Happy Father's Day!!

Cub Scout Camp

We had a week of Cub Scout camp. I was a co-coordinator for our pack so I was there two of the five days.

We have had 16 straight days of rain and storms here in Oklahoma. Needless to say it was a bit of a mess.

The first day, we were told that if it started lightening then we were to come under the shelter for further instructions.

Well, it started thundering so I took the boys to shelter and went to the camp director for further direction. She looked at me as I was crazy. "You are suppose to take shelter when it is Lightening, and I haven't seen any". I explained that thunder means lightening. She didn't agree. What?? So we are to wait until we are struck and then seek shelter?? I have taken care of victims of lightening strikes. It is not pretty!!!

I called Paul and was informed that a storm was coming our way. That was the last straw. I called the kids parents and we went home after lunch. Okay, maybe I was too conservative but I would rather error on the side of safety.

The storm never came but at least we were at home safe in case it had.

On Wednesday, the camp was postponed until noon since the dam at the entrance was flooded. It had receded enough for a vehicle to pass through it safely. We taxied the kids over the flood and enjoyed the rest of the day.

Joshua enjoyed Archery and BB guns the best. He even ended up becoming a Junior BB Club Member because he got 5 shots within the target area. Great Job Joshua!

He didn't go back after Wednesday since he was only going because I was co- coordinator.

Cub Scout Meeting

We had a Cub Scout get together at our house. We met to tell the kids about the camp for the next week and to make pins for them to swap with other packs.

They had a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Baby!

My favorite man had his 40th birthday on June 14th. He is such an awesome man and the love of my life.

Swim Lessons

We started the summer off with swimming lessons. I feel it is important to teach your child to swim so it is not an option for the kids to attend.

This is Joshua's 5th year and Delaney's second year.

Delaney started off not liking the lessons. Once it clicked for her, she loves it. She is wanting to take another sesson. Unfortunately, there is not any free time for that.

Photo for Friday

Break in Blogging

Well life has been busy. Between camps, swim lessons, working on weekends and an increase in Dillon work, I have had a hard time getting on here to blog.

Don't give up-- I am still blogging, just a little sporadically.

5 year old visit

Delaney had her 5 year old well visit today. She had both hearing and vision tested, they were both normal.

She also had to have her finger stuck and had 4 shots.

After enduring all that, I decided it was time for a treat. We went to McDonalds and picked up food and headed for a park. The park had a splash pad. Altough they didn't have swimming suits, the kids played in the water anyway.

It was a nice way to start the weekend.

Photo For Friday

Natural Cowgirl!

Delaney had her first lesson today. Wow, the girl is a natural. I left her there and one hour later, she is riding by herself, directing the horse, stopping the horse and backing it up. She did not want to leave and is excited to go back.

Princess Birthday!

Delaney's friend had a birthday party last Saturday. It was a Pirates and Princess party. The kids had so much fun that we ended up staying for 4 hours of fun.

Photo For Friday

Horses

Delaney LOVES horses. She is so excited when she sees one.
We have decided to let her take horse back riding lessons. We know she will love it.

She had decided that she was no longer interested in gymnastics, even though she does at least 20 cartwheels a day, so we are going to pursue the riding lessons.

She really wants a horse but that is out of the question since her Daddy is allergic to them!

School is out, Summer is here!

May 17th was Delaney's last day of pre-school. She is so excited to be going to Joshua's school next year. She is also excited about riding the bus. It is so hard to believe that she will be in Kindergarten next year.

Joshua's last day of school was Wednesday. He will be in third grade next year.

Yesterday, we went to the park and had a picnic lunch with friends. We had to quench our thirst with Sonic slushes. Yummy!

The kids came back and spent a couple of hours in the pool. It was a beautiful day.

We have loads of events to do this summer:

Swimming lessons
Young Rembrandts drawing camp
Boy Scout camp
VBS
Korea Camp
Vacation

It should be a fun filled summer for all.

Memorial Day

We went to my brother's house for Memorial Day. With our busy schedules, we have a hard time finding the time to get together. It is nice when we actually can find the time to get together.

Teresa made a scumptious meal for us. Mom and dad brought over cupcakes in celebration of my brother's birthday that was on Friday. The big 40. T

The cupcakes were quite messy and left a nice bright pink smile on all the ate them.

The kids swam until a storm appeared to be moving in. What is Memorial Day if we don't have our annual storm??

We had fun and are hoping to get together more often.

Seat Alarm??

I have been wanting to update my blog for awhile now but I swear there is a seat alarm attached to my office seat. Just this morning, the kids were playing nicely by themselves and as soon as I sit in this chair, they gather around requesting my attention. There must be an alarm that only they are able to hear!

