Summer days

Summer days are busy days for Mommy... and Daddy.  I get called in to work a lot more, to cover for other Pharmacists on vacation.  So, Daddy is with the kids... and sends me pictures of some of the crazy stuff they do... Here is our pistol packing Mama!!

 The kids had fun, Eli showing Lael how his backhoe works...

 Then, while Tim is at work, we call each night to pray together on Facetime.... Here is what we look like to each other, from Tim's phone. 

 The cooler weather has been a great blessing... and we have been enjoying many of our meals outside.

 Lael played hard with Daddy one day.... she was drenched from the warmer day we had...

 Eli has been taking piano lessons this summer.  We are so incredibly proud of him.  He has learned so much already and is beginning to play songs on the staff with both hands.  I love watching him as he learns. 

Before church a few Sunday's ago... we had the cute little dress and shoes that Grandma gave Lael.  She was soooo adorable. Love the two of them together!

Lael loves Eli's old stroller.  She is content to sit for a long time there.  I was so impressed to see them playing together, peacefully the other day, him enjoying pushing her, her content to be gently pushed around the yard.


Fun on the swing set... soooo difficult to get a valid picture of kids in motion!

Lael loves to ride on the back of her new tricycle while Eli drives. 


I dug out an old wig for a friend to use for a play she was in a few weeks ago.  I wanted to let her know what it looked like, so I got a photo with it on.  It was dusky outside, and the wig looked black on my fair skin. 


Not so with Tim, as we did it inside under the light.  Everyone commented on his pic.... I was so scary, he looked great!

So, of course, the kids wanted in on the action:)hehe
When I got the wig back and had it ready to pack away, the kids wanted their pic as well:)
Eli makes a cute girl:)




Lael looks like a friend of ours....

More teamwork... Lael helping Eli as he fires off his volcano he got for his birthday.  She was very happy to watch as he added his chemicals and the brew boiled and spilled out the top.

Ah, summer days are drawing to a close.  School starts soon and we won't have all day together.  Thank you, God, for seasons in our lives where we can be together.  Let us use them to the fullest to sustain us for times when we are apart. 
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Lael's first Gotcha day

Hard to believe that a whole year has passed.  What a difference a year makes!!
We decided to go to the zoo as a family to celebrate with Lael.  We had the zoo pass, packed a lunch and were all ready to go...

And when we got there the sky looked like this, and the rain was coming down. 




The Radar, which had shown the storm front passing over us, now showed a different story.... It was moving south.  Quickly.

So, we went to COSI, instead.  Lael LOVED it!!! She and I had a blast in the toddler area (where we determined a lot of other folks came here due to the inclement weather as well...), riding on the scooting toys....



Splashing in the water...

Watching the toys float down the river.... Dumping a bucket of water over her head... hehe... glad I brought a change of clothes:)


She made a fabulous Dr, sharing the babies and bandages with the other children, dressing all the babies we could find diapers for, and even hanging her lab coat back up  in the hanging area.


We sat and played with blocks for a while.  I loved the way she held her mouth as she concentrated so fully on putting the blocks together.

Then it was on to the baking area.  I had some scrumptious meals, let me tell you!! It will be fun to go back when it is not so crowded.  It is hard to let your child play when you see others that would like a turn, and/or other children decide to take toys your child has waited patiently for as soon as she gets it...loved the shades!!!


While Tim and Eli were looking at older kid stuff, Lael and I did bunches! We went outside and looked at some of the cool stuff.  This is the huge solid marble ball that rests on a little bit of water, enabling you to easily turn the ball in its depression.

Lael has been rolling her tongue and sucking through it like a straw lately.  Cracks us up every time!



Ah, my big 7 year old!! Where has the time gone??

Mythbusters with Daddy!!

 Afterwards, we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner... and got seated in the boxcar in the middle of the main room!!! Soooo exciting!!

Then, to top off the evening, there was a gentleman there that does balloon animals.  He did an animal for each person sitting around.  Eli asked for a sword....


And then told the gentleman that Lael loved Pooh... so he made Lael a Winnie the Pooh balloon.  She LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!! She sat and kissed his nose the rest of the time we were there...


The amazing Pooh Bear!!


The kids had lots of fun that evening and the next day playing with their balloons:)

Happy, happy day, our little girl.  You changed our lives forever, bringing joy and laughter we never knew until we held you in our arms!
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A day at the zoo

Ahhh, finally time again for the Swack family gathering... that is the Slack's and the Swingle's.  We have been trying to do this at least once a year... wishing it could be more. 





The new dinosaur exhibit was closed down while we were there, but the large eggs about to hatch, making noises, directing your attention to the new exhibit were everywhere. And the kids checked out each one we passed.

 Our first goal was the Lorakeets... we got some food and the kids went to town, trying to attract a bird to their food dish.  Eli found one right away, with Melissa and Abby.

 Even Lael got in on the action of finding the birds...

 As we walked from there, we arrived at the stinky flower.  What a great place to pose for a shot!!

After a little while of walking around, looking at animals, we had a lovely lunch by the river.  Here, Eli and Abby are enjoying a joke.



Hannah and Melissa are sharing and passing food to each other...


while Lael and I finished our drink.


Talk about Monkey business!! The gorilla area was amazing.



Getting to see the tiny infant gorilla was impressive.  The zoo staff share their excitement with us, allowing us to glimpse inside the amazing work they do to provide for the animals and try to keep their habitat as natural as possible.
A little goofing around in the grainary...



Of course, the Merry Go Round was a hit!! So much fun to watch the kids have a blast!

Penguins...



Manatees...

The kids had a blast, looking at the fish and manatees and then conquering the crocodiles.

Hannah and Lael watching the manatee...
As we traveled toward Stingray bay, we experienced a most unusual occurrence.  We were walking along when we suddenly heard the sound of an explosion.... kinda like a gunshot.  The stroller shook a little... and I was suddenly struck with a fear of one of our children in the stroller being shot!!! Ends up the inner tube on the wheel blew up while the kids were riding on it.  Wow, was it loud! 

Stingray bay was a hit for just about everyone.  Melissa got some fish for the kids to share with the stingrays.  Abby's stingray came up almost out of the water to get the fish, laying against the side of the pool.  It was amazing.   A little frightening for Lael, but soooo cool!!
What a fun day we all had.  We were sorry to see it end. 



Hopefully we can do it again soon....
If success is rated by how quickly they fall asleep on the ride home... it was a huge success for Lael:)

Thank you, God, for the ability to be able to do the fun things we do. 
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