Another Kepsel Family Night

Sometimes, on Monday nights when we're having Family Night, things get a little carried away. A little off-subject, you might say. The big bouncy balls had something to do with the lesson... I'm pretty sure. 

I'm also pretty sure that Emmy started this.
We were due for new family pictures any way, right? Minus Caleb? I so wish he was in these photos too.

But he was happily behind the lens, and soon started saying things like "Ok, now work it!"

Which, apparently, my kids know how to do. Yes, Claire is wearing Jonah's Spider Man pajamas. Don't be alarmed.
I think Emmy's is twins. At least.

And then, the inevitable belly bouncing began.
No one was injured in the making of these photos.

The bellies bouncing and rolling around on the grass I chose to opt out of, partly because I would have pulled something and squished something, and partly because one second after this I was running for the potty.

It's a pregnancy thing.

Grow little greens, grow!

As with every year that we have gardened here on our sunny hill, some things are growing great and others are not. The mystery of this phenomenon is one that I don't plan on ever solving. 

Come, let us show you what we're growing.
Those are little melon plants next to Jonah there. They got a late start.

But joy of joys, the peaches are growing this year!
The tragedy of no peaches last year is something that I'm still trying to get over. I need therapy.

I often go and gaze at these little green fuzz balls just to calm my peach deprived soul. That's therapy, man!

Now, honestly, the tomato mystery is one that I hope to solve one day. I'm a tomato growing failure. But every year, without fail, Pete's tomatoes grow and grow and produce and produce. I don't get it. 

Those plants on the left are tomatillo's, and we're going to attempt Salsa Verde this fall! 

Super stoked about that. 

This little Pole Bean Tepee is working awesome! I've never grown beans before, and they are very rewarding. Jonah was convinced that I was sneaking out at night and winding the little vines around the bamboo myself.
We left a wide opening on one side so they can play in there, and they do! It's the cutest.
Please disregard Emmy's grouchy face - she's mad at me for asking her to smile into the sun. Sacrifice for the photo, kid!!
Just kidding.

I think.

And then there's this little pea lover. If Claire is MIA, there's a very good chance that she has snuck into Pete's garden again and is busily working away on his pea plants.
She keeps ours cleared and has to mooch off of his.

No one's complaining.

My little comedian

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This photo

We had a little 3-day family shin-dig at the Crystal Hot Springs Campground after the Fourth last weekend, and while some of us were playing in the pools and sitting around the campfire and eating ourselves silly, this group of relatives/biking nuts were... well, biking! 

I snapped this photo just before they took off on their first ride, and when I saw it now on my computer I couldn't stop laughing. LOOK at it! It's like a magazine! They're all smiling and happy and cute and fit and dressed all snazzy and it's just funny to me. Is this even real life?

Yes, yes it is. And Caleb's loving it.

His bike is possibly the best birthday gift I've ever given him. Score for me. I like to take credit for his happiness every chance I get.

Beating the Heat

A few Saturday afternoons ago the five of us were baking in the living room in our home, feeling less and less every minute like being civil to one another. 

Caleb took matters into his own hands by walking out the front door into the furnace, getting in his 4Runner, and driving away. 

He returned a few minutes later with a bag from the hardware store containing one plastic painters drop cloth, having spent a whopping $3.00. 

Much refreshment and happiness and family friendliness was the result. This man has skills.

A few tent stakes (and rocks), a sprinkler, a bouncy pool to serve as crash pad, and we were ready to go.

 It was possibly the best $3 he's ever spent. Not only did it cool us down, but it saved our sanity!

 Well, as long as you consider this "sane." I promise the younger kids enjoyed the slip and slide too. Caleb chose to gracefully enter the pool at the end of his slides, rather than just run into it.

 Marriage is never boring when you're married to a kid.

 I should have taken some video of the event - this girl has some major sliding skills.

Claire and I spent most of our time splashing each other in the pool and eating cherries on the porch. She is my fellow food consumist (not a word).

See? Cherries.
Best afternoon ever.

Dear little baby

Dear baby unborn, we are getting very excited about your arrival.

This is Claire, the one who lovingly jabs at you. I'm so glad you finally kicked her back yesterday. She believes me that you're really in there now, I wish you could have seen her face! "Oh! Baby in there!"

This is your oldest sister, Emmy. She loves to talk about you and what you'll be like and all the things that she'll be able to do with you.

And your brother, Jonah. He hopes you're a boy, but he did say this evening that really he just wants a baby, even if it's a girl.

We have so many things to show you! Most of them outside. You've spent a lot of time outside from inside me already. You know those rushes of fresh oxygen you get in the mornings? That's when we're on the front porch, savoring the coolness.

Oh, be prepared to see this face leaning in a lot. Her babies get lots of kisses, and I imagine you will be adopted into her family shortly after your birth.

I promise to try to keep you out of her little plastic baby strollers and high chairs and cradles, but forgive me if, at some point, you end up in one of them. 

Jonah will prepare you for the times that I may have to... uhmm... clean your facial features. It happens to him all the time. It's part of life, kid! You're headed for it soon!

