Other June Happenings

So besides celebrating birthdays and visiting with my parents we have actually been doing other things in June, believe it or not! Here are some random photos, in no particular order, which give you an idea of how we've been spending some of our time.

A lot of time has been spent in the new sandbox, especially by Sam. He is so excited about being out there and, unlike Rachel, I can trust him to be outside by himself and to not eat the sand! The best part of the sandbox is that Rachel and Sam have reached an agreement on how to play in there together. The other day I got to sit in a lawnchair and read a book while they played. Ahhhhh!

Just after her birthday Miss Rachel learned how to stand. She loves to pull herself up anywhere and stand and yell. It's even better if she can let go and drum on something -- a table, a chair, her parents and sibling!

The day my parents left, Tessa and Willem's school had a fun fair. We decided to go and check it out. Sam participated in the games and actually got the golf ball in the hole as well as the bean bag in the mouth. He was thrilled with his prizes :)

Sam ate popcorn and got his face painted while Rachel hung out and observed all the action.

And Sam enjoyed splashing in the puddles left by the rain.

On Sam's last day of Sunday School they planted lettuce and Sam has been enjoying watching it grow. On the left is a picture two days after he planted it and it had just sprouted. Sam was quite excited about it. On the right is a picture of it yesterday. This stuff is fast growing which works quite well for an impatient three year old who wants to see it grow everyday!

Our daylilies have been blooming and every day are covered in flowers. They are so beautiful.

We went out to New Hamburg to celebrate Shabbat with Dave's family and Sam stayed for an overnight. He was so excited about it!

And the next day we drove Rachel out for the day so Dave and I could have some time. What did we do with a whole day free of our children -- exciting things like doing errands (we got Sam a new carseat so that Rachel can have his old one, we picked up benches for a table we are getting from Tanya, we did groceries), we weeded the boulevard and we finished a painting for Rachel's room (more on that later.) It was fun and exciting times around here I tell you!

I was trying to get a decent picture of the kids the other morning. Yeah, not so much. I think Rachel actually IS trying to smile in this picture. She's just failing miserably.

Speaking of the kids they have been playing together so nicely these past few weeks. I don't know what game was going on here (Make a Big Mess, maybe?) but they were both laughing hysterically! I love moments like this. (And yes, it was cold enough that we were all wearing pants. Crazy weather.)

I went to bookclub the other night and Sam did dishes and played playdough...

...while Rachel hung out and ate strawberries. I think Dave was around somewhere too!

And I think I have been deadheading flowers too much with Rachel in attendance because yesterday morning I turned around and found this...

And even though she's crawling away innocently, I see the evidence of the flower petals on the ground. I guess it's time to teach her about when flowers need to go since she hasn't quite grasped that concept yet!

So that was just a taste of other things which have been happening this month. Now it's time for more adventures!