The Newsboys!

We went to a really awesome concert by the Newsboys with friends from church.

One of our pastors Mark Tankersly, his son, and a friend along with Vinnie and Tammy Cherry, and Derik Smyers (Cheryl and Caleb missed the picture).

The concert was great and the Newsboys are wonderful men of God and talented artists.

Great Songs

Fun atmosphere in the baseball stadium

They even did a fireworks show after the concert. What a night. Great friends and great music.

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato

Today, we picked our very first tomato out of the garden. I wanted to eat it right away, but Mommy convinced me to wait until lunchtime, so we could share some with Daddy. Here I am at the Billy Graham finally getting to eat some.

I ate it all the way down to the stem. Well, honestly, I wanted to eat the stem, too, but Mommy fished it out of my mouth. It was SO SO SO good. I let Mommy & Daddy each have a bite, but it was mostly mine!

Summertime

Today, we got to go swimming with my friend Trey & Isaac. Here you can see Trey & me having a light snack before we dive back in.

Here is Sophie, just floating around. She had a lot of fun, too.

Here is Isaac. He even let me borrow his float for a while. What a guy!

And, this is a bit of an older picture. I am playing with my lawn mower. For those who are slightly more observant - why yes, I am wearing 2 pair of Mommy's panties.

Here's Sophie. Being delighted & swinging.

Warning: Alcohol & Parenting Don't Mix

Tonight, Micah tried to replicate a picture from my youth. I'm about 3, trying my first taste of beer. It is a great picture - lots of expression. Kate wasn't quite as disgusted by the beer. So, not quite as good a picture, but here it is. (She did say "no" when Micah asked if she liked it.)

And, here is what happened when we got home.

Happy Summer Solstice!

To begin with, I hope everyone doesn't think we're turning into neo-pagans since we have celebrated Earth Day & Summer Solstice this year. We are just having lots of fun and are still all staunchly Presbyterian.

The botanical gardens today had a summer solstice party. There was a whole lot to do. To begin with, they had these very big globes to play with. I had a great time rolling it all around.

We brought a picnic along, and enjoyed it "al fresco." After that, we got to take ladybugs and release them into the garden. They are very beneficial to plants. I even took some home to put on Mommy's tomato plant.

We also got to plant a verbena. Mommy's is light purple and mine is hot pink!! Next, Daddy made me a flower wreath for my head. "Here Daddy, let me help you out!"

Am I gorgeous or what?? (The wreath tickled my nose.)

There were also strawberries & whipped cream for us to eat! Of course, there still was the normal garden to walk through. This is my very favorite part of the garden. You get to run through the water and hopefully don't get wet. Mommy & Daddy took turns running through with me! The downfall to the evening was I touched a cactus and got all little spines in me. Mommy got most out in the parking lot, and Daddy got another one out at home. But, even when I went to bed, I had to come out and have Mommy take out one more. Yikes!

Potty Training

Yes, we've officially moved past just talking about potty training. On Sunday, I asked Kate before she went to bed if she wanted to sit on the potty. After about 10 or 15 minutes of singing and reading books, she went to the bathroom. Every night since then, she sits on the potty until something happens.
Today, she has gone twice during the day, too. It is a little hard hearing a 2 year old go to the bathroom since, well, there's so little output. Just now I asked Kate, "did you go pee-pee?" She said, "No. Butterfly."
She then was marvelling at how dark it was in the potty (with her sitting on it). Then she was going on and on about how there was a moon in there.
I guess she is right about that one at least. It does make me wonder where she got that lingo. Uncle Neil???

We are Family!

The whole gang.  Uncle Joel, Aunt Rachel, & Millie; Aunt Christina; Grandpa & Grandma Wagenaar; Grandma Bomgaars (with Sophie) & Smitty; and (of course) Daddy, me, & Mommy.
Here we are with the Wagenaars.  They are the farm grandparents.
Here are us ladies:  Grandma Bomgaars with Millie, Mommy with me, and Grandma Wagenaar with Sophie.  (Please note our matching Orange City t-shirts).
Mommy is pointing the camera to me.  Here we are with Grandma Bomgaars & Smitty.  They are the ones that live in the city - the one with the cool windmills.
I am getting so good at giving kisses.  I really am a charmer.

Lessons

Of course spending a whole week with someone like a cousin gives plenty of chances to learn a lesson in sharing.  I don't think I like sharing too much. 
Sophie didn't need to learn a lesson, but she is willing to give lessons on being charming.  (If you have to ask, you probably can't afford her.)
Daddy got to learn a few lessons.  This is after one on train engineering.  Great-Grandpa Wagenaar built this caboose from scratch, and I got to ride down the tracks, just like my Daddy and Grandma got to when they were little kids.
Here is another lesson Daddy learned:  Watch you daughter when she is on the swing.  Sometimes when you are two, you don't give a whole lot of warning when you want to come off the swing.  I like to think of it as keeping Daddy on his toes.
Of course, anyone knows that for a lesson to sink in, there must be rewards.  Preferably ice cream.

E-I-E-I-O

Monday night, we went over the Uncle John & Aunt Lynae's farm. Here they are with Sophie & their daughter - Lyvia.

We got to explore around the farm - the chickens, pigs, ducks, guineas, cats, and a dog. Uncle John even took us on a ride. I loved it! I got to go twice!

Sophie gets a chance here to pet her first kitten.

Here's Aunt Christina with all the cousins - Nasia, Mylia, Hanna, and Lyvia.

Mom holding Sophie - who looks a little too glam to be at a farm.

She Works Hard for the Money

After our trip to Colorado, we went to visit Daddy's grandparents on the farm. My friends think that sounds like all fun and games, but there was a lot of work involved.

First, Sophie had to climb up on the tractor and take some glamour shots.

Then, I got up and did the real deal. Yes sir, off to the barn.

Proof of my labor: dirty hands. (Does anyone have a spare baby wipe??)

Later of course, somebody had to get the mail. Why is it always the smallest one who gets picked for these tasks??

Here I am doing a little office work from the farm - someone has to keep things in line!

More Colorado

After our trip to see the Lyttons, we went to Loveland to visit some family. Here we all are at Uncle Barry & Aunt Bonnie's house.
We had a great time swimming in the pool.
Kate had a great time racing around with Mackenzie. The red car was the car of choice, and Kate continually told Kenzie that the blue one was "better."
Here is Kate, Braden, & Mackenzie. Swimming again in the pool.
Inspired by Uncle Leon, Kate decides it's time for a little yardwork.
And, after a long day, and a skinned knee, a small quiet moment.

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Kate at windmills in Orange City

More Colorado Pictures

When Amanda was cooking, Mommy took some pictures because she thought Grandma would love to see the pretty colors.

Amanda liked that idea, so she set up a few more shots.

Here is Amanda talking about my grandma and cutting the red peppers.

Mommy, Sophie, & Amanda.