I am really enjoying this summer. The kids are getting bigger. Putting on shoes isn't as hard anymore and they mostly keep them on understanding that we are going somewhere (Hannah sometimes has issues). Nathan and Sarah have booster seats and they do up their own seat belts. Abby also does up her 5 point harness seat belt by her self. Hannah is the only one left in diapers, she should be potty trained soon. They actually follow us while we are walking somewhere (with exception to Hannah) not running in random directions. I still feel the need for a sheep/children dog for the sole purpose of making them all go in the right direction, but things are definitely getting better.
For the second time we have re-homed our dog. I felt so guilty. The dog had become such a burden to both of us and the kids did not enjoy him either. Life without the dog has been very good. I love animals but the last few we have had have cured me of "pet nostalgia" for awhile I think. Sometimes Abby will ask me when we can have another pet. I tell her that we can get another one when they are older and can help to look after it. It has been such a relief to be without a dog. The only thing I missed where the daily walks. Recently we have been herding our children around the block or by the lake for fresh (muggy?) air so the walk experience is still there. I am amazed at the energy or lack of energy from them. Abby runs the whole way and gets upset when someone beats her home, if she were smart she would walk with the rest of us and save her energy for a final sneaky burst at the end, but strategy seems to elude her. Hannah runs the whole way , sometimes more as she often runs back and forth between us , unable to decide which hand to hold on too. Nathan likes to run ahead and stop at a stop sign or a shady tree to wait for the rest of us to catch up. Sarah gets tired as soon as we leave the drive way and walks slowly. One of us is at the back of the pack walking with Sarah and one of us is running with the rest trying to herd them on one side of the road. All of the kids are fascinated with the spongy back tar they use to fix cracks in the road and they will stop immediately and crouch down to poke their fingers in it, we have to be careful not to trip over them. We must make quite a scene for the neighbors.
I always have ideas about the summer, where we will go and what I teach the kids, or what I will occupy their time with. If I get 1/4 of what I had thought up done I consider that a successful summer. This year Nathan is working his way through a work book to get computer time and I have started to get the kids to learn one verse from each book of the bible (this is going slowly, since I often forget to highlight it). We have been to the African Lion Safari, local parks and beaches, Aunt Emily and Uncle Jeff's farm, and went to see a movie. I hope we can go mini golfing with them as well some time. Sarah and Abby have been playing outside for hours at a time during the day. They play with their ponies - burying them in the dirt (we have a dirt box instead of a sand box), then wash them off in the kiddie pool. It is a little morbid, as they act out the burying process ("NO , don't bury me! HELP!) , but they are having fun outside , how can I complain about that? Nathan , our little "stay inside and watch something" child is loving the Olympics this summer, he gets so excited he can barely sit still. I have an exercise ball he bounces on so he can actually watch the program without running around like a crazy person.
Hannah continues to find ways to get into trouble. She can no longer get at the flour but she will try for the sugar every once in a while. She is getting taller so she can reach more. I found all of the brown sugar on the floor in a bedroom one afternoon , who knows how much she shoved in her mouth before making sugar hand prints on the couch ... Hannah knows when she has to poop and will strip all of her clothing off and poop allover the back porch, running over it with the ride on toys we have. Hannah also has this thing with doors, all of the kids forget to close the back door when going outside (one of my main pet peeves this summer), Hannah will close it coming in but not going out and she goes out often. If the back gate is left unlatched she will go out and walk around the house and ring the door bell , sometimes she goes to the neighbors doors as well. It freaks us out when she is unattended in the neighborhood but at least she comes to the door right away and she does not often get out.
Mark has been hard at work taking out flower beds. It's unfortunate because someone had put a ton of money in landscaping that yard, but we don't have time to spend weeding out gardens and the kids pick all of the flowers off as soon as they come out. At least now we have a bigger yard! I gave up on my vegetable garden this year again. Last year it was the dog nosing around and stepping on things , as well as little girls pulling up/stepping on plants. This year Hannah was still digging around in there trying to eat the dirt and throwing it around. We put some mulch down and gave them another place to dig around in , so hopefully next year....
Life is getting bigger. Our kids are growing and our circle of where and how we spend our time is getting ever wider. I'm painting more and learning more. Our house is changing to suit our needs more. I love our life and I am still excited to see what the next few years will bring.
