Friends

Two weekends ago my dear, dear friend Inga and her sweet little boys came to visit. Ethan and Evan had a great time with their friends and delighted in showing them all the fun that can be had country-style.

And the work, of course. (This is the closest we came to a group shot, by the way. What's the only thing busier than 2 little boys? Four little boys.)

We feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful visit. Yay for friends!

Bowling

Evan measures time two ways. Yestooday, which refers to anytime between yesterday and months ago, and "when I was two and Ethan was foh," which refers to, you guessed it, last year when he was two and Ethan was four.

This is relevant because the following adventure took place last fall, when Evan was two and Ethan was foh. After spending an inordinate amount of time (and money) at Cabela's we went to the Big Apple Fun Center in Kearney for a little family fun.

Bowling!
Matt and Evan worked together.

But Ethan got it figured out.

I can't quite remember, since it was so long ago, but I have this nagging suspicion that he scored higher than I did. I'm sure I'm remembering wrong.


And because we are such GOOD PARENTS, we were still there when they turned on the blacklights for Cosmic Bowling.

I love Family Fun.

VBS

We had Vacation Bible School in Sargent last week. I love that all the churches in town work together to put on a community VBS. Evan went with Ethan's class and they both had a great time. It culminated with a program at the community center Thursday evening. I had to leave early to go to work so Matt was in charge of gathering up all the crafts and getting the boys home. Programs aren't really my thing, he protested. Do they even want to go? (Yes)


Eve and Evan were serious.

Lissy was born for this.

Yes, Ethan's lei is over his head. But look at his hands! He's doing the actions! And he didn't fall over. Success all around. Even Matt survived.

The Circus

(photo blatantly lifted from my generous friend Elaine @ The Family Zuh)

On Tuesday morning I was folding laundry, vacuuming, and doing all sorts of other exciting things when the phone rang.
Laura: Elaine called, let's go to the circus this afternoon.
Me: Oh gosh, I really should stay home to finish folding laundry and vacuuming.
Psych!


So the circus was adorable. It was on a slightly smaller scale than the ones my grandpa and grandma took us too at Pershing every year, but the kids had a blast. There were lions and tigers and an elephant, oh my! Motorcyclists in the Globe of Death, which happily was a misnomer, and acrobats, clowns, and a dog-in-bandannas act. One guy balanced seven chairs on top of each other then did a handstand at the top. My poor nervous Ethan had to cover his eyes and said, "I don't want to be a circus worker when I grow up."



At the end the ring master (who I keep calling ringleader, Hardy Boys much?) tried to inspire the audience by telling us to 'live every day as though it's a circus'. Way ahead of you lady, my friends and I said to each other. Every day with these children is a circus, although I guess most days my home more closely resembles a zoo.

Carnival

Tessa, Sarah, Dan, and Nick came to see us this weekend. We love to see them, and of course got lots of work out of all of them.

Tessa & Sarah took the boys to the carnival in Ord on Saturday.
How cute are they?

And who knew the rides would be such fun for all ages?

Working

I took this picture last fall.
We were building a hay pen. After cutting cedar trees for the posts, placing them in the ground, and filling in the holes, Matt lopped the tops off and sent the boys around to pick them up. Ethan was enthusiastic. Evan got a few, then wanted to go play. Matt told him to keep working. He threw a fit. Matt wasn't impressed. So there went our then-2-year-old carrying logs, tears streaming down his face. Good thing no one's around to call CPS on us, we remarked.

They're getting so big, so fast. The days seem to be slipping past us. I haven't taken any pictures lately- I can never find the camera, or my hands are full with a child or a calf or a rake. What if I look back on these weeks and can't remember why? We are floating along on a rhythm of chores and playing with friends, of reading piles of books on the couch and helping Matt. We have 3 baby calves hell-bent on destroying my internal organs or breaking my bones. The boys love them, though. (The calves, not my bones & organs.) We are glad for the occasional sunshine and the more-than-occasional mud.

We are fine. My heart is full. I don't know why the words won't come. Or the photos. I want to remember these days.

Happy Birthday Nancy!

Happy birthday Nancy! We all love you so much!