Look who's Five

Sean turned five last week. We celebrated with a special swimming lunch with Daddy. He came home from work at lunch time for a few hours of swimming and cake and presents. Sean chose a Kelty concoction created in honor of his cousin, John. It had crushed chocolate chip cookies on the bottom, melted chocolate bar, chocolate ice cream, and more chocolate chip cookies. A few days later Grandma and Grandpa Army came for a birthday visit. I can't believe how big Sean is getting. He is looking forward to soccer and little leauge in the fall, as he is finally old enough! He is reading and adding and subtracting and ready for Kindergarden in the fall. He is getting to be a big "Max helper" and he loves to help me with chores around the house. Feeding the dog is the current chore he dislikes doing...all because of his sensitive little nose....he can't stand the smell of dog food. And as always, he keeps us laughing with all his funny "Sean-isms". We love him so.

Life's a Mess Here

School is out for the summer....(or until Mom needs the groove of a routine again). That will be difficult to come by as we have art camp, VBS, three sets of visiting relatives, and swimming lessons. We have messy projects around the house to attend to at the moment. A major overhaul of the school room is in order. I plan to paint the room, remove the current bookshelves and have someone build us open bookshelves on one wall. Then we have pantry and closet cleanouts, and closet/drawer cleanout in bedrooms. As always, there is never ending lawn work to do. Some bed need weekend and turning, the pond needs cleaned out, and Patrick as to take down about 10 trees. There is an ongoing debate on chickens and goats.....not sure I'm quite ready for that.

And then there is Max. He is a feisty little guy. Always in the middle of the action, and when I can't find him he is creating action all his own. I have thought about washing down all the walls, but it overwhelms me. Not Max! That is what I found him doing one afternoon when it was just too quiet. And then I have my own great ideas....like my mud pie station on the front porch. How fun! Mud pies! It is a lesson on "letting go" for me as I like a neat tidy house...all the time. The big kids liked the idea enough. Max loved it. He received three baths that day and my kitchen door was washed twice.