1. Swim lessons - For two weeks we spent most evenings at the pool. The boys really enjoyed their lessons and they learned a lot. Ray absolutely loves jumping off the diving board now. He even does tricks. He passed to level three for next year and is eager to join the swim team. Adam loves to swim and does very well also, but he refused to go off the diving board. Maybe next year!
2. Parish Festival - Although it was about 600 degrees outside, we had a wonderful time at our parish festival. We met up with friends and spent the evening riding rides, playing games, eating ice cream, and having fun! As you'll see in the pictures, Adam even had his hair painted with red stripes!
3. New Lawn Mower. Well, last month we were thrilled to reach the point of having both cars paid off. Since then, we've had to replace BOTH car batteries AND purchase a new lawn mower. When a wheel snapped off of the mower that Jon had been nursing along all summer, he finally had to let it rest in peace and get a new one. The past month has been full of trips to Lowe's. An extra bonus that came with this purchase --- the mower box! It has provided HOURS of entertainment, especially for Adam who has decorated it inside and out with drawings and hundreds of stickers.
4. Christmas in July - Last week's Pray and Play Date was at our place again. This time we had great weather! We had more than thirty children come to celebrate Christmas in July! It was so much fun! I hauled out a bunch of Christmas decorations to set the scene. We started by decorating the fence.
Next we gathered for prayer. After that the children dressed up and acted out the Christmas story. Here are Angel Gabriel and Mary:
I took down my swing and used its support/awning to make a "stable." Here are Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus:
We had a choir of beautiful angels!
Ray was our only shepherd... and sadly, he had no sheep. Here he is with his friend Thomas, who loved being a king so much that he took the costume home and wore it all day.
At the end of the re-enactment, all of the children gathered around "Baby Jesus." I asked them what song we could sing, and someone suggested "You Are My Sunshine." So we sang that and "Silent Night" and very sweetly offered our love and prayers to Jesus.
Of course after all that praying we needed snacks! Some of the moms baked Christmas cookies and a Christmas tree cake. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and enjoyed delicious treats!
The back porch was transformed into our craft studio and we painted wooden Christmas ornaments.
One of the moms even gave everyone a Christmas tattoo!
What an awesome morning!5. Dreamcatchers - Adam has been having bad dreams. So we made dream catchers. We talked about the Native American tradition that holds that if a dream catcher is placed above a child's bed, bad dreams will be kept away and good dreams will remain. We talked about our dream catchers as symbols that will remind us that God helps us keep the good and push out the bad. (That explanation and the directions for making these came from The Big Book of Ideas for Children's Faith Formation.)Ray actually said a prayer every time he put a bead on his. Here's his dream catcher --
Here's Adam's dream catcher ---
6. Ongoing bedroom renovations - Ray's room renovation has dragged on more slowly than I'd hoped. We are ALMOST ready to unveil the new look. The paint is finished. Today he put up the wall stickers. We still need to hang blinds and curtains and move the bed back. Stay tuned for the great unveiling.
We told Adam we aren't going to re-do his room until he turns five, but in the meantime he got to order some wall stickers too. So now he has a jungle / robot room!
7. Solar System learning and projects - The outer space room renovation has sparked renewed interested in all things planetary. So, we've been reading about space and working on some cool projects.
8. Summer Reading Program - Both boys completed our library's summer reading program and earned some cool prizes. We also have attended several story times and a special music program at the library. Our Columbus Metropolitan Library System has been ranked number one in the nation again. We are so grateful to have such an awesome resource.
9. Special visitors! We have had a wonderful time visiting with my best friend Susan, who has been in town from San Antonio. We have talked and played and gone out to lunch. I even got to sneak away for a special girls' day out on Saturday!
One of the rituals Susan and I celebrate whenever she comes to town is a trip to the nail salon. I decided that I would turn 40 with obnoxiously sparkly purple toes!
Also, my dad and his wife Mary are in town for a few weeks. We always love visiting with Pappy and Mary and going on lots of special adventures! No pictures yet, but I'm sure there will be some soon.
10. Party at our house - On Friday night we hosted a get-together with my sisters, my dad, and some of his extended family. We had a fun time visiting. The kids enjoyed a peanut hunt and the slip and slide while the adults visited. Here are some special ladies from my dad's family -
And finally, here's Jon being a GREAT sport and attempting the Mento's / Diet Coke experiment. How about that poncho? Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get them all in and make the impressive spout we anticipated. It was still fun, though, and he got lots of cheers for all three attempts. 
So, how's that for a monster-sized catch-up post? These have been busy and fun summer days including popsicles, playgrounds, cookouts, shopping, cleaning, lego's. I love this life! I hope you are having a summer as great as ours!
Looks like you have been having a lot of fun! Happy belated birthday!
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