This is a bit of a photo dump, but I wanted to post some pictures of what we've been up to this summer. It's been a great summer with lots of different activities!
First of all, we moved into a new house on June 1st, so we've enjoyed having a new space to live and play in. The kids taught each other solitaire, and they rediscovered the fun of Thomas trains (apparently you're never too old for trains!)
Mead and Cole have played, eaten, and virtually lived outside during the daylight hours. It's been so nice to just let them run in and out and around the house all day long!
Laine met weekly with a woman from our church and learned how to sew. She made this amazing quilt for one of her doll beds - she picked out the colors, put the pattern together, and used the sewing machine completely on her own! I'm totally impressed with her creative skills.
The whole family made it out to a Salem Red Sox minor league game one night.
The girls enjoyed meeting Mugsy, and Cole enjoyed taking home a game ball hit into the stands.
And in the midst of all this, we've been working on lots of house projects. The kids bedrooms have been painted, the screened-in porch redone, and the kitchen floor replaced with wood.
Cole and Penny helped rip up and remove the old white kitchen tiles, and we hired a man from our church to put down wood floors, among other things. House projects are ongoing, of course, but it's fun to see them getting done.
Each of us left our mark on the floor before it was covered by wood. Who knows the next time these boards will come up and been seen by someone!
Out our kitchen window, dug into and set on our sloping back yard is our trampoline. It's been fun to see our kids and the neighbor kids jumping together out there regularly.
And the kids received a croquet set as a gift, so we've even played some croquet together in the front yard! Hard to believe the summer is almost over - it's been fun.
