiting days to get her slide. 



Susan was home and helped for a while.

Don't mind our dirty garage.  This is just as much fun as sliding!

Silly girls.

We got the frame set up during a break in the rain.

And then put the slide on after the storm went through.  She was soooo happy.

Trying out the swing.  Emmy was pretty excited about it all too.

And we got the seesaw done just in time before I needed to leave to drop the girls off at the farm for the evening. 

I'm blaming it on 3 short nights in a row (getting to bed late, 3 bed wetting incidents, and a 14 month old who won't sleep all night) but I changed Emmy's diaper before we left and forgot to put her pants back on... oops.  They had a great time and we had a good night at testimonies. 
The girls were not deterred by the heat and humidity after church and wanted to be outside swinging and sliding.  I think it was a good purchase, even if I'm not looking forward to mowing around it!
Blessings.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain...

The bugs and spiders are coming indoors... I do not like the damp.  Thankfully, we've had a few dry days.  My flowers and the garden love the rain.  They have never looked this nice! Minus the hollyhock rust... at least we can make hollyhock dolls.  Ballrooms full of them.  *grin*

 Let's go pick flowers!

We hosted potluck babysitting last Friday.  I told Cecily the kids were coming waaay too early in the day.  "Can the kids come now?"  "I want the kids to come." "Can it be supper time?" "Now can they come?"  I told her they weren't coming until the clock hand was at the bottom.  So she sat and watched it. 

 Feeding 13 kids is so much fun.  Or something.  Plus the 7 adults... our house was feeling full.

 Emmy just took it all in.

It had rained all day (of course) so we had to play inside all evening.  I was worried that they would run out of things to do since we really don't have many toys for kids older than 3...  but the older kids had a great time with the Legos downstairs, and the littler kids were pretty happy with the toys upstairs. 
We spent a perfect Saturday afternoon flying Cecily's "Anna" kite.  Bob got it up really high.  It was pretty great. 
The rain moved the Sunday School Picnic to the fellowship hall.  Emmy had been running a low fever at night so we didn't take her to church...  Cecily thought it was great that she got to go with me (and then Bob) all alone.  We took them both to the picnic and Emmy just sat there and stared and ate food.  They both had a great time with all the sidewalk chalk after supper.
Our new countertops came bright and early Monday morning!  Yay!  I think I like them.

Haha.  I do like them, I was just not sure for a bit if I really liked how they looked with the cabinet color.  I decided it was just the light and me second guessing myself because I am NOT repainting. 

We lived without the kitchen sink until Tuesday.  The girls loved the extra you-have-to-stay-out-of-the-way attention they got both mornings.  Sleepy, happy, baby.

Tim installed this lovely new sink and faucet for us.... Yay for a deeper sink!  The old one was also white but the finish was wearing off.  It never looked clean; as soon as I rinsed fruit or spaghetti sauce off of dishes it turned yellowish/reddish.  And the old faucet had two knobs which is so annoying when you have dirty hands. 

I neglected to measure, so the new faucet handle did not fit under the DIY extra wide windowsill/shelf.  Sometimes I wonder why they had to use such cheap low-grade wood for everything.  *grin*  We had replaced the original longer brackets so that the countertops would fit and there was an extra screw hole that I didn't bother to fill.  And then I started noticing small blobs of pine sap on the counter below....  the windowsill was oozing sap.  So we are scrapping it and starting fresh on the windowsill.

Wednesday morning the girls were grumpy and needed a change of scenery so we went to the farm for the afternoon.  We had to wear our mud boots to get to the cows... and we saw the horses, and Gus.  I forgot swimsuits so they played in grandma's kiddy pool in their undies.  *grin*

Cecily was using a watering can to get the entire patio wet and Emmy was helping with the measuring cup. 

And then Aunt Shelly had today off and she wanted to go swimming.  So we went to her house for lunch and then went to Fritz's pool for the afternoon.  Checking out the neighbors with Grandma.

The water was a little bit chilly so they didn't spend much time in the pool, but they had fun kicking their feet in the water and swinging and visiting the goats. 

I picked a whole safe-guard bucket of green beans yesterday.  And today something ate all of my lettuce.  All the way to the ground.  That I planted three times and hadn't even gotten to eat a single leaf.  I almost cried. 
Blessings.

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.