It is surely summer now and the weather is HOT! It is either pool, beach or inside for me. We went to see a movie the other day. That was a lot of fun and we have been to the beach and the pool. Always fun!
Gabriel just turned 9 month, June 23rd. I can't believe that he is so old already!! He is getting several teeth but don't seem too affected by it, at least no fever.
Pool fun with friends!
I finally baked some bread with all the different flours that my parents brought in February!!
Bread :-)
And cookies of course!! :-)
This little guy does not want to sleep and keeps his mamma awake A LOT! When he gets tired he normally fights it til he drops. And he still nurses about every other hour during the night. I have started to try to make him eat less often but not much success so far. I just stopped drinking coffee, too, a few days ago, to see if that helps but I am not sure yet. However, I do know that I miss my coffee!
When there is only one crib in the house and older brother took it first...
Marlee found a friend outside...
This past week Marlee and Noah went to VBS (Vacation Bible School) and the theme this year was Fun Factory. It is amazing how much the church prepare for this week. There are decorations everywhere and fun crafts, songs etc. On the last day, today, the parents came by lunch (the camp is normally 9-12) and they served Chick fil-a (our favorite) and had water slides!! I went with Gabriel on one :-D So much fun!!!
Chick fil-a!
Marlee to the left
Noah in the middle
Lexi and Gabriel
It has been a ridiculously hot day today so we got the pool out when we got home. The boys enjoyed it so much!!!
My loves!!
Just a little closer :-)
Rafael is struggling with purees. It is surely not is favorite food but he also will get used to eat at some point :-)
Summer is here for real. Still some school work for the boys but not as much as normal and a lot more relaxed. We have spent a lot of time with friends and some at the beach, too. The other day we spent some time at the beach with friends and we were five moms and about 15 kids. It was so much fun and the kids had a great time. We have also spend a few evenings on the beach with Alex when he gets off work. The days are hot now so evenings are nice!!
I love this flower from our garden, with small flowers inside of it
I have started to redo the one and only big wall by our dining table where we normally do school. I av very happy about the result so far. A great big white board that both me and the boys love! :-) It is actually, what some people call, a shower wall and it is building material but works great as a white board, just a lot cheaper :-)
The new school wall right now, not finished yet
This past week we have spent several days with a friend of mine and her two kids, more than we have before. Her son and Noah really get along well, better than any other friends I can think of. Noah is so excited to play with him and they both love cars, legos and other "calm" games. Noah normally just plays with the same kids as Marlee but this time he has "picked" his own friend and it is so fun to see!
During the past week Rafael has climbed on the development ladder. He has both learned to sit and two teeth have appeared, of which both need a comment. All his brothers both sat and got their first teeth when they were younger than that. However, once Rafael could sit he was stable from the start. He has never fallen backwards from sitting like the others.
Visit to the beach at night. Very big waves!
I went to Toys r us today for Marlee to use a gift cards that he had. For the first time ever I paid from them to go in one of these little machines. This one was a little train that costed 50c. I figure, that with four kids it was worth it :-)
We finally managed to have a playdate with our Swedish friends from Orlando. We went to the beach and had a great day!!! Rafael liked the sand.. a lot... My friend had three kids - one girl Marlee's age and two younger boys.
Selfie!
One of our friends just had a birthday party for all their three kids at Chuck E. Cheese. The boys had a wonderful fun time, and so did me and Alex, too :-D
Farmor had been here in Ormond since Madison and has helped a lot with the boys and cooking. This week she is watching while I am going to a practicum for CC parents, one of our coop, Classical Conversation. Today was the first day and it was SO fun and encouraging!!! There are so many good books I want to get and so much fun stuff to do, but so little time...
Gabriel and farmor
Rafael is growing so fast!! He doesn't sit and he doesn't crawl properly but he stands up and can reach a lot...
A trip to Madison for Memorial weekend, with a special purpose, that I will reveal later... We left Ormond Beach later than planned, as normal... and ended up spending the night at Aunt Cindy's and Uncle Danny's house. Just to make sure they left later then they had planned the next morning ;-)
Sleeping at Aunt Cindy's and Uncle Danny's house
We got a new cabin installed (thanks to Aunt Cindy and Uncle Danny) since last time we were in Madison.
our camp site with the new cabin
insulating the cabin
Uncle and cousin
Preparing the dinner
Farfar and little cousin
Lots of family came to join us in Madison this weekend!
Cork ball
Alex was busy in the garden while the others were playing
My sweet sweet Noah!
Someone is not leaving Gabriel's toys alone
Cousins and a yogurt...
Farmor is getting Rafael to sleep...
Morning thoughts...
Lol, he looks like a little movie director :-)
The swing that Alex made for Marlee two or three years ago was broken and Cindy and Danny started to make a new one in the same spot.
Getting the rope right...
Toby is supervising :-)
It passed the test. Thumbs up!
Farfar got the older boys a new toy, oh sorry, I mean, a new chainsaw, that they needed to try out.
Brothers at work
The kids got to sit in the back of the pick up!!!
They got the tractor running again!
Cousins!
Rafael was pretty popular....
So the reason for all of us to meet in Madison this Memorial weekend was to say a last Good bye to Uncle Doug, while burying his ashes there. Uncle Doug loved our land in Madison and I am thankful for every memory I have from him there! We all agreed to name our place there "Doug's Place" in his memory.
Preparing "the heart" of Doug's Place
After the ashes were put in the ground everyone got a turn to cover it
Everyone but (cousin Andy who was sleeping, and Caroline, who took the picture)
Yummy yummy ribs for dinner!!!!
Everyone contributed to a wonderful dinner, but Aunt Jackie and Uncle Danny did the most preparations
The cake...
He has no idea what a yummy dinner he is missing...
There were several uninvited (natural) guests at the party, too... Some of the biggest spiders I have ever seen (except for the zoo)!!
We were watching this giant wrap up a peanut before deciding it was no good and letting it go
