Silly sock monster

The sock monster appears at our house again...this time without any warning and without any help!

Plant

We got a potted pant from Grandpa Hemingway's funeral...but it came in a basket. To make it more permanent and give it drainage we transplanted it into a pot. Elsie had a fun time helping with this and as you can see we made quite the mess and should have done it outside! I am happy to report the plant is growing very well and is healthy.

Raspberries

Yummy! In the summer we go to the farmers market in town and get fresh food each week. Elsie's favorite thing to get it raspberries. Here she demonstrates a fun way to eat them.

Swimming lessons 2011

I put Elsie in swimming lessons again this summer for just under two weeks. It was a fun time and she got more comfortable with the water so that was good. But the recreation center does not have the man power to really focus on each kid and teach them to swim. Next summer I hope to go to a local lady who does a better job of teaching them to swim. Elsie still had a lot of fun and was close to jumping off the diving board by herself but would not go down the big slide alone as last years try still has her scared.

Free summer concert

We made it to one free concert this summer. It was a folk/bluegrass festival but we had to leave when the real good stuff was starting because it was time to get Elsie home to bed. Maybe next year we will get a baby sitter so we can hang out more? Here is the proof that we were there.

My little pirate

Elsie got to go to a cousins birthday party this summer and he had a pirate theme. So she came home with a lot of fun things to help her dress as a pirate. She was really getting into the part too.

A puppet show

This summer we were lucky enough to go to a local puppet show. Elsie's first I believe. It was fun and to top off how awesome it was Elsie got to go up and be pinky in where is Thumbkin. She was not shy at all and spoke right into the microphone when it was her turn. I can't recall what she was supposed to say maybe "pinky" or "little finger" or something. I think she liked it though.

A visit from friends

Here are a few cute shots of Elsie and one of her little friends who was visiting from another state. She loved seeing her friend and I had a great time catching up with her mom too. It is amazing how fast they grow! This particular friend has been gone for quite a while so that when I saw she could talk really well it surprised me because she could not when she had moved. Silly me she grew up and her speech improved of course!

Parade

We got to be in a parade! It was for a church float and Elsie was so excited to do it so I could not say no even though it meant getting out of the house early on a Saturday. It was fun and there was a fair afterwards to do lots of great things at. We did not get any good photos of the event but we were there and it was fun!

A Sunday afternoon drive

Sometimes on Sundays we go for a drive. This is just one of those days from this summer. It was a beautiful but windy day. And what better place to visit then the temple. Elsie was not being very good about taking pictures though...oh well I guess you can't expect too much from a four year old.

Fun with the tunnel

Elsie has stopped wanting to pose very much so I just have to catch her when she is not ready. One morning in July she was just playing with the tunnel and I was able to get a few fun shots.

Preschool work

I try to pick up workbooks and other school oriented things so we can practice our letter, numbers and other skills. I found this hand held white board with lines for writing on it at the Target dollar bins (where I get a lot of school things). I wrote Elsie's full name out with dotted lines and then had her trace over them. I am not sure if this is the best way to teach her but we are working on letters other ways too. I was quite impressed with her ability to trace the letters. We don't get to these that often but I want to keep it up as she is doing Spanish preschool again this fall so I will need to fill in the gaps for the English side of things.

Sprinklers

You might think I am crazy but I let my daughter go out in the sprinklers early in the morning before it got hot for the day. She wanted to see see them and since it was cold out she wanted to put on her jacket. I don't think I realized at the time that she was going to go in them but as she got closer I did not stop her. I just wanted to see what happened. It was quite funny looking as you can see but she had fun and did not get sick so I guess it was ok.

Chocolate?

Our trip to Texas

Elsie and I went to Texas this summer over the July Fourth holiday. We have several friends down there who we got to visit. I did not get any pictures of our friends in Austin but they sure where fun to visit with. They brought us to a great BBQ place and then showed us the bats at twilight leaving there cave or underpass whatever you want to call it. It was so cool there were so many of them that you could see a black line ribboning though the air far into the distance. The noise was neat too as the high pitched noises they make all blended together.

We did get some pictures of Lehilina her girls and Mandy. The high lights include going shopping for crafts, making crafts, getting a pedicure, going on base and climbing on top of a tank, making sugar cookies, hanging out with friends and keeping Elsie in line. Most of the crafts we made were for our absent friend from college Kharin who was about to have a baby. We made her a baby shower in a box. It was a fun trip even if it was burning hot outside!

Water anyone?

We had a ward party at a local park at the end of June. Elsie was very excited to get sprayed by the fire truck. After the firemen turned off the hose the kids all got cups and started chasing each other with water. Elsie picked up on this very fast and chose Will as her target. I think she got him a little bit but he was pretty quick.