July 2010...

Since I spent the summer sanding and refinishing the house, I didn't get a whole lot of photos taken because we didn't do a whole lot of things. Pics of the house coming soon...

Until then, enjoy these.

Daddy bought the kids new swings. Annisia caught a ride to the swing set on one...

Then Daddy installed them. Now we have two toddler swings to get rid of...

Aunty Leilani came for a visit. Don't you think for a minute I didn't put her to work. No siree! She put on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt she didn't mind getting stain on, and worked alongside me. That's what you do when workers come to visit...you put them to work! Then she got a Shel Silverstein book at the library and read some of the poems to the kids.

One day, Annisia's eye puffed up. We think it was a bug bite. Poor thing. Makes me sick to my stomach to look at it...

Here are a few videos of the kids through the summer and into the fall/winter.

1. Annisia dancing with Uncle Mike at Brady's wedding, 
2. Annisia dressed herself one day...flowery skirt and shirt, polka dot hat, big yellow sunglasses, black patent leather shoes, and a feathery phone. Quite the stylin' princess...so I had to interview her,
3. Jonathan setting up his work site, wanting me to play with him. The kids took advantage of every possible moment they could get with me, as I was usually up on a ladder sanding or painting. Poor kids,
4. I am going to post Jonathan's tall tale below,
5. And, last, but not least, Jonathan actually SANG at his Christmas program. Until now, he has only stood up there and looked around despite knowing all the songs, singing them the week before the program, singing them on the way to the program, the next week after the program...

Jonathan's tall tale, November 17, 2010

"Once upon a time, I was on the biggest hill of Gramma and Papa's ranch, and I hopped on a horned toad, and it started hopping down the hill, and I lassoed a jackalope, threw it in the backpack and kept on going. And then I saw that it was going to hop on Gramma's head and then hop her down and pounce on her. And, so when it was close enough, I hopped off it, pig-tied it…actually, four-leg tied it, and then I took the jackalope out of my backpack and back short-leg tied it. Done! The end."

Swingset improvement!

I know I posted this pic earlier (one time Chet came to visit this summer), but I had to show it in this post. It is subject of yet another project I worked on this summer. Notice how gray the swingset A-frame is. It was very weathered and in desperate need of sanding and refinishing. SO! That's what I did over the course of two or three days...Sept. 30-Oct 2-ish.

The kids really wanted to wear handkerchiefs like Mommy was. Don't they look good?

And no, Annisia isn't picking her nose...

Here is the finished product. I didn't get the ladder done and somehow missed the little cross piece that fastens the ladder to the A-frame. Next year will see the wooden two seater swing setting in the sand refinished. It is horrible for giving splinters.