Nate's 4th Year Portraits

Ok, they were done a little bit late -- thankfully their looks don't change all that drastically month to month anymore :)

Brothers - June 2006

Colin 5 1/2 years old

VBS 2006

Today was the last day of Vacation Bible School for Colin. Our parish purchased a Catholic VBS program from "Growing with the Saints" so the children learned about St. Patrick this week. They sang a few songs for the parents today before mass. It was very cute ;) Colin had a good time all week - but was a little nervous this morning about the performance. He told me when he woke "I don't need to go today - it's a short day and we're not doing much except that silly song." Once he had some breakfast, though, he decided not to miss the last day.

In the first picture, he's singing a song about St. Patrick and the blessed trinity, wearing a bishop's miter that he made earlier in the week.

brothers

Colin on 6-26-06

sunflowers

Here are the sunflowers in our garden. I'm going to try something different in the fall - but I think these turned out okay for now. Since everything else is suffering from the heat right now, it's nice to see this burst of color out there.

fence

I forgot to post this a couple weekends ago. Here's the new fence that cuts through our yard. The pool company wanted us to wait until after the pool was installed . . . but then also wanted me to make sure no pets or children were ever in the yard, 7 days a week, where they needed to work. For six weeks.

Umm, okay, the fence took care of any potential problems there! The area where the pool is going is still larger than many Arizona backyards.

It definitely changes the feel of the yard, but it's well worth it. We aren't required to have a fence, but we think it is the safest solution for our family. If only Maricopa County didn't take so long issuing permits we'd be swimming by the 4th of July! As it is, I think we'll be lucky to be swimming by Labor Day.

more orangutan pictures

I wish I would have remembered my long lens the day I took these shots - but they're still good ones of the baby orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo. The boys wanted me to post some more, so here they are ;)

Father's Day at our house

We had a busy Father's Day yesterday. After church, we headed to IKEA where we enjoyed swedish meatballs for lunch. The boys practically ran down the stairs to get into the child play area after that and Bo & I wandered around IKEA buying various things. We picked up the boys and then headed next door to our gym for a swim and then to the movie theater to watch "Cars" (the boys enjoyed it, but I thought it was boring as all get out and WAY too long. The best animated movie I've seen lately is "Madagascar.") A stop at Krispy Kreme and then home for a light dinner and bath & bed. Bo then worked some more on the living room floor -- he's getting all the 1/4 molding around the edges this week.

For My Dad . . .

In case there's any confusion - my dad has 3 wonderful children. Here's a picture of his son, Matthew, along with my sons. Sorry I couldn't find any pictures of Dad & Matt together!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I Love You!!

My dad has always shown unconditional love, unending support, and shared tons of great advice. I'm honored to be his daughter!

last day of zoo camp

Today was the last day of Colin's week-long zoo camp. He had a fantastic time and was thrilled to be "Camper of the Day" on Tuesday. They visited lots of animals, played in the "leaping lagoon" water area, rode the zoo train and did some crafts. He got a neat t-shirt, a new hat, a water bottle and a neat zebra-design bottle strap.

He is already looking forward to next year!

climbing trees

back to vacation shots - MPM

We visited the Milwaukee Public Museum with my mom & dad one day. The boys enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and the live bug exhibit the most. Nate wasn't too sure about the butterfly exhibit - which was odd since he doesn't have a problem with the one at the Desert Botanical Gardens?

We also had the chance to visit the Vatican exhibit, which was interesting! They had extended the stay by a couple weeks, which allowed me to visit.

flooring changes

Our carpet has worn pretty well, but between the dog and the kids -- it wasn't in great shape anymore. We found a great deal on this laminate flooring (rustic maple) and Bo started installing it tonight.

Mom & Dad - just so you know - it goes in very easily! Your upstairs room in the AZ house should be easy to do!

zoo camp

Colin's week-long zoo camp started today. Since Bo had the day off, we decided we'd all go to drop him off, then look at the animals with Nate while Colin was at camp. (His camp runs from 8 - 12.)

The first shot is Colin walking along with his group - we happened to be in the same spot during the morning a couple times. He clearly was having fun because he cheerily said "Hi Mother! Hi Brother! Hi Dad!" and kept on walking.

The baby orangutan was born in late January, and the momma is just starting to let her have a couple moments by her side, rather than in her arms. She's a cutie!

For the rest of the week, Bo will drop Colin off in the morning and Nate & I will pick him up at noon.

Janie's birthday dinner

Janie & the boys were feeling under the weather last week, so we celebrated Jane's birthday a week late. I made her requested dinner of spaghetti w/garlic butter sauce, Bo made meatballs and bruschetta . . . and I made vanilla cupcakes (tinted pink) from scratch. They were yummy and tasted like a sugar cookie. It was a nice dinner!!

mural finished

Michael Campbell finished our mural this morning. We are thrilled with how it turned out, and love the fact that we have artwork on our back wall. He did a fantastic job, and happily added in a few features I asked for (dinosaur tracks and a rosary draped over a rock).

mural in progress

The artist started the mural yesterday, came back today to work some more, and hopes to finish tomorrow.

I am very excited with how it's turning out! I will post more pictures when it's completed.