No Mommy....

...I do not need a nap.

...I am a big girl.

...I will sit and look at my library books.

...but I will not go to sleep.

...I am not tired, really!

...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

(We have been going back and forth on E giving up her naps. She's just not ready yet. If we go more than two days with no naps - no matter how much she sleeps at night - she is so tired she starts melting down by mid-day. We're trying naps every other day or so, alternated with quiet time in her room with books, etc. She crashed while reading a few days ago...note the HUGE pile of library books on the end of her bed. Love that!)

Daddy day...

Hubby works four ten-hours days each week, meaning he has Fridays off. Friday have become "Daddy day" and/or "family day". Our schedule has been a little off the past few weeks due to vacations, holidays and other factors, but yesterday we were back to our usual "Daddy day" schedule. After a quick doctor's appointment for E in the morning, we ran errands as a family...errands that included a fun trip to the mall that featured browsing for tools with daddy, a trip to the l-e-g-o store, a ride on the carousel and lunch at one of E's favorite places (eat more chicken!) Hooray for family day!

Summer music class...

E started summer music classes at our church today....oh, how she loves this! We tried these classes about a year and a half ago. While E had fun then, she's really at the prime age now for this....and this girl loves music! Some of E's church and school friends are in this class....and the teacher is our associate pastor's wife - a very sweet woman who is incredibly talented....so everyone is familiar and it's all so much fun!

Summer fun...

Our church young couples Bible study group is a hoot. Every month we get together to study God's Word, but we also have a good time hanging out, visiting and just acting silly together. Some of our members have children, some do not. Our Bible study meeting are usually kid-free, but once a year, we have a summer cookout where the kids join us for fun, food and fellowship. This year, our amazing hosts Josh and Jenny rented a HUGE water slide for the kids (big and small!) to play on. We had quite a time playing in the water (and the guys played washers for hours on end)....such fun to simply be together and have a wonderful time!

Love to learn...

E loves school, loves books, loves to learn. She's been begging me for weeks to go back to school, but since that's not going to happen until mid-August, I've been working to keep her occupied. A while back, friend-of-a-friend and super-cool mommy Amanda helped a bunch of us mommies put together a variety of preschool activities in bags for our kiddos. Although E was too young for most of the activities at the time I helped create them, she's really been enjoying them this summer. We pull out most of them almost every day! Fun, fun, fun!

First trip to the dentist...

Sweet E had her first trip to the dentist yesterday. Our pediatric dentist - Dr. Ty - is a great guy who goes to our church. I think I was more nervous about this than E! E was a superstar during the entire visit. The kid-friendly office offered treats and encouragement every step of the way. E played games, watched tv and had a grand time. She was champ through the x-rays, cleaning and exam. In fact, she had so much fun, she cried when it was time to leave! (This child adores going to the doctor....it's so odd compared to most children, but so great for this mommy....no doctor anxiety for us, thank you very much! Maybe she will end up working in the medical field?)

One year ago today...

...my beloved mother-in-law went to be with Jesus. We still miss her every day and cannot believe it's been a year that she's been gone. I can only imagine the glory and wonder she experiences each day, being in the presence of our Savior.

Recovery...

Our family has been on two vacations in three weeks. We've driven through several states, stayed in multiple hotels, homes and condos, put many miles on our car and had tons of fun. But oh, there's no place like home! Now that we're home -- and staying for a while -- it feels so good to catch up on chores, tackle the to-do list and get back to our normal routine. Well, normal for summer anyway....a summer that seems to be going too fast! We're holding onto summer as long as we can. School will be starting again before I know it! So for now it's all about Gramma Mondays, Daddy Fridays, grocery shopping with my sweet girl (something E loves!), fun with friends of all ages, library story time, music class, swimming pools, sandboxes, playdough and more!

Wordless Wednesday...