May June

I'm not sure how, but someone pushed fast forward on our lives these past 2.5 months and they have FLOWN by.  There are suddenly not enough hours in the day and so I can not justify rearranging the out of order pictures that were uploaded, as it is bedtime and morning comes far too soon.  This will be the jumpiest post ever.

After 8 years I've finally taken my kids fishing.  Although it happens to be in a stocked pond with barbie fishing poles and bread for bait- they have both been fishing and hooked fish.  Hearing Heidi brag to her friends about how "My mom grew up fishing to she knows exactly what to do" made me feel proud, and like a con artist as I tried to explain bobbers and sinkers to these kids when it was really all guesses. I grew up fishing in creeks for trout, using bobbers for bluegill is a whole different story, although similar avoidance techniques apply for tree limbs as do for lilly pads.  And the same undercurrant of frustration accompanies untangling of lines, cutting tangled lines, and the use of the phrases "Don't step on the fishing pole", "Don't leave the pole on the ground" "Watch where you are standing" "You almost hooked your sister in the face."  Overall I would say I came out ahead in the fishing frustration department though, and I think the girls and I will be making weekly trips to our new fishing hole to catch and release some new friends.

The Toad sightings have calmed since mating season/ rainy season has passed.  But now we have a fish tank full of tad poles.

School is over!!!! THANK HEAVENS!!  We survived the year and will be homeschooling again this fall.

In May we celebrated Heidi's birthday.  It was perfectly Heidi, with the birthday goblins leading us on a treasure hunt around town, ending at the "Goblins store" (Dollar Tree) which the girls decided was the most magical place on earth.

Since Summer has arrived it's no longer just Tommy, Quinn and I on our daily adventures which makes grocery shopping and play dates a bit more complicated.  Tommy and Hadley are starting to play with each other, sort of, which is so cute.

Tommy got Ear tubes put in, which was suppose to help with the ear infections.  It hasn't prevented them, but at least it lets the yucky stuff come out when he does have them.  The poor kid has constantly had one thing or another since Christmas, Even Lyme disease in June!  I'm getting a bit worn out.

For Heidi's birthday party (we had friends from school over and a scavenger hunt) she requested a pearl cake inside a oyster shell.  I did my best and won her praise, she said it was perfect.

Someone abandoned 2 cats at the church and so we adopted them.  These are the kindest, most patient cats in the entire universe.  I've seen Quinn pulling one up off the ground by the tail- and no reaction.  She dumps cups of water on them, lays on top of them, throws toys and rocks at them, and gives them squeezy tight hugs and they don't care.  So when we found a dead bat that had been chewed up we became worried about rabies.
  There is nothing quite like the terror that comes from the fear and suspicion and general not knowing if your beloved pet has rabies.  I can't quite explain the unrest and agony.  Either end of the spectrum is death.  Either we kill the cats to protect the kids from the fear, real or not.  Or we do nothing and everything is either happily ever after, or a horror story.  We keep hearing 10 days from bite to death (although it seems it's more 10 days from appearance of symptoms that comes from the virus hitting the brain, until death) but we are currently day 6 and everything seems normal.
   I hate not being able to let the kids enjoy the backyard for fear of the cats potential- it's put a gloom on the whole house.  Not to mention the bats I've started noticing in the eves.  Then there was the dead shrew I caught Quinn kissing and bathing in the swimming pool.  She got a lecture and a half on that , a mouth washing, a bath and timeout.  That child is going to prove to be the most difficult to keep alive.

Tommy is walking!  He is staring to master the wobbly step and rarely crawls unless throwing a mighty tantrum.  It's adorable and he is everyone's pet.

Pennsylvania spring is magical, and every few weeks a new plant blooms in the yard and takes our breath away.

Heidi was part of a memorial day parade.  We were not prepared and I ended up carrying Quinn the entire route in the humid heat of the day.  The parade ended with Heidi nearly passing out from heat stroke and collapsing in my arms after ditching her spot during the Kindergartener's presentation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Here is our garden in the beginning.  It used to be a giant pile of leaves and weeds so this is amazing.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, peas, peppers, zucchini and pumpkins.

