Family Update

I am so sorry I have not done very well in keeping up a pseudo-journal of what is going on in our family. I especially apologize to you extended or otherwise distant (geographically) family who have been using this as a way to keep up with us. Anyway, here is a little of what's been going on.

As far as the tadpoles go, we are down to our last one. It turns out they are not all that sturdy under the rigors of frequent handling (extra points for the use of the word "rigor'). I am not sure which one it is, but I think I see a look of fear there.

Addie took a few weeks of swimming lessons already this year. She is swimming pretty well and the weather has been giving the kids plenty of opportunity to use the skill.

I often have people ask for an Addie story and sadly I have a hard time thinking of them off the top of my head. I think it may be because we get used to her weirdness and can't think of something that particularly stands out. I do remember something from last night, though. I was walking past the master bathroom and I heard lots of conversation:

"...13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24..."

"No, wait. It's '20,21,22,23,24,25..."

"That's what I said!"

"Okay (matter of factly). 21, 22, 23..."

"Ewww. Nasty! Hmm. So that's what was in my bottom (again, matter of factly). 24, 25, 26, 27, 28..."

I couldn't take it any more and peeked through the door. Addie was all by herself having one of the strangest conversations I had heard in a while (and that's really saying something).


Michal Kate is going to KidQuest camp at ACU this week. She is loving it. And, as near as I can tell, the counselors are loving her, too. It is so great to see her do something fun like that on her own. She is having a fun summer and I get giggly-happy just thinking about it. One thing that is neat is getting to see her be ornery with other people- especially college aged kids. She is so unpredictable that way. You just think looking at her that she is this sweet little demure thing and then she pulls a prank or breaks out with that evil little laugh and your realize your should probably keep an eye on this one.


Connor is still involved in baseball. He made the All-Star team and the practice schedule is pretty heavy. Right now they are practicing every day from 6:00 until dusk. Since today was the longest day of the year, that meant around three hours. Still, all of the boys seem to be loving it and the team genuinely seems to have a special bond. I think there is an obvious difference when every team member wants to be there and is a proven hard worker. Not only that, I think there is an unspoken respect among the boys since they all had to have talent to get where they are. It has been cool to watch and help out. Most of the coaches are great with the kids and the parents (moms and dads) are very involved. The team snacks at practices are better than your average picnic in the scope and quantity of food and people sit and watch entire practices. And this is just the 9-10 year old team. It is even more serious at the 11-12 year old level. But, like I said, Connor is loving it and wishing it would never end.

Kendra is tying up the loose ends from running the concession stand. It was a long season as far as that goes, but at least our league is done hosting tournaments, so we're through. I know that one should never say "never" but suffice it to say: NEVER AGAIN.

Val is just boring and has nothing exciting to talk about.

That's a brief update for now. We'll have more later as the summer progresses.