Great Birthday!

We had a combination Memorial Day/Birthday celebration at the river for Uncle Sidney's 13th birthday. The water was surprisingly warm and the kids had a blast swimming and going down the "waterslides"--slick rocks and small waterfalls!



Caelum didn't mind missing out on the water fun--he enjoyed his snooze in the warm outdoor air!

They didn't care to wear the goggles in the water, but thought they were hilarious to wear after they were done swimming. Brenner's are fish, and Aile's are frogs, so they pretended to be those animals. They pretended they were at the aquarium visiting all their friends!

First Camping Trip of the Summer

The weather was beautiful for our first camping trip of the season and Caelum's first camping experience ever! We has a great camp site with lots of woods and space for the kids to explore!

This was Brenner and Andrew's favorite resting spot--the fallen tree on the edge of our campsite:


The kids all took turns getting rides on the back of the bike, either in the seat or in the cart. Hours of enjoyment for them all! (And plenty of exercise for our friend David!) :)


Emily, Brenner and Andrew had a great time "making pancakes" for us!

Aile and Brianna relax in the camp chairs for just a moment before finishing their scavenger hunt:

Flutter By, Butterfly

A couple weeks ago, we were outside exploring and a butterfly decided it really liked Aile! It stayed on her toe for about 20 minutes, then went to her finger for a while. She was so enthralled with her new friend!

Not trash, just treasure!

When Brenner is expressing his opinion about things, he always makes it a two part statement: "Not that one! Just this one!"

The other day I was carrying Caelum and I took a box outside to the trash can. When I came back, Brenner was waiting for me at the door, looking very upset. "Mommy!" he cried. "Don't throw baby Caelum in the garbage!" I explained that I would never do such a thing, and I that I love them both too much to ever do anything so awful! Brenner rolled his eyes and flipped his hand up, a small smile on his face. (His way of outwardly showing that understanding has dawned.) "Oh..." he said. "Not Caelum in the garbage, just the box! Okay!"

With Caelum's newfound ability to smile and laugh with us, he is sure to join in our special moments more and more each day!

Well, it has been a while since I've kept up with the blog! Life does that sometimes! I've missed recording some pretty funny and heart-warming things, but we'll try to begin keeping up with it now! The most important news item this blog is missing is the announcement of the new addition to our family! CAELUM SCOTT was born on March 19 at 9:21 am. He was 7 lb. 15 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. And he has red hair! And it just keeps getting redder! We are all having so much fun with him, and we will enjoy sharing him with everyone who chooses to check in with our blog and see our family happenings. Above are a few of his first photos...

Not my proudest parenting moment...

Okay, is it really true that boys are just like this?! It simply can't be! Yesterday Aile and Brenner were playing on my bedroom floor--Brenner was the patient and Aile the doctor. Aile was busy making a potion of medicine, while Brenner was just sprawled flat on the floor, waiting patiently for his dose. Then he suddenly said, "Hey!" Aile and I both looked at him, and he very deliberately lifted both of his legs up straight in the air and let out a long loud toot! On top of that, he looked right at us and started laughing hysterically! This from a boy who is constantly going around saying "Excuse me please!" for every little thing! I have to admit, it took me by surprise so much that my first reaction was to laugh, and of course Aile thought it was hysterically funny. But seriously, where did he learn this?! Why did he even think of it? Can boys truly have this instinctual nature to be so crude?!

Brenner Tells Us What He Knows...

This post is mostly for my memory so I can remember when he began to do these things...

Recently he has truly learned his first memory verse, and goes around saying it all the time. It is very good for my heart to hear. The verse is Joshua 1:9: "God is with you wherever you go." Brenner goes around the house chanting "God with you ever you go!" I love it!

His other new accomplishment is singing--he is quickly taking after his big sister on that one! The other night he was belting at the top of his voice his own little version of Amazing Grace: "Amazing grace, sweet the sound, and save the grace for me ("me" being drawn out at the highest voice pitch he can manage)! Once lost, now found, blind, but now can see!"

He also sings Away in a Manger and Jesus Loves the Little Children. He's working on a few more... But the one that is his favorite, that you can hear from his mouth several times a day, is Jesus Loves Me. He sings: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for Bible me so. Little ones him along, they weaks, He strong. Yes, Jesus loves me, for Bible me so!"

The other day he was singing Jesus Loves Me at the lunch table, and I said," Brenner, maybe we shouldn't sing at the table. You need to eat." He did his trademark pose--hand palm up and little head cocked to the side, and he said, each word annunciated clearly, " Well, mommy, that song in head!" Cracked me up!