June!

Here's what we've been up to in June! I've caught up!

First, a few sewing projects. Two new dresses for EMN and a "construction site" bag from MTN. Both were really pleased with the results and I was too! The first dress, the pink flowered one, is the same pattern as the purple one. The notable change I made on this one is my first zipper in a garment and I was relieved that it actually worked!! EMN is just happy that she can properly twirl in it. The blue butterfly dress for EMN may need a few revisions as the pink ribbon trim around the neck and flounce didn't survive the wash so well. Lesson learned. I think it can be fairly easily fixed. I'll probably make a few more of this pattern too later on in the summer maybe. MTN promptly filled his bag with all sorts of wheeled vehicles that so he can construct traffic jams on a moment's notice. I can't get him to clear the traffic jams as quickly but that's a different story. The project currently on my sewing table is a button-down shirt from MTN. Certainly my biggest challenge so far but I hope it turns out reasonably well.

And now on to more cute kid pics. We had the ground under our new playset landscaped and now it looks like a true playground. The landscapers were here for a few days and that just thrilled MTN. Between "baby front loaders" and dump trucks delivering dirt and mulch and workers busy in the backyard, he spent most of his time either on the back porch or staring out the windows watching all the action.

From some random recent events, the kids enjoying a local park where we had a family picnic. At the beginning of June I received my new camera (a combined Mother's Day/birthday gift) and so I used the opportunity to learn more about all the features. I've got a lot more to learn about it but so far I've been really pleased with the quality of photos I'm getting. I had my previous camera for almost 6 years. A lot has changed with digital cameras in that time!! Hopefully this one will be just as durable.

Having a hard time getting the text to line up with the pictures. Insert random filler here. I spend most of my time trying to get all the formatting correct in the "compose" window, it will look great, I hit "publish post" and it's all dorked up. Perhaps I should try to educate myself a bit before I waste an entire naptime on a rather benign blog post. Hmm...

The kids coloring quietly one afternoon - I was so happy! I had stolen a few moments to take a shower and was quite nervous when I realized how silent the house was when I was finished. I found this scene and told them how proud I was of them.

Last weekend we had dinner out and afterwards we decided to surprise the kids with ice cream. Looks like it was a hit! MTN might be the messiest eater I've ever seen. But he's a great eater (as in, he'll eat almost anything) so I'll take that trade off. He tells me often I'm a great cook and so I'll gladly clean up messy face and hands every couple meals.

Summer is here, regardless of what the calendar says. Now that our family is healthy again, we can oblige the kids' requests to go to the pool. It was nice to have Mike there as he's much more likely to do things like this with them :) I'm more likely to try to reinforce swimming skills. They're happy as long as they're in the water! It's a great way to beat the heat now that it's here to stay. Happy June!!