A Month in Review

June always goes by super fast. The kids and Mark are still in school as the month begins, but a few weeks later summer vacation is in full swing. Since football practice starts early August, we feel like the 4th of July is "mid-summer". Therefore we try to cram as much fun into June and July as is humanly possible.

It's been a whirlwind for me, the official chauffeur to summer school, t-ball, and softball. I shouldn't complain because next month will be worse with a longer drive to swimming lessons thrown in there (four weeks, 2 days a week). At any rate, as I look back at pictures of the month in review, I can see how blessed we've been to spend it with friends and family.

My friend Jodi came over with her two youngest children, Hannah and Samuel, the new guy born in April. What a beautiful family they are!

The end of the school year marks not only teacher retirements, but also teachers moving to other districts. Our school was no exception, as one of Mark's best friends prepares to teach in a larger school come fall. As athletic director, Mark made this shadow box for Darb to commemorate all of his years of coaching and service to our school and community. We're going to miss you Darby! (Now who's gonna help me drive Cy to the emergency room the next time he cracks his head open??)

Cy and I got a rare "date night" out together at the Mother-Son bowling event. It was a lot of fun talking with my little boy (who's not so little, as you can see) and not being interrupted by his sisters. He bowled pretty well, and I had the best score of my life...a 133 !!

Then it was time for our little girls to graduate from kindergarten. Paige and Shae were sooooo excited to have the whole day alone with Mommy to enjoy the "bathroom bus" and a field trip to a children's museum!

Next it was our niece Kelsey's turn to graduate, this time from high school. A lot of her cousins defected from her party over to a nearby park for a rousing game of "King of the Balance Beam" (or something like that).

Once the kids were out of school, they turned the upstairs playroom into an American Doll History Museum. Ally was tour guide, Cy was co-curator, Paige was gift shop clerk, and Shae was the custodian. The kids did a great job on this and took every visitor to our house on a tour for the entire month. I'm anxious to see what exhibit they come up with for July !

On Mark's first "official" day off from school, we took a trip up to Madison to visit the Vilas Park Zoo. The highlights of our visit were the children's playground area and the prancing tiger.

Then we spent three hours hiking and letterboxing at beautiful Governor Dodge State Park.

That first Friday "off", we were blessed with several visitors throughout the day. One of them was Grandma Jan, who helped the kids weed their playground (what Daddy likes to call "5110 County B Park" whenever the kids whine "Can we go to a park today??").

The next week we prepared for our big weekend trip "up north". One of the things that finally got done was installing a dog door for Mickey. It took him a while to get used to it; he prefers exiting to re-entering the garage, for some reason.

Our longest family road trip led us to a very very fun weekend at Lake Surprise! Thanks again, Uncle Greg and Aunt Marin!

Last week as temperatures raged into the 90s with high humidity, Mark created our own little water park here at home. Bonzai!!!!

All month I've been getting ready for the 5th annual Potosi Vacation Bible School, putting the final touches on the Bible lessons, music CDs, and disseminating information to a staff of over 25 people. We have 79 kids signed up, our largest number to date! Go God!!

We re-connected with our friends Annika, Ava, and Astrid yesterday. They have such a lovely home in the woods, and their trampoline was a big hit with the kids. (This is a rare non-action shot!)


It was a very busy month!