Isaac enjoyed trying all the different colorful lures. But we found out that the fish like real live worms the best.

Jesse catches the second one. Good job, Jess. :)

Aaaaaand guess who caught the first fish!! Yep... Katie Mae! (she's very proud of herself, can you tell?) :)

Woo-hoo!! FISHING POLES!!! Thank you, Daddy...

This is the drawback of having the older brother, Isaac, get the baby ready for the day... he ends up with a fauxhawk... AND a cereal-box-tattoo on his back!! (Mama was not happy about that one) Doesn't Ben's face look like he's saying "Uh-oh... you're in trouble."

:)

Sam did this with almost NO help at all!

Look at my boy wield that sledgehammer!!

This is my Sam doing what Isaac calls "DESTRUCTION!" at Gma and Gpa's house. He's got a sledgehammer and is breaking apart the stone fireplace. Go Sam!!

This is another way our youngest son chooses to unwind after a long, stressful day. ;)

Ben's got it made -- just chillin' in the pool... floatin'... ahhhhhhh... :) (and yes, there's someone RIGHT beside him - don't worry)

Yay!! The pool is "swimmable"!

Awww, poor Ben. Your brothers are laughing at you!

Here's Sam in the VBS program this past Friday night. He was King Nebuchadnezzar, the proud king. :) (and Nesie is the wonderful narrator) -- you guys did a GREAT job!!

Awwww....

Happy Anniversary to us (tomorrow). :) 15 YEARS! (I canNOT be that old!!!) And can my husband pick a beautiful arrangement, or what?

THANK YOU for the flowers, honey. Can't wait till our date! :)

I didn't even ask this time, did I, Kay? (I'm stealing a quote from her blog again) ;) This one struck me b/c I've been convicted about this lately in my own life...

"It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem." -- Coretta Scott King

Hmmmm.....

And speaking of Mom A..... :) here she is on a picnic with Kate. Thanks for the visit, Grandma! We love you! :)

If I could crop myself out of this picture, I would (ugh!)... but then Ben would be just hanging there... suspended by the mystery-arm. :) But... it's a great picture of everyone else. Thanks for this pic too, Mom A. (well... sorta. It would have been nice if you could have taken it when I looked just a little less skanky) ;)

I love this picture (thanks, Mom A., for sharing it!) :)

Psalm 51: 10, 12

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me...

Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation

and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Ben: (*sigh*)... "Ahhh, that's better -- I like you much better from this distance."
Lindsay: "Aww, man! My mommy pulled me away... I sure would like to mawl you, though.
...Hey, I like your double chin."
Ben: "I like yours too."
Lindsay: "And your dimpled elbows."
Ben: "Yeah, same to you."
Lindsay: "And your thunder thighs."
Ben: "Yep, yours are pretty cute too.
...Hey, you have more hair than I do."
Lindsay: "I'm a girl - I'm supposed to. But don't worry, you'll get some eventually. Good thing you've got a great-shaped head... that's important on a bald baby like yourself."
Ben: "Thanks for your kind words. You're a good friend." :)

(note from Ben's Mommy... don't you just LOVE the soft little chubby baby parts?...)

Lindsay: "No really - I'm serious..."
Ben: "Help..."

Ben and his friend, Lindsay Russell. :) Doesn't it look like she's thinking "Hey, how'd he get two of those white things in there? I only have one and I'm three months older!" And Ben's saying, "Oh, I LIKE you!!" Lindsay's also thinking, "Let me see what those feel like" as she's reaching her hand toward Ben...

New accessory compliments of the big sister. :) And the other two accessories (in the mouth) arrived on Mother's Day... cute accessory but it doesn't make him ACT very cute since he seems to be trying to cut more (ugh, he can be a grump!-- though obviously not in this particular picture)

Pearsonzoo :) Aren't they so cute?! Such a neat, neat family. I'm proud to call you my friend, Ang. :) Oh wait... I'm sure everyone will want to know names... let's see if I get it right... Clockwise from left... Caleb, Ashley, Krista, Megan, Sierra, Brian and Tyler. Hey, I think I did it! Now don't ask me ages... though I do have a good idea for everyone, I know I'll mess it up a little. Oldest to youngest goes Ashley, Megan, Brian, Krista, Tyler, Caleb, Sierra. What a sweet "bunch"! :) Oh, and Angie wanted me to make sure everyone knows that they don't always look this way... I think it's perfect since they do live on a farm! Very cute... :)

I love this picture... it's so cute. :)

Oh man... what'd you run over?

Big Sam, you're a nutcase!

... taking care of Ben.
He is SO good with him. Sometimes when he's a little fussy I call "Isaac, can you come play with Ben?" - and Ben stops fussing and starts smiling. And the other day we were having a hectic morning and Isaac asked if he could get Ben up. I said "sure" and next thing you know, he's got his diaper changed, fresh clothes on and he's buckled in his carseat, ready to take the kids to school. Wow!! I'm likin' that!! Thanks, Isaac! :)

When choosing a yard ornament for our new home, we decided to go BIG!! (ha ha)
Nah... we had to drill a new well. And in the interim, I couldn't do laundry (darn). But I will say... after the well was done, I thought to myself, "I never thought I'd look forward to doing laundry!" It piled up and piled up (for over a week) and I have a literal mountain to work through now. Ugh! So nobody call me or anything... I can't chat... I'm doing laundry!!! :)
Also -- notice the son that headed RIGHT out there as soon as he got home from school. I swear, Isaac's going to go into some kind of construction field... building or making something. He's so interested in that kind of stuff. Glada gave him a little battery powered cordless drill for his birthday. He LOVES that thing. And he asked for his own tool set and tool belt for Christmas (like Big Sam). So... here he is involved in two of his favorite things... watching something be made or built and...