4th Of July Weekend

We started the weekend of the fourth at the pool and a few hours later ended up without power in the basement. We were very grateful for the crank flashlight that doesn't have any batteries for Henry and Walter to remove - since that was the only flashlight we had that worked! Thankfully, we were safe and didn't have damage. We decided we had never seen so much traffic in our little town before - everybody must have hopped in their cars to see what the storm had done...there were a few light poles and lots of branches and huge trees down. Since I had just been grocery shopping, we packed up all the food we could and drove to the lake, where we would have power.

After spending most of Saturday trying to get a generator to work (thanks to our dads) and cleaning up the yard (Thanks Mom!), we went to meet our good friends at the Fourth of July parade in Prinsburg. It's always fun to get together with them, and the kids have fun together, too.


Josie, Walter and Henry excitedly waiting for the candy throwing to begin...I knew that expensive popcorn bucket from Disney World would come in handy!



The Crew






Henry enjoyed seeing all the tractors, thought the fire engine horn was really loud, and LOVED getting candy!


Scrambling for more tootsie rolls...

After the parade we drove back to the lake. The next morning the boys had fun fishing from the dock with their dad...and the dogs.



One of my favorite pictures


Henry's getting pretty good at casting.




This is so much fun!


What a catch

Later on that morning, grandma brought out the "Orca with water gun" floaties. These were a big hit and the boys had lots of fun squirting each other. You'll have to forgive me for adding way too many pictures, but I'm a mom.







Kenda managed to ignore most of the water battle while she swam along the shore and fished.











Believe it or not, more orca pictures exist...but lucky for you, they are on Grandma A's camera. They did some swimming and shooting with Grandma and Grandpa A later in the day. Walter even managed to call asleep while floating in the water. It's wonderful to have both of our families closeby so we can spend time with everybody.

Pepper Plants

Each spring, we plant a few tomato and pepper plants that Uncle Dave starts and gives to us. Two weeks ago, the pepper plants started blooming and last week, as we were hopping into the car, I noticed that there were actually little peppers on the plants! Henry and Walter were so excited and couldn't wait to get home so they could see for themselves. Henry reached the plants first and yelled, "Oh, come and see the little baby peppers. They are so cute!" Walter came running and when I reached them, they were trying to locate all the "baby peppers."

Henry looked up at me and proudly announced, "Ooohhh, we're going to be parents!"

Ring of Fire

As previously mentioned, Walter loves Johnny Cash. He went through a phase where he only wanted to listen to "Ring of Fire" when we were in the car...over and over and over. The good news is that he's now open to Waylon Jennings' "This Time" and the Highwaymen singing "Highwayman."


"And your future is brighter than ever!"

My parents gave Walter this musical card to open while Henry opened his birthday presents. It was a big hit (not so much with Nate) and lasted a few weeks before we couldn't understand Johnny at all.

When opened, Mr. Cash was singing, "I fell in to a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down,..."

Henry's 4th Birthday

It's really hard to believe, but Henry came home 3 years ago and is now 4 years old! He is growing up quickly and has turned into such a little boy.

So what is Henry doing these days? He keeps us laughing with his unexpected commentary and uncensored thoughts. I'll be posting one of those funny little comments later. One thing he started doing this past year (which is one of my favorite things) is walking in a room and calling, "Mom/Dad?" and when we answer he responds with, "I love you," before walking out. Definitely a sweet gift.

Henry enjoyed going to Bible Study Fellowship with Mama L this year. He ate up that alone time with grandma and being able to, "Bible Study School." He has told me that Walter can't go with them next year because he's not big enough - "It's only for big boys, like me." It was exciting to see his interest in the Bible and Jesus grow this year. Over the last month, he has started asking if he can pray before dinner, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this food,..." and then we can never understand the second sentence!

He continues to love reading books and playing with puzzles, cars, and tools. Of course, he's still just as fast as ever! Another thing that cracks us up is that he understands sarcasm - he looks at you carefully and then smiles, "You're just teasing me!" I think Nate will have a hunting buddy in a few years - he loves talking about birds and guns ("Mom, I think you should get a pistol.")

Believe it or not, Henry does have quite the stubborn streak and a touch of a temper...I'm positive he has not picked that up from me! I'm praying that eventually, he'll use the stubbornness in a positive way...So that's a glimpse of Henry from 3 years old to 4. He is an amazing gift and blessing to us. Each day, we are thankful that we share the honor of being Henry's parents with his first mom and dad, and Omma and Appa in Korea.

We celebrated his birthday over a weekend at the lake.

Making chocolate sodas with Grandpa L has become a bit of a tradition. Henry is especially fond of making this special treat with Boppa.




Opening presents...He had quite few big smiles!





Opening Thomas and the Jet Engine: "I've wanted this for so long! Mommy said 'No.'"






Walter was very interested in the red bike. It was difficult to pry him off it - even for cake!



Going on a golf cart ride with Mimi.


Mama L made this amazing Mickey Mouse cake...definitely way better than the tractor cake I once attempted!



Looks like good cake is his weakness when it comes to table manners!


Then we celebrated at home.

Henry went through a number of ideas for decorating his cake before settling on red hots, which he and Walter personally placed on the frosting.


Blowing out the candles.


"I'm four!"


Enjoying a piece of cake.

Rodeo

While Nate was fishing for a few days, Grandma A asked if the boys and I would like to go to the Rodeo that was being held a few towns over. So on June 23 we spent the evening watching mutton bustin', saddle Bronc riding, and lots of other events. Henry and Walter really enjoyed themselves (especially the hot dog dinner with Cheetos's that Grandma treated us to). We went home around 8:30 p.m. and slept soundly!



Henry wasn't interested in taking a spin on the horses, so he watched from behind the fence. We ran into some church friends so they kept him company while Walter had his first "horse ride." Walter insisted that I ride with him...poor horse!






After supper, we watched the mutton bustin' - young kids riding sheep bareback. These were some tough kids!




Oh my sweet boys...pretty soon they won't look like little boys any more so I love pictures like these.






With Grandma


With Mom


The Flag Ceremony




Saddle Bronc riding. These are some tough cowboys! It really was amazing to watch in person.



Henry getting a little silly...


Enjoying the last few minutes before we left. They were busy the whole time. We even gave them some time to run up and down the big hills by the bleachers and they still kept going and going and going!


We walked out to the car and while I was getting Walter in his seat, Henry ventured out a little too far and got his shoe stuck in the mud. He struggled for a few minutes before managing to pull his foot out of the shoe, but the shoe was definitely in there! We did manage to retrieve it before driving to DQ for a bedtime treat. Grandma was kind enough to help me get the boys into bed once we got home. What a day!