She thinks it's funny, but little does she know that she's next.

We have lots of great tricks to teach you!

And please don't be too frightened when Mr. and Mr. Hair come to call. 

Why is it that my kids call this trick Mr. Hair? Wouldn't Mrs. Hair be more appropriate? Hmmm. Maybe Katie started that one. 

Dear little one. Katie loves you too, and can't wait to meet you. I promise she's not always scary like in the above photo. 

Expect her to give you looks like this one often. You are very lucky to be born into this family, which includes her.

Dear baby, you wiggle and squirm and hiccup inside me. I wiggle and squirm and hiccup with excitement to see you, rather than only feel you. I already know you, I already love you.

Did I do it?

Here I am, attempting to post from my iPad. I haven't figured out movies yet, but I'm getting closer. I can feel it! It's right there! Lingering just beyond the grasp of my frail, oldish, pregnancy ridden brain!
Jonah would like to show you his recent bicep growth.

See? That post was so worth reading.

Let's put this backyard to use

Once upon a time, because it was Katie's birthday, and because it was Caleb's birthday, and because he might have turned 30 but who's counting, and because the weather was perfect, and because we had green grass and a grill and neighbor's with tables and chairs who like to share, and because my father-in-law is a grill master, and because I was determined to show Caleb that he does, in fact, have friends...

we had a barbecue. 

It's true! We really did! See? Pictures! Pictures by Tess, of course, because I was busy being busy. 

These are exactly the kind of pictures I wish I could take, you know? Exactly. They're perfection. I don't actually want to put forth the effort to learn how to do it myself, though, so I whine and beg her to grace every event that I'd like recorded. 

Luckily she likes to take pictures, and also likes to share them, and also likes me. 

It's very similar to the way that I convince her to finish every sewing project I ever start, cut my hair, give me fashion advice, and shampoo my carpets. 

This little's boys face? Also perfection.

The convincing Caleb that he had friends totally worked, thank you very much.

I've always had these unspoken fears that if I had a bunch of people over for a gathering they'd all sit around awkwardly and stare at the ground and the food would burn and I'd forget to make sure there was gas in the grill tank.

Turns out, when you have happy chatty friends like us, there's no need to be concerned about awkward silences. These people are so adorably cute I can hardly stand it.
And the grill ran! The whole time! Even though I did actually forget to check and make sure there was gas in the tank.

The birthday peoples were happy, the adult guests were happy,

and thanks to our landlord's bouncy house - the Kiddos were happy! 

Bouncy houses do have a tendency to cause trouble, but they have a greater tendency to cause smiles. 

And static.

And Katie has a tendency to attract children and cause many giggles.

And for those kids who were waiting for a turn in the bouncy house, there's always the rock wall full of lizards to provide endless hours of entertainment. 

I didn't realize this until recently, but my neighbors do not have the lizard colonies that we do. Isn't that strange? There are many rocky walls in my neighborhood, but they all say they're relatively lizard free. 

We love the little guys! There is not one spider to be seen in the whole rock wall that borders our long yard. It's the best, man. 

Oh, and there was a brief sighting of J. J. Coolness.
Until the little guy stole his sunglasses back from her, giving her that "you're odd" look.

Oh, and because Caleb doesn't eat cake,

I have to get creative. Last year it was oreos, this year it was watermelon.

And honestly, this was one of the best tasting birthday cakes I've eaten. I've never been so refreshed after eating cake!

So, like I said, thanks to the fact that people are happy and generous and friendly, back yard barbecues are not so scary after all. 

In fact, they're pretty fun.

Although, Caleb's last comment before collapsing into bed that night was
"That was really fun, thank you Jayne. Let's not do it again for a few years."

Bless his 30 year old heart:)

Stop it already.

There have been moments in my Motherhood when it's been obvious to me that my kids were getting older. 

Now, my kids are still very little. I'm not packing their bags and booking our second honeymoon yet, I'm just saying that even little kids get bigger. 

Milestones! That's what I'm talking about! Milestones!

Like when Claire learned to pull on her pants all by herself.

Like when Jonah yelled from the bathroom "I can reach the TAP!"

Like when Emmy lost her first tooth. 

And when she learned to ride a two wheeler!
Caleb had to teach her. My girth and I couldn't keep up!

 Jonah's quite determined to keep up, as always, and we may be seeing some two wheeling from him later this summer.

 She's been riding around on our grass for a week or two, because we don't have anything smooth to ride on at our house. A few practice runs around my Mom's driveway, then a trip down to the church parking lot to seal the deal. It's official now!

 Speaking of determined to keep up. Although Claire prefers to push her "honey train" rather than ride on it. Whatever floats your boat, my dear!
Oh, and who knows about the name she gave her bike. That's just what she calls it!

 We also tried a little frisbee, with bike helmets for safety of course.
:)

 Then Claire put our safety measures to naught by riding the honey train down the hill.

Many times. Very fast.

So, like I was saying, my kids are getting bigger.

But not too big.