Rain!!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Growing up, I was always being read books that would say things like this: "It was a sad rainy day." or " It was a beautiful sunny day." Living here, that just never seemed to make sense. Since rain is so rare, it is like a holiday around here. As soon as those clouds roll in, everyone just sits in anxious anticipation with their fingers crossed just hoping against hope we get that ever elusive rain.

Well, after a very long, hot, and miserably sunny summer, we got rain last week! It was such a fun couple of days. There was lots of rain, thunder and lightening and we were out enjoying every second we could!

here are the little kids bundled up under the umbrella

KL, Sam, CK, Lily

It amuses me that no matter what I say to my kids, rain =cold weather. This is even true when it is 100 with rain. It is so rare here, that it really feels like everything should be cold! So, as soon as the first drop falls, the girls go running for the coat closet and get out their heaviest winter coats. Here is KL walking over to Sam's house in the rain, all nicely bundled! (in her defense, the temp did go down to about 75. Not cold, but quite a change from the 109 the week before!)

Dance Class

KL got to start dance class this fall. The teacher who has taught L and CK the last couple of years decided it was too much for her to try and do after school classes (I can't blame her! She has 6 kids including a 1 year old baby), but she decided to do a morning class for preschoolers. Kl was so excited! This was her first day. I got her all dressed, then when I wasn't looking, she decided to put make up on. Hmmm... Still... she is just loving it and just loves to show off all the new dance moves she is learning!

Youngland, '10

It was my kids favorite FHE of the year! We got to go to "Youngland" as they call it. It is my parents friends house. Once a year, all the families who adopted kids from Moldova at the same time get together for a big fun pool party. It is a total blast for everyone (especially my kids who just dream of a backyard like this... ok, so I do too.)

KL and Brody in the kiddie pool

Kyle climbing the rock wall

B and L climbing the rock wall.

L

B

Even KL enjoyed trying to climb

David at the top of the wall.

A with Grammy

David taking Ty down the water slide. That kid just couldn't get enough of going down that!

2 little friends, A and Lily.
(they are actually almost the same size, despite the 8 month age difference--
if any thing, A might be bigger...heavier anyway)

CK is 6!

CK just turned 6 years old! Wow!! Once again, where does the time go? She has made our family so much more fun and we are so thankful to celebrate her.

Here she is first thing in the morning with all her sisters.

A couple of months ago, we were at a baby shower for my sister and sister in law. My other sister in law has gotten really good at cake decorating and brought a fabulous cake. CK couldn't take her eyes off it all night long, so Kierra offered to make her one for her birthday. I didn't think much of it and CK didn't mention it to me, but Kierra remembered and so she surprised CK with the cake of her dreams.

With Aunt Kierra who made her this fabulous cake.

She got to have some friends and cousins over for dinner and a little party. We borrowed a slip 'n slide then ate dinner. After dinner was cake time!

Blowing out the candles.

A was pretty fascinated by the candles.

Opening her new bike... she really was excited!

We love you honey! Hope you had a special day!

Photo Shoot

My sister in law decided it would be a good idea to get the 3 little girls who were all born in 36 hours of each other to get some pictures taken together. She was right. So, we all congregated over at Beth's house.

The older kids (yet not in school) all had a picnic in the backyard.

Annie's boys were in town! We really loved having them here and all the time we got to spend with them. Here is Gunnar. KL got up everyday asking of Tyton, Gunna, Evelynne, and Sam could come over and play.

And here are our little girls! A, Ava, Kalais

The biggest challenge was keeping the girls from eating or pulling on theirs, and their cousin's dresses and headbands. Here is A eating Ava's dress.

I just couldn't help but take this one... Ava sucking A's thumb!

In the end, I think the final product was totally worth all the effort!

Medford, NJ (1978-1987)

Dave had to go out of town on business a few weeks ago and as luck would have it, he got to go back to where he grew up. He took some pictures of his old neighborhood, and so without further ado, here is Dave's very first post on our family blog:

96 Tallowood Drive.


The sewer that we had to climb down to retrieve balls.


The path to the lake.



The beach, taken on the Saturday of the annual Labor Day volleyball tournament.


The bridge.


From the bridge looking at the dock.


Cranberry Pines, Cranberry Pines, as a school you sure are fine...



LYAA fields.


Johnson's Corner Farm.


Shawnee.



"New" church built directly across the street from Shawnee.


Settler's Inn burned down, replaced by a fancy new grill; the area behind Settler's Inn remains in tact and hosts a farmer's market on Saturday mornings.

Just Some Fun With The Kids

The kids were playing with the camera the other day and these are the picture I found:

KL
Lovely "Morning Mom" and cute little A

Daddy making A laugh

One last thing... It isn't very often that I hear my kids being loud and I'm not having to go in and referee. I was in my bathroom on Sunday getting ready for church. I heard a lot of commotion and so I braced myself for the inevitible crying/screaming/tattling. It never came. After a few minutes, I realized the kids were laughing! What!?!? I went in to see what was going on, and sure enough, they were all playing together and having so much fun. I walked past them to get the camera and they were so involved in their game that they didn't even notice me. It was fun for me to watch.