VBS this week

This week is our church's annual Vacation Bible School. The children are SO excited. I'm excited too: this is the first year all three children are in the program (not just in the nursery). Levi is in the preschool program, and Lucy will be with Nate in the "big kid" program. It's always a tiring week but also very fun.

Even-more-updated porch

Taking those "outdoor improvement" pictures last week showed me how much some things needed to be painted. I did the trim (which we later realized was never supposed to be white! Those are replaced boards that never got painted back to brown. Oh well.) and used porch/floor paint for the floor. I'm really happy with how it looks.

Here's a before-and-after comparison. Doesn't it look so much better?

Outdoor improvements

I can't seem to keep plants alive. However, I've had the urge to improve our front patio area and have been perusing photos of do-it-yourself planters and container gardens. I like the look of succulents and figure I have the best chance of keeping a plant alive if it's supposed to be watered only once or twice a month. So yesterday, Lucy and I spent some time "potting" a bunch of succulents I'd gotten at Ikea and Home Depot. I saw a pin on Pinterest with a similar idea done with mason jars. We also put some plants in the galvanized tub over on the right, which I'd been using to hold extra toiletries. Now no container in the house is safe!--I want to plant everything!

Goggles

Levi's first goggles came in the mail yesterday. He's very excited!

June happenings

Hello Nannie and Mama! :)

Life is rolling along over here. We had a really wonderful visit with Mama earlier this month, though it was way too short.

During Mama's visit, Jon and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary with a one-night trip to La Jolla. Jon always picks the BEST little trips for us! We stayed at the La Valencia hotel. If you click on the link, the first picture is basically the view from our room!--we were unexpectedly upgraded to a spacious suite with a gorgeous view. We had a lovely time walking around the cute downtown, window shopping, and eating some good meals (sushi for dinner, a delicious breakfast at Cody's, and artisan pizza for lunch).

While we were gone, the children had a FANTASTIC time with Mimi. (In fact, after Jon and I got home, at least one of the kids asked if Daddy and Mama could go on another trip, please.) They each picked a couple of "surprises" Mimi had planned, including swimming in the spa after dinner (after they figured out that "going in the hot tub" did NOT mean taking a bath), going to the Spectrum, eating at Chipotle, riding scooters and bikes while Mimi sprayed the hose, and generally just having the most fun possible.

Mama pointed out a cool benefit we've gotten out of homeschooling, especially the past couple of months when Lucy hasn't been in preschool: the three children often play together. That doesn't sound like much, but having all three kids together--all the time--has created a comfortable dynamic that wouldn't be there if one or more child was in school for most of the day. They do still fight (some days a lot), but they also play games that include all three kids a lot. I like that.