And These are a few of MY favorite things...

After seeing the "Sound of Music a on the 4th...we have sung that song a lot in my house, and I keep thinking of some of my favorite things.

I was going to make them rhyme and follow the notes of the song, but...
it didn't work, so you are getting a list!

1. When my girls gut bust because they are so happy!
2. Larry cleaning the kitchen
3. Sleeping in after the alarm goes off
4. Calls/emails from faraway friends
5. My Moms cooking
6. Feeling full of energy after a good work out
7. Singing and not caring who is around!
8. Enjoying silence when everyone else is asleep!
9. Hearing my daughters humble, heartfelt prayers before bed
10. Slobbery baby kisses
11. Watching Aana learn to read
12. Fresh Garden tomatoes
13.The smell of clean laundry
14. Music...all kinds of music!
15. Ballroom dancing (though I have no clue how to do it!)

There are tons more, but that is good for now...

Mermaid Lessons Anyone?

Okay...so for the last few months, I have been trying hard to find something that Aana would want to do...to keep her busy during the summer.

We go to the library, the pool, the free kids movies at the mall, we play with friends, do crafts, and the usual, but... I wanted more structure for her. We have tried several different lessons and she really enjoys them, but she loses interest too fast. If you ask her, she will tell you without any hesitation that she wants to take MERMAID LESSONS and GOLF. Quite the pair...I know. I asked her swim teacher if they could do some type of mermaid talk when they teach her...and HE (a guy) looked at me like I was crazy.

Golf lessons for kids are hard, but she has her own clubs...and the YMCA has a day camp...so maybe we can check that off our list.

If anyone knows of Mermaid lessons anywhere...please...let me know!!

Fourth of July

So this year we tried something a little bit different for the Fourth of July. There were no fireworks...

We went to this adorable little Germantown up in the mountains called Leavenworth. We had been there several times during the winter, but this was our first trip there in the summer. The drive was amazing and followed this beautiful gorge alongside a river...until we hit the mountains. The weather was cooler, the food was good...and we had a nice time. We went to "kinderfest" (a kids festival) that morning, we took a carraige ride, walked around the shops, at at a nice crepery for dinner, and went to "The Sound of Music" that night at a little outdoor ampitheater. My parents came up as well to keep Addie since she wasn't old enough to get in since they had already seen the show.

My parents and the girls...
Happy Grandpa!

Larry, Aana, and I at the play!
Now we all have the songs stuck in our head and we keep finding ourselves singing or humming all the songs...

The next morning we had a huge breakfast and went on a little 18 hole putting course before returning home. It was a nice little get away and we enjoyed our time together. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery...and a break from the normal.