Handbell choir

Bunny and I are learning the handbells!!

Bunny with her friend Colleen

At practices in June and July we learned "Let There be Peace on Earth."  Bunny's fantastic, a real natural.  She is great at rhythm and reading music, so this was a breeze for her.  I had THREE bells though (and only two hands...you do the math) so I was praying that the Holy Spirit would work in me to get my part down.  Either that, or that God would close the ears of the parishioners so they didn't hear all my mistakes...  :o)  

The whole group (minus me, taking the picture).

So today was our big day, playing the handbells for the first time at Mass.  We were both nervous!!  Would I pick up (and ring loudly) the A-sharp when I was supposed to play the A-natural?  Would my pages stick together and cause me to loose my place?  Would friends come up to me afterwards to console me?  Well, all that worrying was for naught as the song went smoothly and the only comments were how lovely it sounded and how great Bunny--the youngest bell-ringer--did.  We had a great time, and hopefully we can do it again in the future!

Sweet & Sour

Ahh, look at my sweet little boy helping his big brother with the dishes:

Now look at the same "sweet" little boy, this time displaying a new trick:

So now I have to put the Kinderzeat on its side, to block Seddy from getting in the beverage fridge.  However, it doesn't work quite as well for that intent:

Such is life with a 1-year-old....

4th of July BBQ

Another tradition...bbq at grammae and papa's house!

Mariposa, demonstrating the "scarecrow" motion-detecting
water sprinkler (to scare deer away from the garden).

Walking down to see the R Fam's garden and chickens....

Oh no!  The scarecrow got us on the way back!

Of course we had our annual Fireworks Show courtesy of Shane and Marcus, with only one or two mishaps (the flowers around the Mary statue got a little singed by a rogue rocket, but that's ok).  Fr. Armando was our guest of honor, and after spending many years in Italy we sure immersed him in American culture (for better or for worse, I don't know....). :o)

4th of July Parade

Some pics from earlier this month....

Every year we go to Smiley & Maureen's house
on Main Street to watch the parade.

This "float" was amazing!!  Do you see the girl
doing acrobatics on the bar?  Wow!

Marcus' favorite "float"...the Reser's pepperoni stick people.
(Yes, they are throwing meat!!)

Relaxin' after the parade, in the back yard.

Peas

someone loves peas, fresh from the garden

Mariposa at Zoo Camp

Earlier this month, Mariposa had her first experience at a summer camp...Zoo Camp at the Oregon Zoo!!  Bunny had done this camp twice as a pre-schooler, so we had some experience with the drill.  From 9am 'til 4pm Mariposa hung out with kids in the "Tigers" group and learned about animals and their habitat.  Her camp was Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday before the 4th of July: just the perfect amount of time for a youngster.  Seeing the animals up close was her favorite thing about Zoo Camp, and she especially liked petting the hedgehog since she knows that's mama's favorite animal!  She got to sing songs with the group, although "all the walking" was not a big hit with her.  ;o)  Overall it was a fantastic experience and she's already making plans for next year!

Checking in on the first day

The Bird Show was a big hit, one of her favorite aspects of camp.

Bad Housekeeping or Good Science Lesson?

I just can't bear to clear the cobweb off the outside of this kitchen window.  We've been watching this spider work and catch insects--and even create egg sacs--all from the comfort of our own home.  It's better than TV!  And the kids are getting a great lesson in spider behavior.  So for now...the cobweb wins.  But so do we!

Girls (and Sedric) at the Market

waffle vendor!!

Seddy ate all the bananas off of my
"Elvis" waffle

our spot in front of the courthouse

giant sequoias, planted in 1880

the toy store always does an AWESOME
Playmobil display for the 4th of July

 On the way home, Bunny said, "Look, there's an upside-down rainbow!"  I explained to her that I didn't think that was possible, given the physics of light/water etc., but she persisted.  Sure enough, an upside-down rainbow!!  It was a sunbow, so beautiful, and it lasted a long time.  I couldn't get the whole thing on camera because of the bright sun, but we did get some of it...

our upside-down rainbow

June fun--friend's party

Hello again, loyal readers!  After a nice little of "vacation" from blog posts, I am back to it.  June was a super-fun month (as you can see from previous posts), but there was much more going on than I have shown on the blog so far: birthday parties, gardening, a dance recital, fun in the sun, and best of all NO SCHOOL!  Ok, maybe a little "school" but not much.  I'll try to catch up on some of the June events over this next week, and then I'll continue to post more pics as I take them in July.

In early June we went to a friend's birthday party.  It was a Dinosaur-themed party, and we all had a blast!

First, a dino dig (toy dinos in gelatin).

Then, a dino egg hunt!!!

Sedric watched from the living room.

I got to catch up with friends.  :o)

The pinata was a huge hit (pun intended).

Still watching from inside (he was happy so we just kept him there).

Oooh, the kids REALLY loved this game!!

The kids had such a great time at the party.  We got to play with good friends (the kids most definitely outnumbered the adults) and we even made some new friends.  Mom Lisa and dad Michael were very thoughtful with their games, food, and fun, and I think their son William enjoyed his party!!  I know we enjoyed it!!

Tired Boys

James with Mr. Stripey (last night)