♥ Her

One of my favorite times of the year is when I get to see my sister. I love and miss her so much all the time. Even though she has many stories about how mean I was as an older sister, many of the same stories I tell :), we are still very close. Of course we can still get on each other's nerves, me because I can be anal, rigid and opinionated and she who can be melodramatic, unopinionated and loves to take pictures of herself. I love getting to talk with her, though she doesn't open up as much as she used to. Hearing childhood stories told from another perspective is very interesting. I am so grateful that she is better with her finances than I am and is able to make the trip each year. And so are my children, who love their cousins and have wonderful childhood memories.

Thanks to Jeanne's iphone...

And thanks to scanner technology...

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

The End of Another Year

The school year is over. Next year the boys will enter 6th grade and 4th grade, their last year in their current buildings. They still will not be in the same building until Jacob enters the 9th grade.

The boys were both thoroughly happy with their teachers this year. It was the first time they had a male teacher and both had one.

At the end of the year they find out who they will have for next year. The feelings are not positive.

Joshua doesn't think his teacher is very enthusiastic and Jacob is asking if we can move before school starts :) He has the teacher that has the reputation from kids as being the meanest but who is respected by parents. We keep telling him that if he does what he is supposed to he will be fine :)

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

First Ride of the Season

How fitting that the American Bald Eagle would have made an appearance on Memorial Day weekend. So cool.

 We also saw tons of butterflies. They must have all recently morphed. Much prefer them to the black flies that usually accompany May!

 Unfortunately the machines have been giving us lots of troubles. The two little ones especially, causing Daddy to buy Joshua another new one...much to Mom's chagrin and Joshua's excitement. The boys are ready to ride.

And who says it's always the women you wait for???

You notice when it's time to get mucky and wet they jump on Dad's machine. Actually they usually don't have any problem getting their own muddy. This was a bit deep and it would have caused more problems. 

Joshua on the other hand just didn't want to get his new machine dirty...that lasted for one ride :)

 Just as always happens, we ended up towing one machine back due to something breaking. Jacob jumped on with Daddy though as co-pilot and we continued making the best of it.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

He shoots, He scores!

Hockey is no longer a spectator sport for my boys. They have loved watching it and playing street hockey in the driveway, but now they are making serious business of it. As you can see from Jacob's face.

 Jeffrey has started playing a men's league which has sparked their interest more so I looked into a Learn to Play class for Jacob. He does not love basketball so I figured I would try to find something for him in the winter. I didn't anticipate the repercussions of that decision....the cost of equipment and leagues is crazy, and Joshua loves it at well. Try telling one boy he can have his dream come true and not the other :(

 Jacob has his equipment....thank goodness for summer clearance. Joshua is on his way to getting most of his. That's the bummer about being bigger....equipment cost goes up with size. I heard someone call into a radio station one time saying that should be true for women's clothing, that larger women should pay more than the smaller women. I don't like it here so I certainly wouldn't like it for me, though I do see the logic.

 Jeffrey has decided to play goalie. I hate that position for my kids. The pressure is rough. Though my favorite hockey player was a goalie. Goalie equipment is even more expensive so I will not be encouraging Joshua and Jacob into that position, and I will be stapling Jeffrey's lips together when he tries to!

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle