Gracie finishes Kindergarten

Oh, I so love having a kindergartener.  They are the absolute best to watch as the school year progresses.  They start out so tiny and unsure and end the year confident, full of new skills, and happy.  And Gracie was no exception.  Just watch her as she sings her heart out on these little songs.  And I am so beyond proud that our school had them sing "God Bless America".  We may live in a state that votes blue, but our little town is god fearing and Red through and through.

Dad's Day and a New Wallet

Ellie has taken it upon herself to keep her dad with duct tape wallets.  Adam dutifully used his clear one for months and just in time for Father's Day he was gifted with another more colorful Blue one.

I had the other kids work on a combined Father's Day card on our chalkboard and then we fed our man of the house some Gooey Rolls.

We are so grateful for our Daddy and know he is one of the very, very best.

We know because he is exactly like the other father's and grandfathers we know.

Softball and T Ball Seasons

Softball continues to be one of Ellie's things.

It is fun to see her improve each year.  She would love to play infield or catcher, but the outfield seems to be her place for now.  Keep on working girlie.

She is a pretty good base runner.  I even caught her sliding into Home one time.

Tball was so much fun with Things One and Two.  I knew Cayden would love it, and he sure did, but Gracie, my girlie girl, also had a great time.  She loved having a uniform just like Ellie and marching in the parade at the beginning of the season.  She had a terrible throw, but she loved batting and running the bases.  Cayden was as much of a ball hog as most of the boys on thier team.  It was always a pile-up of energetic boys scrambling for the ground balls.  Cayden started counting how many balls he fielded and called them his points.

Seth had a hard time with them playing when he was not.  Too bad he will still be too young next year to play either. 

Ellie's Things

Ellie loves to be involved in everything her school can offer, from crazy hair days, to school skits, to band ensembles, to a spring basketball league, all on top of softball to boot.  It made for a super crazy end of her fifth grade year, but she didn't mind, just I did;)

We Fished

Some fished, some created flower crowns, and some used a camera, on a beautiful summer day in June in Connecticut.

Early Summer Beach Trip

As close as we are to the beach, it still is hard to get the family there, especially after pool season picks up and covers need installed.  But if I insist really hard, I can get Adam to agree to blow off the covers for a day and join us at the beach, as long as we travel to the good beaches on Rhode Island.  This summer has been especially fun because my littlest sister(who just graduated from high school) is spending the summer with us as well as Ethan, our favorite nephew.

Jorden. Hayden, Jacob, and Steven came along too.

They were happy to have a day away from covers too.

Don't Yell at Me

     The other day my kids and I had a fantastic time at our local lake.  It was a hot day, but I was excited for the first afternoon of summer and a family bike ride.  We made it there fine. It was not a bad ride at all, even though my 11 year-old was sure it was too hot out to be riding.  We zoomed right past the parking lot attendant without paying a thing, and we had a great easy time at the lake and in the sand. I didn't even have to worry about bringing towels.  Everyone would just wind dry on the way home.  Our only trouble was the big left turn we needed to make on the way home.  Emma(my 9 year-old) did not get started as soon as the driver behind us wanted her to and he yelled something out his window to me like, "Get your kids off the road during traffic."

What a scuzz.

Does he expect me to stay clear off the roads during the hours of 5-10am and 3-8pm each day?
Are my children to stay safely in homes playing video games their entire lives?

Do you know that it is always, always old men drivers that yell at me and my kids on our bike(s)?
(just something I've observed)

And of course, it's not all old men that yell.  Its just when there is yelling, its coming from an old man.

But I shrugged it off and home we rode.

Or so I thought.

Today, we wanted to go to the lake again.  It was a beautiful day. Simply gorgeous.  It would have been beyond perfect to ride there today, BUT...... I hemmed and hawed and thoughts kept coming....

"What if we get yelled at again?'
"What if there is more traffic on the road?"
"It is high school graduation day."
"What if the roads are full of crazy graduate drivers celebrating and texting while driving?"
"What if their impatient dads are on the road too trying to hurry home to get the graduation party going?"

"What if they are all so impatient and distracted and reckless that they don't see my little Emma trying to get her bike pedaling across one of their intersections?"
(of course I am right next to her the whole time in my bright yellow big butted bike, but still...)

I wasn't able to shrug off that yeller as I liked.

We drove to the lake, and now my car seats are wet and covered in sand and I have a large load of sandy towels to wash and dry AND I didn't get to ride my bike today.  I love riding my bike and I love having my kids do it with me.

Old man driver who yelled at me, I repeat, "You are a scuzz."

People of my town. You have only one road through town. We don't have much choice of routes.
***Be alert, watch for bikes, share the road, and have some gosh darn patience.

And my cuties will wave and smile at you,
Kayla Marble