Come to think of it, the couch must have one as well. Anytime I get the chance to sit down, they are immediately there wanting me to get up and get them something. It doesn't matter where they are in the house, they know I have just sat down.

Wait a minute, my chair at the kitchen table must have one as well!!

If I ever figure out how to dismantle the alarms, I might be a consistent blogger!

Anyone else have this problem??

Field Trip

We took the last field trip of the year for Joshua's school. We went to the zoo. Unfotunately, it was storming. We tried to stay indoors as much as possible.

Our zoo has a new expanded elephant exhibit. The pond for the elephants is deep enough for the elephants to go in and be totally submerged. We watched while one swam and the other played in the mud. He was putting it all over his back. No wonder Joshua loves elephants so much!

Hey mom, look at my three leaved plant!

Oh, wow, I guess we have posion ivy out in full force. I think Sam is bringing it to us from somewhere in our yard. Paul went out to spray for it and said that he didn't really see any. Of course, he then said, I am really not sure what it looks like. I sprayed a vine that was growing on a tree.

Joshua, Delaney and I all have had posion ivy. Joshua was the one that was most affected. He required a trip to the doctor for it. It was on his arms, chest and face. It was approaching his eyes. He was placed on cream and steroids. The steroids then caused vomiting and diarrhea. He woke up two nights in a row vomiting. Poor guy!!

Summer Time Fun

We put the pool up two weeks ago. The kids love it and spend a lot of time outside when it is up. They actually get along better when they are in the pool.

The other day, I was doing work in my office and was not interrupted once. I finished my work and was sitting there thinking about how my kids. I was thinking about how they are now old enough to be pretty much self sufficient. I was pleased with the fact that there had been no tattling going on from them.

I proceeded to go outside to tell them how proud I was of them. That was until I found out what they had been up to. Joshua had made two large mud piles in our backyard (he has been told not to do so on several occasions. He was covered with mud.

I went to go get the water hose and noticed that the pool looked strange. They had let out half the water of the pool! After I washed Joshua off, I went to put the hose in the pool to fill it back up and noticed that someone had put said mud in the pool as well. AHHH!!!! So much for my uninterrupted time, I guess I still need to check up on them especially if there has been no tattling.

I will say that they did have a grand time though ;).

Eastern European Weekend

Last weekend we had our 7th annual Eastern European weekend. It was a small gathering (falling at the end of the school year is not a good thing) but we had a great time.

Joshua was so excited that he wanted to go back for a third day of activities. He even commented that it was more advanced this year. The children are getting older so we are able to do more things with them.

I would love for their to be new adoptees there but with Ukrainian adoptions slowing, Russia and Romania closed, I doubt we will see that anytime soon.

It breaks my heart to think that children are being kept in institutions when they could be at their forever home due to government regulations.

Quote of the week

Put blinders on to those things that conspire to hold you back, especially the ones in your own head. Guard your good mood. Listen to music every day, joke, and love and read more for fun, especially poetry. -Meryl Streep

Photo For Friday- a little late

Ukraine Video

Please consider adoption from Ukraine or supporting the orphans through An Orphan's Bright Star.. We have the pleasure of helping Joshua's orphanage in Zhytomyr each month. It is the least we can do for the loving care they provided to him during his stay there.

Photo For Friday

Quote of the week

The more deeply you understand people, the more you will appreciate them, the more reverent you will feel about them. To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground. Stephen R. Covey

The Missing Link

We are so excited. We received two letters from Delaney's Biological Grandmother. We are still waiting on translations. We should receive them next week.

The real blessing we received was a picture of her birthmother. Delaney really takes after her. She looks so much like her birthmother. Currently, Delaney has chosen not to share the picture with anyone but her immediate family. I wouldn't post it on a public forum anyway. She is beautiful just like my daughter!

Invention Convention

Joshua's school creates inventions every year. Here is Joshua with his Light Reflector Protector. He was being a little shy that night.

Bye Soccer Boy

Joshua has decided that he will no longer play soccer. I really can't blame him. BA soccer club has really let us down. He was stuck on teams with brand new coaches and new players. He was never able to advance past basic skill training. His team was slaughtered all season. Not much fun for anyone!

Next Chapter: Soccer Girl!

Joshua Art

Joshua had his last Young Rembrandts art lesson yesterday. He was so proud of this picture. He wants to give it to his grandpa. It looks like his grandpa so I think that is so cute. I am not sure if he meant for it to look like him or not but it does! I am not sure that he rollerskates though!