Saturday, June 30, 2012

June

No time to update lately.  We’ve been too busy doing all things summer!  The parks, the pool, bikes, flowers, free time, cousins and friends.  We’ve had a great month!

Here are a few pictures from our first month of summer.

Cousins at the pool.

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Logan started swimming lessons this summer. This is him proudly doing the freestyle with his teacher, Morgan!

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Logan also loves going out on the golf course with Luke.

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Chores! We started the summer with chore sticks, and they've been working really well for our family. The kids each have a jar of chores (written on popsicle sticks) and they flip the stick after the job is done. I can quickly see if the chores are done if I see all colors and no words. Their chores include typical jobs such as make bed and clean room but also things like do a puzzle, read book to sister, and play outside. Incentive to do the chores? No screen time until chores are done. Pretty simple. Logan has done his chores every day with no nagging from me. Audrey has only missed 2 days this month, and I'm ok with that because she also had no screen time those days.

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This month we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law Kristen at my in-laws' house. She's due in September. We can't wait for our first Darling cousin!

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My mom comes every summer to help me plant my flowers.  This year, Audrey got to help, and she was in her glory!  Dirty hands, pretty flowers, shovels, plant food, water, more dirt… she’d plant flowers every day if she could!  This pot is “Audrey’s pot” of marigolds.  She’s been carefully watering them and even kissing the flowers all month.  They’re growing with love! 

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We’ve had a lot of warm, wet June days.  Perfect for raincoats and boots!

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Audrey was fascinated with the storm drain.  Multiple times, she’d lean over and yell “Hello!  Is anyone down there?  Can anyone hear me?”

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The kids on Father's Day.

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My college friend and her husband are missionaries in Nigeria.  They are on their Home Service in the states right now and visited us on an overnight stay last weekend.  Their daughter, Stella, and Audrey are only a couple days apart in age and had fun playing dolls, “reading” to each other, and taking a bath together.

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Crown Point does a Dolly Parade in June every year in which the kids from town can walk their dolls or stuffed animals around the courthouse in the town square. It’s cute, and the kids have fun.

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I’ll be back again to update at the end of July!  Hope you have a fabulous month!