Open shop

Every now and then, Caden opens a shop.  It used to be called ScratchBack Shop where the lucky customer could lay on his bed and get a back scratch, but has now evolved to a "Scratch Back, Quack, Footrub, Free baby-sitting Shop." (and yes, he calls it that every time.)

You never know when the shop going to open.  Sometimes he'll announce it's open for 3 days and you can go anytime you want in those 3 days.  Other times he'll yell at me from his upstairs room while I'm making dinner or working on something that the shop is open, but will be closing in 10 seconds so I better run.

As Tessa is getting bigger, the "free baby-sitting" part of the shop becomes more and more valuable.  He'll read her stories, bring her toys, and wrap her up cozy in a blanket.  He will even scratch her back when she gets fussy.

Now if I could just talk him into adding "toilet scrub" and "bedroom clean" to his shop inventory!

Friends

I've been missing California.  A lot.

But, I just have to look at pictures like these to remind myself of why I love living here.  Not only do my boys have plenty of cousins to hang out with, there are so, so many good kids in our neighborhood for them to play with.  There is something like 14 five or six year olds around the block.  You just have to open the door and say the word "otterpop" for them to come swarming over.

On this particular day, I was watching Canyon and Krue for awhile.  They were some of the first friends we made in the neighborhood and every morning Caden asks to go play there.

I challenged Canyon and Caden to make something out of legos that would hold an egg.  They loved it and built several different things, so excited each time to test them.

  Krue and Bryce are getting old enough to have conversations together.  One day Bryce asked Krue, "Do you love your daddy?" And Krue replied, "Yes."  A few minutes of quiet went by then Krue asked, "Do you love your daddy?"  It makes me laugh to hear them learning social skills.

I LOVE this next picture. They are so similar, even putting their flip flops on opposite feet.

Summer

Summer is in full swing around here.  I'll admit...I was dreading it.  The school year brought me quiet afternoons while Bryce and Tessa napped and Caden was at school--learning and having someone else fill his time with enriching activities.  I was less than thrilled to be giving that up.  

However (knock on wood, cross my fingers it continues) it's actually going really well, in fact, I'd say I probably prefer it to the school year.  We've gotten into a pretty good routine--usually jobs first thing in the morning followed by swimming and lunch, naps for the little 2 while Caden and I do a few math and reading activities before he heads off to a friend's to play or watches a show. 

Here is Caden and company at Kindergarten graduation. 

Corbyn, Canyon, Spencer and Caden

And the same 4 kids the very next day, living the life as 6 year olds with "no more teachers, no more books..."

 While I do miss my alone time, and grocery store trips are few and far between, we're enjoying the carefree time together.