Lincoln Logs

I had a great idea to start writing my blog posts in the evening instead of the morning, in hopes that I might be funnier later at night.  Too bad for you, it is 9:32 p.m. and I am not feeling any more hilarious than I was at 9:32 a.m.

 And so, instead of entertaining you with my wit, I will solemnly show you now, pictures of my boys at play.

 We found these Lincoln Log sets at the Goodwill in Charleston, SC, when we were on vacation there this summer.  The boys have just loved them!

 Josiah is very cute trying to follow the instructions exactly. 

He says that when he grows up he wants to live in a house behind the chapel, build buildings, "tell persons about Jesus", go to work in his daddy's office, etc.  He is also very excited about the fact that any time I want to visit him, I can just "put on shoes" and come on over.  All that to say, maybe this activity is good practice for the "build buildings" part of his plan.

Just a few minutes ago, Josiah was telling me again all about his plan outlined above.  I asked Caleb what he wanted to do when he grew up.  He said, "Be Poppa!"  But he has quit saying it that way, he now says, "Paaaw-Paaaw!"  Ha!  So, "Be Paaaaw-Paaaw, drive the golf cart, push the black pedals with my feet."

Admirable life goals all around.

First Day of "School"

 Lots of kids around here are starting back to school this week, so I thought I'd show you how the boys and I have been playing school since camp ended.  Here the boys are getting some fun new supplies.

 Their favorite things are these ABC books and dry erase markers.  Josiah is so proud of himself for learning to hold a pencil correctly.

There is a blank line at the end of one of the pages and Josiah asked what it was for.  I told him you could practice writing anything, like maybe your name.  He said, "Yeah, your name and your password."

Garden Produce

Here Caleb is showing you our one and only (so far) cantaloupe.

 It had to be enjoyed a bit prematurely after it was accidentally weed-eated from the vine, but it was delicious nonetheless.

 And our grapes, in their 6th, if we planted them when we moved here, growing season, have finally produced fruit!  I had to cut it all one day because yellow jackets were attacking.

Caleb carried the basket of grapes around for days eating them right up!

First Canoe Trip

 The boys got to go on their first canoe trip during Staff Training week.

 They loved it!

Just Like My Dad

Our Garden

Our garden has been growing merrily along, not producing much food, of course, but providing a good time, nonetheless.

 The boys love to help water and plant.

They found lizard (?) eggs buried here last week and had a fabulous time digging them up over and over to show anyone who happened to come by.

I really think they hatched.  Or at least there were two tiny lizards acting very new and slow right above where the eggs had been buried. 

 There is a fun garden center in Pikeville where I got these 48 plants for ..... $11!

I thought that was rather a good time.

 Caleb is off to plant some winter onions.

If you need a fresh onion come January, just come on over and dig ya' one up.

Olympic Swimmers

We sure are enjoying the Olympics around here!

 These swimmers are headed to an Opening Ceremony party!

Chris moved our bed into the living room so that we can watch the Olympics every evening as a family in true comfort!

For the faithful readers who have checked back over the summer, enjoy the new pictures!

There should even be more tomorrow!