The Way I View - Summer Life

Well, really, the way I view summer life has been very different than the reality of summer life this year.  But the other day we took a break from packing boxes and spent some time out in the yard playing.

It was a much needed break, but it was also very bittersweet for me.  We will be moving in a few weeks, so we're coming down to our last few days of goofing off in our yard.  I know the move will be great for us, but we just love this home so much.  And considering how much we have to pack and clean, I realized, this may be the last time I get photos of the kids and Bart goofing off in this yard.  I loved it, but it also made me a bit sad.  Change may be for the best some times, but it's always hard.  :)

Anyway, these pictures are really how I view Summer Life...Bart off for the summer playing in the yard on warm summer evenings.  Even if it's not very representative of our summer this year, this is how I want to remember summers in this house.







Lilly was very nervous about the ball being thrown/kicked around.


Dad made sure she got in on the fun though.


Really I think she was just sad that I blocked off her playhouse.  (There are a TON of spiders in it and I decided it was no longer safe to play in until someone (cough cough...Bart) got in there and got rid of them). 

After I took that picture she literally tried to climb in the window.  I wish I had caught a picture of her feet hanging out of the window, but I was too busy keeping her from falling on her head.  Girl loves her playhouse!

After that she decided to sit on the porch and talk on the phone.  I'm pretty sure she was reporting all the shenanigans to grandma.

 







Bart started this game with the girls where they'd run away from him and he'd kick the ball at them...AS HARD AS HE COULD.  He sure knows how to stress this mama out.  And how to get these girls to giggle and laugh like none other.  (Out of focus, I know, but totally worth it.) :)



Yep, this is exactly how I want to remember summer life in this home.



Check back in a few days for a link to some other lovely posts about summer life.  :)

The Way I View - Fatherhood

Good grief, how is it July already?  Well, I'm not going to lie, my plans for my Fatherhood posts turned out much like my plans for my Motherhood post.  Except I didn't realize I hadn't fulfilled my plans until...well...today...which was a bit too late for the month of June.

Fortunately, Bart is out of school for the summer, so we've been doing lots of stuff as a family, so I had lots of pictures of him.  There are some definite benefits to being a school teacher.   :)

We started off the month visiting the Children's Art's Festival in Springville.  And honestly, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have planned on pictures that are more illustrative of the special bond Bart has with our girls than these. THIS is their thing.  This is what they do together.  What they bond over.  Bart is an art teacher, and the girls absolutely LOVE it when he does any type of art with them.  And I KNOW that the feeling is mutual.

I was horrified when we got to the art's festival and realized I had left my camera at home.  Fortunately Bart had his iPhone, so all was not lost and I was able to capture the day with that. 

Just like Motherhood is not all fun and games, neither is Fatherhood.  This month we had to replace part of our fence that had blown down in a windstorm.  It had blown down a while ago, but Bart had absolutely no time to work on it because he was trying desperately to finish his Master's degree.  Technically at this point he wasn't done, but he had submitted it and was waiting for a response from the Dean, so he thought he'd take the day he had to put up the fence. 

In the process of digging the holes for the posts, he realized that the roots of a dead tree were right in the way, so pulling down the dead tree moved from relatively low on his to do list to first priority. 

Unfortunately, pulling out the tree wound up breaking EVERY SINGLE sprinkler connected to the sprinkler box right next  to the tree.  So fixing that was added to his to do list that day. 

It was a long (although quite productive) day.  He NEVER would have been able to do it all without the help (and positive attitude) of our good friend.  Seriously Jake, I'm pretty sure we owe you for the rest of our lives!  Thank you!

Fortunately, the good things tend to outweigh the...trying things.  Ice Cream with the girls.  AWESOME. (Don't worry, that's face paint on Hannah's face, not some sort of crazy scratch.)

And going to the older girls' performances, and seeing them dance and sing and have a great time...a total perk of fatherhood.

Even if life isn't always sunshine and roses, I sure am grateful I'm going through it with this guy.  And I'm so grateful he's my girls' dad.  They are so lucky to have a father who loves and adores them so much.  I love you babe!

Head on over to Candace's blog to see her take on fatherhood (I promise it'll make you smile). ;)