:Sweet Summer:

We've had many adventures in the last month, including a trip to Lake Geneva, where I took NO pictures!  One of the highlights of the last few weeks is that my mom is now an official Ames resident!  Here's the best part of this whole thing...when the kids and I head to Des Moines for a movie, she can meet us!  Just like that, in 30 minutes, we're together, eating popcorn and watching Madagascar at Jordan Creek.  My kids have never known such wonderfulness!

This summer has been my best summer as a mom (not necessarily in my ability, but definitely in my emotions).  Last year was our first year of having a child in school full time and it was a bit shocking.  I felt that my communication with Layla consisted only of commands....time to get up, eat your breakfast, get your bag, get in the car, get changed, time for supper, get a shower, time for homework, time for bed.  The best part of the summer is slowing down, touching her whenever I want to, inhaling the smell of her hair as she's snuggled in under my arm and looking into her eyes and having conversations about how to predict the weather by looking at the sky and feeling the wind.  Or why some people wear boots with shorts and why we pack brown sugar when we bake, but not flour.  It's these little, glorious things that make me dread the start of school in just 4 weeks. 

But, I know there is a season for everything!  So I'm going to enjoy this last bit of summer and embrace whatever season comes next!

A lesson in leadership...

Layla and Cooper were playing in the other room and I heard Cooper say, "Layla, I want to be in charge, OK?"

Layla didn't answer.

"Lol, I want to be in charge in 3 minutes...OK?"

Still no response.

"Lolly.  Is it OK if maybe I can be in charge soon?"

More silence.

"OK Lolly, I don't have to be in charge.  Not now, but maybe later can I be the boss?"

A pause....

"Lol, I have a great idea!  You be the boss for a little while longer.  I don't need to be in charge."

Good grief!  I guess I just need to ignore the boy more often.  Apparently, that's the key to getting him to do what I want!

The sign of a good day...

The Cousin Gang (almost all of them)

As a parent, I feel most accomplished when my kids have run around, playing, sweating, squealing, laughing, and are dirty and tired at the end of a summer day.  Seriously, isn't that what summer is all about at this age?  We spent the 4th of July at home hosting family and friends.  It was so stinkin' hot, the grown ups found inside games to play, but the kids spent most of the day outside.  And today, they've barely stepped foot out there!  It was a wonderful day and we've all officially recovered.

Sweet Boy

Beautiful Girl

Cutie cousin Lucas

Handsome cousin Louis

A little mountain getaway

Colorado is a wonderful place!  It's been an annual destination of mine for the past 15 years with my dear college friends.  It was fun to take the kids and see them experience the mountains for the first time.  All the years of hauling Layla and Cooper on all of our trips has finally paid off.  They love to go, they pack their own stuff and they understand that, although the travel part may take some time, the final destination is always worth it...this means very little complaining or asking "are we there yet?"

We stayed here and enjoyed it so much.  It was in the mountains in Breckenridge and we were never bored!  We spent the week swimming, hiking, riding the gondolas, shopping and playing here, where we rode the alpine slide and roller coaster.

Layla fell in love with rock climbing and surprised us all when she chose an intermediate climb as her first.  I'm not sure how to further nurture this new found love in Iowa!  Layla also lost her first tooth on the trip and set out to meet new friends every day, which she did.  Cooper was our comic relief...enough said.

It was so lovely to get away....together.

Me-Oh-My How Time Does Fly!

School has been officially over for one whole week! I have been blissfully-over-the-moon-out-of-this-world happy! There is nothing like staying up late around the bonfire and knowing we don't have to go anywhere at any certain time the next morning. I'm sure I'm WAY more excited about this than anyone else in my family! Layla had her Kindergarten graduation on her last day of school and the kids did a great job. They sang songs and each had a speaking part. For as much as Layla hated getting up early and leaving us everyday, she was very sad to say good-bye to Mrs. Carlson, her friends, and her classroom pets. After graduation Layla told me that she almost started crying when Mrs. Carlson was saying the closing prayer because she "just loves that woman so much." It did take Layla a day or two to adjust to being home. But there's now a huge smile on her face every night when I tuck her into bed and say, "Do you know what the best part of tomorrow will be?" And she gives me her big Dave Handsaker grin and says, "It will still SUMMER VACATION!"

"I HAVE BEARDS!"

On our quiet drive to church on Sunday, Cooper excitedly exclaimed from the backseat, "I have beards! I have beards! Can boys have beards? Listen, listen everyone!" And he took his Hot Wheels in his hand and used the front fender to scrape across his face like a razor. Sure enough, we all heard a faint scraping noise. "Did you hear that?" Then, his face got very serious, "Can you see it? Can you see my beards?" He was so excited that none of us had the heart to tell him it was just a little patch of dry skin making the scraping noise, not whiskers. He's still a little perplexed when he looks in the mirror and can't see the "beards" he knows he hears.

Constantly counting...

I am in a short season of my life where I find myself constantly counting down...only 2 more pages of reading homework to sit through...just 10 more minutes until bed time...2 miles left in this run...only 5 reps left in this set...just 6 days of school left. What does this counting mean? That I'm unenthusiastically plugging through life without enjoying any one moment I'm living in. I know, it's pathetic!!!! And I swear, in just 6 more days, once school and all activities are done, I'll do better! HA! In all the "busy" I've failed to blog any memories for my kids (sorry kiddos, mommy has been too busy counting)! Layla has the most going on right now. She's moved up another class in swimming lessons and she completed her second piano recital. If you know Layla, you know that her bravery is not blind, it takes some mustering. She was terrified before her first recital. Although she did great, I hated seeing her that nervous and anxious! Dave and I decided that piano was about her learning and having fun and that she didn't need to do another recital if she didn't want to. To our surprise, as the second recital approached, she said she wanted to participate. However, when the recital was just a few days away, she changed her mind. Because she had already said she would do it, we decided she needed to keep her commitment and she went for it. As soon as she walked off the stage, she said she wanted to go do it again. I'm proud of my little musterer.