Spin me!

My little Daredevil is turning out to be just like his big sister. He loves climbing on everything. Ransom also enjoys pulling up on just about anything. He loves the Sit 'n Spin...just not the "sitting" part.

Pierced Ears

Hero had testing today to see if she could get into first grade at a local christian school. Thankfully she did okay and will be entering first grade in the fall. She has been wanting her ears pierced for a while. We told her that she had to learn to read first. Well, since she is reading fairly well, I figured today was a good day to get it done. While it was a painfull experience for everyone involved, she is very happy now that she has it done.

Galilee-by-the-Sea

Bible Lesson time

My Tribe of Dan

Getting Ready for the closing on the last night.

Singing one final song.

Our theme for VBS this year was Galilee by the Sea. Each grade was divided into a tribe. I taught the tribe of Dan (aka first graders.) Jericho was in the tribe of Gad. Instead of having VBS towards the end of the week thus leading into games on Saturday and a short program on Sunday, we had a mid-week program this time around. In years past, our numbers drastically go down on the last day. This time it seemed that our numbers stayed steady and maybe even increased due to the fact that our last day was Thursday. It was great to see a lot of non-church member kids attend. The kids received a good presentation of the gospel in both the Bible study time and the music time. For me personally, I enjoyed having the privilege of teaching the tribe that Hero was in. Jericho, of course, was very proud that he was in the tribe of Gad. He was very excited each night that he attended "MVS ".

Daddy's Big Idea

Even though it's not Grandpa "Choo-Choo's" pool, the kids had a blast sliding down into their little plastic pool. The slide is off of our swingset so Justin had to hold one side to keep it from tipping over. This worked fine for Jericho since he wouldn't climb up without holding Daddy's hand.

No Training Wheels

Jericho has learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!

CozyFairy

Hero thought Cozy needed some wings.

Plastic Pool 2

The plastic pool that took me forever to find last year almost made it to this summer. Unfortunately it became cracked on one of our child watching nights. (It was placed on the trampoline with about six kids inside pretending it was a boat.) So, this year I didn't have to look too hard. When I tried Walmart and discovered it was sold out, I headed right over to True Value where I had bought the last one. They had a bunch with three different styles from which to choose. (There is my sales pitch.) Ransom loved it! Of course so did his sister and brother. They were anxious for him to get out so I would put more water in the pool. It looks like Ransom has figured out that when a camera is pointed in his direction he needs to cheez it up. Take note, in the last photo you can see that his tooth has finally broke through. You can click on the picture to enlarge it if need be.

The Popscicle

Daddy gave Ransom a yummy popscicle to gnaw on while we washed the cars the other day. We hoped that it would keep him cool and soothe his gums.

Instead he preferred to chew on the stick and started screaming when his hands got to cold. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Fourth of July

Okay, I know I am a little behind in putting these up, but better late than never. We spent the 4th at Grandpa and Grandma "Choo-Choo's". It was a great time of food and fellowship with our family and friends. Ransom got in the pool for the first time. He was a bit apprehensive initially, but got over it quickly. Thanks to Uncle Paul for making the best ribs ever!

Recent Pics

Birthday Dinner Photos

Saturday was my Grandpa Gehring's birthday. Our family went down to the Fish House in Temecula to celebrate with him. The kids loved looking at the colorful sea life in the fish tanks. Unfortunately, I didn't get any real good photos of the birthday guy himself. Happy Birthday, again, Grandpa. We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

More Birthday Photos

Some more photos of the birthday dinner.

Soda-pop

When I was in college, there was always a debate over whether cola was called "soda", "pop", or just "coke" in general. Since moving to California, my husband has even become accustomed to saying "soda". All this to say that I was surprised the other day when my son started saying "pop". Where on earth did he learn that? Any Californian knows that it is "soda" or maybe "coke" but never "pop"! I feel like I have failed my children. I quickly informed Jericho that it was to be called "soda". He looked utterly confused. I gave in, a little. "You may call it 'soda-pop." I informed him. "Okay. Soda-POP!" He answered, with great emphasis on the "pop".
By the way, thank you, Great-Grandma, for teaching him to say "pop". You have more influence on them than you realize.

The Stand-off

Yesterday my patience was tested almost to the limit. My daughter, who normally eats her food with little or no fuss, took over five hours to eat cauliflower. Now we are not talking about a bowl full. All she had to swallow were two small pieces that she probably could have got down without chewing. Instead of eating it as fast as she could and then washing it down with juice, which is what I would have done, she kept them in her mouth and refused to chew. When told to swallow, she refused. This is when the discipline kicked in. Unfortunately, even with numerous spankings and opportunities to finish her vegetables, she still refused. At one point, she gagged and spit all the cauliflower back up. Unrelenting, I gave her some more cauliflower. This time it was one large piece. She was not allowed to leave the table or talk, due to the food in her mouth. At one point, she had to use the restroom. I pointed out that if she really had to go she would swallow her food. Did she? No, she went on the floor. At this point I had to walk away to deal with the sin of my own anger. Eventually, she finally gave in. She ate her veggies, cleaned up the mess on the floor, and then bathed herself. Needless to say, she had a long talk with Daddy when he came home. Hopefully she has learned her lesson and we will not have to endure this again, although...she did asked this morning if she was going to have to eat cauliflower again. My answer, "Of course."