Frogs, Airplanes, and Sweaty Children

My sister and her family got home from their vacation yesterday afternoon, so we all had to get together. It had been over two weeks - which is a long time for us! Elle and Dayton always have to look for airplanes, so they were in rare form scoping them out. There was a poor little frog to inspect, and then later, all three of them found a giant toad under a vehicle and he had to be cornered. Of course, there had to be wagon rides from Grama too. It was still really hot, even late into the evening, so all them were sweaty and dirty to boot. In addition, the bigger boys had a rough game of football going on (surprise, surprise). So, enjoy the insanity through these photos.

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Things Come In Threes

In spite of everyone saying that its just coincidence, things really do seem to come in sets of three. We've had ours for July, so hopefully, we are done!

We had to buy a new washing machine earlier this month as the other one was going to require parts and labor more costly than just starting over.... The car died on our way home from vacation earlier this week. There's nothing like sitting in 100 degree plus heat for an hour or two while you wait and pray. We had to pour several hundred dollars into it for repairs (but thanks to a great mechanical team, it was done a week earlier than originally planned). Today, Ken went to get something from the deep freeze and found everything to be "half" unthawed. OH JOY! Here are the boys cleaning out the "yuck" along with some candids from our day. ElleAnna doesn't like her big brothers much, does she? And they CERTAINLY don't care for her either, can't you tell?

:-).

Anyway, hopefully the freezer is the last major problem for a LONG, LONG TIME!

Holy Cow - Its Hannah Montana

Home with ElleAnna for 34 Weeks

Can you believe it? ElleAnna has had her feet on US soil for 34 weeks now - nearly 8 months. Its amazing to think back to the scared little girl we met in Shenyang's police station that cold day in November of 2007. She wanted nothing to do with any of us and now, one of her favorite games is hanging onto your leg so that you cannot walk away from her. What a change. She is so smart and can rattle off her ABC's, count to at least fourteen. She recognizes all the letters and can tell you people's names that start with many of them. She has now begun to point out numbers in song books as she knows those too. She loves to sing songs. She especially likes to giggle and to make her big brothers laugh with her. I could go on and on.... We cannot imagine our world without her in it, that's for sure. Its been an amazing journey so far!

Holy Cow and Losers

Enjoy our interesting ride....

Summer Vacation 2008

We spent an extended weekend with a wonderful friend in Denver, Colorado. We were supposed to stay with him the night that we returned from China, but as fate would have it, getting Ken to a doctor was much more pressing. So, Rodger got to meet ElleAnna a little later than originally planned. The boys always refer to him as "Uncle Rodger". He was in the military with Ken about a million years ago. It was neat to watch Elle with him. They hit it off and were fast friends soon after arriving at his home. It was a good time had by all. He's now added to her bedtime prayer list :-).

The same little girl who only six months ago believed a bath was utter torture, refused to get out of his swimming pool. She and her big brothers also loved the putt-putt golf, good food, video games (Elle now has claimed a GameBoy as you can see), shopping, and all the other neat experiences. Elle decided the mountains went "up and down and up and down". Here are just a few pix... Thanks for a nice vacation, Rodger! It was good to get to see you too, Tammi!

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HOT SUMMER DAY!!

I never could get the video to post of Elle catching the "normal" sized fish, sorry! Anyway, today the thermometer tells me that its over 100 degrees. Its insane! Elle and Alex are enjoying the pool. I would guess that Bryant and Ken are at my parents, cutting the last of the wheat for the 2008 harvest season. Enjoy the pix of Elle and Alex enjoying the cool water on this roasting hot day.

The One That Got Away

Fishing Fotos :-)

First Time Fishing

Elle went fishing with Alex, Ken, and I tonight. When we asked her if she'd ever been fishing before, she said "Yes".... too funny! Anyway, she caught them one after another. At one point, Alex and I watched her standing behind Ken saying something about dirt, then we heard the kerplunk and saw the small splash. Needless to say, Daddy wasn't impressed and told her not to do it again. So, Alex and I watched her scoot back a little further and throw the pebbles at the ground next to her instead. She truly does have a story about the big one that got away though. It was the biggest one of the night - suprising everyone with its size. It broke Ken's line - and Elle was done. She didn't want to fish anymore as she saw it too. HUGE! Anyway, posted above are some pix and videos from the evening.

Elle - Working for the Weekend - 1st Edition

This one is larger than the other. It was the first one I recorded and its actually better, but I was not sure if it would load because of its size.... We'll see.

Elle - Working for the Weekend