Tyler went on a scout trip to ride the trail from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.  They were gone for a week and I babysat 2 kids from another scout family that was going, ages 9 and 12.  It was a crazy week.  There was lots of bike riding to prepare for that trip.

Ms. Phillips and Heidi.

Heidi and her best friend Kate who happens to live about 45 seconds away.

Kate got Heidi this dress for her birthday, so it is extra loved.  Heidi did great in school but was pretty stressed about the other kids making bad choices and in general just not getting enough time with anyone.  She is a middle child who needs attention and between school and the stress times at home, she wasn't getting her loved bank filled much.  She loved all the activities and fun things and her teacher and friends.  I'm gad she got to go.

Alex also did well in school but seems excited to homeschool.  She was constantly frustrated by all the dumb rules and waste of time.  Not being able to read, or talk, or do lots of thing she wanted.  She made some good friends and learned some great things.  Now that we are a bit into summer she has lost some of the bad habits that she developed during school (THANK GOODNESS) and gets along with her sisters much better.  School was very stressfull for our family.

Tommy and Quinn are glad to have them back for the summer.  Quinn knows just how to push everyone's buttons and needs plenty of attention or she starts to make trouble to get it.  It drives the big ones nuts, but Tommy is starting to hold his own.  Boy is she in fro a rough time once he really gets his legs under him!

Baby curls!

This cutie turned 1 in June!

We went to the pet store to look at animals, and ate cake.  It was a great day.

Summer means books and library programs.  The hammock under the big maple tree is a favorite place for everyone.

We did 2 exhausting weeks of swimming lessons, but now Alex and barely Heidi can swim!!!  We visit our neighbor Luke every now and then to swim in their great pool and it's a blast for everyone.  Tommy loves it and Alex is quite the fish!  I'm not afraid of Heidi drowning anymore.

The garden is producing!  We are past the spinach and beet phase and into Zucchini, peas and cucumbers now.  Tomatoes will be soon!

This boy is starting to make Sundays torture.  But Daddy can usually get him to nap in his arms.

So. Many. Raccoon troubles.  It's a whole post in itself.  Let's just say we've killed 2, and relocated 3- including 2 babies.  This was Timothy.  He visited me outside my window every night for a week.

We made friends with a wonderful lady named Terry who we have adopted as a great Aunt.  Her yard is full of topiaries and she is a wonderful wealth of knowledge on all sorts of topics.  She is going to be the science teacher for our homeschool and the kids think she is the most magical woman on earth.  Very unique and full of fun.

Aunt Terry has a huge bit of property and she had us over to pick black raspberries!  They are delicious and it was magical.

Alex and Heidi had their dance recital and they both did great.  Especially Alex.  Quinn did her dance to my amazement.

We also adopted Grandma Carol who came to help out.  Couldn't survive without her

Timothy.

Aunt Terry also had us out to help her pick currants, then she made jelly.

The garden has taken off.  We are drowning in pickles.

Everything has grown about 3x bigger than I expected.

The pumpkin plant is about twice this size now and still going.

And we found a hidden jem in a blocked of section of the yard, our own black raspberry patch!!!!

4th of July was low key.  Fireworks here and we watched the town show from our friends yard.

The kids let me dress them up which is one of my favorite parts anyway.

Poor Tommy.

Quinn with the first fish.

We celebrated Grandma Carol's birthday and made her a cat cake and went to Findin Dory in the theatre with popcorn and soda and everything.  It was a great day.

Then one of Alex's hamsters died and it was heartbreaking.  So we buried Chocolate in Aunt Terry's pet cemetery and then went out for icecream.

Deer Lakes Park.

Quinn is in charge of the peas.

Alex was very excited to pick the zucchini  from the plant she grew from seed, and promptly made chocolate zucchini bread all by herself.  It was glorious.