Re-trenching and family life

Anna has a cute neck. What can I say? I just had to take a picture of it. 

We bought a used (and a little dirty) swimming pool from Steve. It is so huge!! It says online that it holds 5,500 gallons of water. We cleaned it and put it in storage for the present. 

Since the men were done with it, we got to re-trench. Lily tried to assist, but every other second she said, "Ugh! Daddy, help!" The cuteness thereof cannot be described. 

Reading with James. 

James' amazing castle. This was taken mere moments before it was destroyed by the innocent-looking creatures pictured. 

Last night we re-discovered Lily and her baby doll's matching nightgowns. 

Lexie's Visit

Lexie Jackson stayed with us from Friday to Wednesday last week. We celebrated her parent's anniversary with ice cream for Sunday lunch. 

James got a workout playing with all three girls at once!

First you sit on his feet...

Then he flips you upside down and puts you over his head! It is a great abs workout - you should try it sometime. 

Steve came over at 5am Monday to install electricity in our shed. The first step was digging a trench for the conduit. 

The admiring audience eating plums. 

They were drilling holes for the conduit in the shed. Steve was making a fuse box. 

Steve got the fuse box installed and had electricity going to the shed by the time he had to leave that day. I got the experience of assisting while they pulled the wire. I've pulled legs before, but never wire. 

Shed Work

James had me help him install the window A/C unit in the shed. 

Your voice sounds funny in a bucket, did you know that?

James hung the ceiling Sheetrock with some of my minimal assistance. 

Cutting the Sheetrock to size. 

Aunt Emily came over to post some items on Etsy and brought Keith. 

Anna likes her sweet potatoes. 

Walking and Potty Training

Anna is learning to stand by herself and walk with assistance.

Lily is going through another session of potty training. No pictures are available. :-) It sounded so easy in the book, "Toilet Training in less than a day." Maybe I should have Lily read it. Then it would all be clear to her. Yesterday we were at a ratio of 8 to 4, with four being the successes and eight accidents. 

Shed work and Pictures

James wanted to check the height of my chalk art easel to ensure it would fit in the area he planned to build for it in the shed. 

It is 7 1/2' tall. I haven't drawn in awhile - it looks super huge!

After I fed Anna early one morning, I snapped some pictures of her. 

Lily was looking especially cute too. 

Mom's Day Out

The Alexanders came up with a lovely scheme: watch all of the church children and give all of the moms a day off. 

I happily signed up. 

James and I used our kid-free time to kayak in the gulf. There was a storm right beforehand and it was spitting rain as we attempted to launch. I timidly managed to paddle into the tall waves and not get capsized, but James, who was keeping close watch from shore, called me in because I was drifting down the shore pretty far. I was able to empathize with the apostles as they woke Jesus from His nap for help on their stormy sea. I actually managed to turn around without getting broadsided and tipped over by a wave to book it back to shore. 

After that we had fun splashing in the surf and looking for seashells. 

The girls enjoyed themselves hugely. 

When I arrived to pick my girls up, they were officially worn out. I can only imagine how Bro and Mrs Alexander felt! They cared for 23 children for four hours. 

Photo session, errands and quilting

The other day we let Lily try to use my phone to take pictures. She chased Anna all over calling her name trying to take her picture. She had some difficulties, but I will show you what she was able to take. 

Maybe she isn't ready for a Canon Mark 5 yet like Aunt Becca's. 

Since yesterday was my weekly errand day, we ran all over town for 3 1/2 hours making 9 stops. This was Walmart.

Mom Bryan asked if she could use my machine to quilt her king-sized quilt. She had been hand quilting but has run out of time since she started working at PCC. She said she loved using my machine.

Dad Bryan played Catan with us while Mom Bryan quilted.