June Recap

It's hard to believe that August is almost upon us!  I would ponder how fast time flies by, wonder how it has been so long since our last post, and give my excuse for how busy we've been, but I'm sure you are all in the same boat.  Nuff said.

The first weekend of June, Marie went on her first "date."  She and Jon attended the Daddy Daughter Dance at our church.  The theme was Little House on the Prairie and all were encouraged to dress in appropriate attire.  This gave me an excuse to brush off my sewing machine and make a dress for Marie.  I don't often get to sew and it seems like a project is the perfect excuse for me to get my fix.  It ended up being a bit rushed, but I thought the finished product turned out well.  I think Marie and Jon both had a good time since there were quite a few of their friends, both dads and daughters, that also went.

Marie no sooner finished her kindergarten year than we started full steam ahead into our summer activities.  (Stevie was also recovering from a fairly bad case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, so a change of pace was warmly welcomed!)  The kids got to go on their annual trip to the strawberry patch, where we picked both berries and sugar snap peas.  All three of the kids did some picking this year.  It didn't take Stevie too long to realize that the little red ones were yummy!  It just so happened that Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart were also visiting, so that made things all the more fun and much easier on me!

Both Marie and Joey also started their soccer league the second weekend of June.  This was our first experience with our kids playing "organized" sports.  It was a bit comical at times watching the pack of 3-4 year-olds congregate around the ball.  Both the kids learned a bit and we did see some improvement in both skill and basic understanding of the game.  We will see if their interest is maintained and whether we try another season sometime.

Our trip for the month of June was a visit to Illinois, coordinated around the wedding of my cousin, Kelly.  We had been looking forward to this wedding for some time.  I used to babysit for Kel and her siblings and she married the nephew of one of my dear friends from high school.  We made the trip worth it and took a few days of vacation to spend down there.  Uncle Mark, Aunt Sarah, and Ella as well as Uncle Matt and Liz were also there.  The kids had a blast with all the family, putting up Grandpa's tent (that they never ended up sleeping in), going fishing, making and eating s'mores, taking care of the kitties, not to mention going to the wedding.  As usual, it was a wonderful, packed full of fun, trip and a great time to catch up with family.