What We Love About Summer…

 

Grilling…splashing in the pool…watermelon…fireflies…longer days…time slowing down just a little.

Fun With Henna

These pictures were taken the evening of our zoo trip, when the girls and I decided to put henna on our hair.

They used red; I used black. Mine was very subtle, but the girls’ turned out lovely…

I don’t mind my kids playing and experimenting with different hair colors. It washes out eventually, ya know? My main concern with hair coloring is the chemicals that dyes contain, but henna powder is all natural.
And they really do look cute as redheads.

Juju’s First Zoo Trip

We didn’t let the heat scare us away. Armed with sunscreen, plenty of bottled water, and making good use of the water sprinklers at various spots around the zoo, we wound up having a grand ol’ time.
  
      

Pookie Mama Turns 37

Spent the weekend grilling, visiting with friends and family, had cheesecake and margaritas, and ended with Beatles Trivia. What more could a gal ask for?

Take time to stop and smell the…

These pictures were taken with my iphone, as most of my pictures these days are. I never have my camera on me, but I do always have my phone on. When I noticed Little Gem lying amongst the clover, I was thankful to have something to capture the moment!

Our Fence Adventure

Since Juju is such an active busy boy, and since we got a puppy, we really needed to put up a fence. We had a fence guy come look at our yard and give us an estimate, and it just about blew us away! So we googled “how to put up a chain link fence”, and rolled up our sleeves.



As you can see, Bear did most of the muscle work. I read the directions that we printed off the internet, took pictures, and helped a little. ;-)
 
I love it. Now I can sit at the picnic table underneath the shade with a fan blowing while Juju runs and plays and climbs and digs in the sandbox and splashes in the kiddie pool. We can do school work, I can even get out my beads, or I can take my laptop out there and not have to wonder what Juju is getting into. I can see him wherever he is.
And we can put the puppy outside.

Sunshine’s Confirmation

Sunshine received her Sacrament of Confirmation on May 11, 2010. Here our bishop is anointing her head with holy oil, along with the words “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit.” Standing behind her is her sponsor, our dear friend Catherine. Sunshine chose St. Agnes as her patron saint.

  Before the Mass, Caveman asked our bishop “Are you going to slap my sister?” Bishop Taylor responded, “Do you want me to?” Caveman gave him an enthusiastic “Yes!”
There is an old tradition of the bishops “slapping” the newly confirmed Christians (which usually amounted to a gentle tap on the cheek) as a symbol of the persecution they must prepare to face. Our bishop did not slap, but rather hugged the newly confirmed.

 Mojo and one her oldest friends were able to serve Mass together for the bishop. A rare opportunity! 

We Just Got a Puppy

(Think "Blues Clues" here.)
We just got a puppy, we just got a puppy! We just got a puppy, 'cuz I must be nuts! haha

No, seriously, we've been talking about it for awhile. The kids have been begging for a puppy. We've just not had a place for a dog. Our yard has no fence.
But now, we have no choice but to fence in our yard to try to keep Juju contained. It's going to happen this week. I've signed up for a couple of shifts at work to cover it (please, Lord, don't let them cancel me!)
So today when we left Wal-Mart, there was a truck with a crate of puppies. Yellow lab mix. Just the kind of dog I said I'd get if we had a place to put it. When I saw her face through the crate, I couldn't say no! The kids could hardly believe their eyes. Mama for real brought home a PUPPY!

What to name her? Galadriel? Amaranth? Lula? Sunshine and I decided it would be cool to name her after a Beatles song. Rita? Sadie? Greg suggested naming her after a virtue. So…Prudence fit the bill perfectly. (Look on the iPod to the right to hear the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence”.)

 

 
It was a big day for us all!