First Days of Summer

Sunday was a wonderful day here in Lewiston...weather was at a whopping 90 degrees, the sun was shining and the kids were in a great mood. Ray took us down to Dairy Queen (I was craving a milk shake) and we had ice cream treats and french fries. On the way home, Ray told the kids he had a surprise for them. They guessed and guessed all the way home and finally guessed correctly as we were pulling in the driveway...the surprise...it was finally warm enough for the kids to get out Sean's new slip & slide he got for his birthday. Everytime the sun shone between February and Sunday, all we heard was "we can get out the slip & slide!". Nope, unfortunately just because the sun shines doesn't mean it's warm enough to play in the water. Well, Ray set it up for them while they changed into their swim shorts & I lathered them up with sunscreen. They had a blast! Then they had to get out their swimming pool and play in that, too. They played so hard and were definately pooped by the time bedtime rolled around. All I can say is "Thanks Aunt Natalie & Mas for giving Seaner's the slip & slide. We enjoyed a nice quite bedtime without any fights and the boys enjoyed a beautiful day outside having fun."

The Basement Floor

Over the past six years (since we bought the house) Ray has slowly been working on finishing the basement. Granted, the first year or two we lived here, not much happened in our catch all. Now, six years later, Ray is rapidly completing another chapter on our basement. The flooring is going in throughout the boys soon to be new room, the family room, and the "Man Room". It is beautiful. He spent all of Saturday and an hour or so on Sunday getting as much done as possible. He finished up the boys' room which he started the weekend before and completed pretty much all of the family room and a small portion of the "Man Room". It looks wonderful. The boys are loving their new room and even started moving a couple of toys down. Although, we have had to remind them that there is still a little work to do in there and they can't move down everything yet. I'll add some more pictures of the floor when I get them! Here's a quick preview of what it looked like before Saturday.

Mother's Day Tea

Every year the preschool class hosts a special Mother's Tea for all of the moms. It's a special hour long event where the kids treat/wait on you! This was held the Wednesday before Mother's Day and was super special. Nicholas was such a grown up little gentleman. All of us moms had to wait outside the classroom and then the children came and got us. We were lead to a special seat (which Nicholas pulled out my chair for me) that was beautifully decorated with colorful plates and a gift. Nicholas then asked me if I would like something to drink. I said "Sure". He then asked me, with his hands folded in front of him, if I would like water or punch. He took my cup and came back with some punch. He then asked if I would like some cake. I responded with a "Yes, please". He took my plate and came back with some cake. After he had returned with my cake and a drink for himself, he sat down beside me and said I could eat my cake. After I had finished, he handed me my present, which was beautifully placed inside a white bag decorated by him. Inside was a candle holder with the inscription "You light up my life" that was again decorated by him. The kids had also placed in our spots a little saying on a specially decorated doily. It was so special. Afterwards, when we were all finished, the kids sang their concert song for us. I was so proud of Nicholas. The kids did a great job & once again I was reminded of God's presence in our lives and how blessed we are to be able to have this wonderful school in our lives.

Yard Sale

Well, we just finished up our annual yard sale, and this year I think topped the cake for our biggest sale yet. I think we say that every year...we must be accumulating more stuff throughout the year. Ray jokes that I go to yard sales to find stuff to sell at our yard sale (this is not true!). It was a great time, as usual, and we had a really good turn out. The kids had fun playing with each other and we just pretty much let them run. We set up Friday night until almost 10, and sold a lot of our bigger items that night just to neighbors, which was nice because it gave us more room. Every body is now a little bit more sleepy (okay a lot more sleepy) this afternoon and Sean has been down for a couple of hours now. Overall, the annual yard sale was a success. As I have mentioned before, we have a lot of traditions with the Jones's and the Wimer's and this is just one of them. We are so lucky to be able to share these memories and our husbands are always amazed at the amount of "junk" (us girls call them other peoples treasures) we can accumulate. We then have to remind them that we have the added bonus of Tonia's family, and this year my parents, adding to the amount of treasures we have. The kids have fun shopping through the free box and the toys and Tonia, Sarah, Amy, & I have fun shopping through each others items. We never walk away from our own yard sale empty handed!