Alli has reached a new milestone...

Alli can tie her shoelaces!


Ruby is still silly.  Ruby will be turning four this weekend!


June has become quite attached to this baby doll.  Don't even think about taking it from her.  She takes good care of "Baby"... she feeds her and wraps her up for a nap and makes her clap her hands. 
So cute.


The girls have a favorite spot to walk to... Ruby takes her cat on a leash.  June has Baby.  And the bowls?  Those are for the blackberries we are about to pick.  Our neighborhood has a pond with ducks, geese and lots of frogs... and there are berries growing near the pond.  The girls love berry-picking and frog-spotting.  They bring bowls, but I don't know if they have ever put any berries in them... they tend to go straight into their mouths.

This week, we let the girls stay up until the stars came out.  Then we laid on a blanket in the yard and starred at the stars.  What a treat to see stars from our own yard!  This is something that we couldn't do in Chicago.

I spent three days last week at Youth Conference.  I took lots of pictures and put together a slide show.  Being with the youth was so much fun!  And a little bit exhausting.

rain + sunshine = MAGIC!

Something magic happened the other night.  After a steamy gray day, the golden sunshine peeked through the drizzling clouds.
That, of course, is a recipe for a...

RAINBOW!  It was the biggest, most brilliant rainbow I have ever seen.
Rainbows are a favorite at our house... right up there with hearts,
unicorns, princesses, glitter, etc.  Alli and Ruby were overjoyed at the sight of a REAL rainbow!  There were lots of gasps and sighs and "It's so colorful!" and "I've never ever ever EVER seen a rainbow like this before!"  They ran out to the driveway to dance under the rainbow.  Ruby saw a little bird fly through the rainbow, and she was couldn't believe her eyes!

The rainbow hung over our neighborhood for twenty minutes or so... until the sun dipped down past the trees.
Just in time for bed.

fearless

June's new thing is jumping.  From a standing position, she can get both feet off the ground with a jump... usually it takes a few warm up jumps before she clears the carpet.
But a little elevation makes it more fun.
She climbs up on a stair or stool or box and says, "Get down!"

And then she jumps off.
She sticks the landing most of the time.

S'more, please.

After the preschool performance tonight, we enjoyed a few s'mores by the
campfire.  Mmmm.... gooey good.

imagination

When Ruby is working on a project, she gets really focused.

Only after much coaxing/pestering will she look up for a quick picture.

She is meticulous.  Tenacious.  Imaginative.
When she is finally done, the artist is happy to show her work.

This is a world that Ruby created with colorful houses all around.

Monday

My parents came down to Columbus yesterday with my Grandma for my niece's graduation party.
It was such a treat to see Grandma... Mom and Dad too.
My niece is going away to BYU in the fall.  I remember when she was born.  When she was little.  Suddenly she is going off to school... and it scares me a little.  Not Margaret going off on her own, but how fast time zips by.  Next thing I know we will be throwing a graduation party for Allison. 

beat the heat

It has been sunny here.

There has been a lot of this...

The girls prefer warm water in the pool.  If we let the hose sit out in the sun, the water gets pretty hot, so we can get an inch or two of warm water.
June and Alli like to get soaked.  Ruby likes a little bit of water, but mostly, she likes to stay dry and warm.

The utility boxes in the corner of our yard are her favorite perch.  She lays out her towel on top and soaks in the sun... slathered in sun screen, of course.
We have been out to the local parks for picnics and playing.  Juice boxes are a favorite.

June especially loves juice boxes.  She always chugs hers down to the last drop, and then looks for more...

She likes to swipe her sisters' juice.