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Good Morning Glories! I hope that each of you are loving the summertime with your babies and your grand babies! We spent one week in VBS (Miss Pearl attended for the first time!) and one week of gymnastics/swimming camp. The rest of the time they have spent moments of their precious childhood in the back yard arguing over who gets to hold the water hose and who gets to fill up the tacky baby pool. 

Fabulous. 

I'm not sure what I am going to do with my cherubs for the rest of the summer. It has been a little difficult to find a camp where at least two can attend and be dropped off and picked up at the same time! Otherwise Mama and Ashton spend the entire day in the car. Much like the school year! So I am trying to avoid that if at all possible.


And in case I haven't mentioned it here before. It is incredibly difficult to spend the mornings and afternoons in the car when your son has a bit of an affection for a certain item. While most children grow attached to their beloved blankies and stuffed animals, my sweet baby boy is terribly attached to his.........

Bumper Pads.

 I cannot begin to tell you of the dramatic exits we have made out of this house with those bumper pads. And he doesn't want to hold a small piece of the bumper pad or simply one end of the bumper pad but he wants the entire thing wrapped around him several times like one giant feather boa. It is hysterical.

If I opt NOT to allow the bumper pads to travel with us.....well, you have never in your life seen such a fit. It is horrible. Really. This is a first for me. But I can't say that I blame him. They are made out of the softest white linen........

Please Lord. That's all I can say. I hope you are laughing with real tears right now. Because I do every single time we have to go somewhere. He hugs them. Kisses them. Smells them. And buries his face in them and giggles out loud.  It is really something......



Speaking of the school year. We somehow survived the end of the school year extravaganzas for two children at two different schools. I am so thankful for all of the joyful celebrations but I am relieved to see the end of it. It has been the longest school year without Daddy home every night. We are hoping to all be together by the time September gets started! 

Bennett's end of the year play "Noah's Ark" He was a member of the wolf pack...

Grandparents and Special Friends Day at Bella Grace's school

She invited her very hip big sister and Daddy of course.....

Sharing her journal entries...

She had her name chosen out of a hat to dance with her Daddy ...

Lucky Girl....

This is her "all about me" star that she made at the beginning of the year. 

 It was the only one with streamers of pink tulle.............giggles.

I am so grateful for a bit of a break from the rush, rush, rush of a school day morning. It has been so nice not to have to run around searching for Bella Grace's glasses at the last minute. Yes, my precious daughter tends to enjoy creating her own tablescapes, mini floor moves and occassionally adding her own creative touches around the house. Like this for example. Gracious dear. I never thought to look in the topiaries for your eyeglasses......

Love it. This is classic.

So in an effort to entertain my babies we have spent some time at the park every morning where we have attempted to go on a walk. Which immediately turned into a nature/science project complete with the use of every piece of my tupperware as bug boxes. On one exploration Grace found a lizard and everyone begged to bring him home with us.

Yes. I allowed them to.

And yes. They were beyond excited.

And yes. 

Someone who shall remain nameless decided to "just check on him" in the car ride on the way home. 

And yes. 

He escaped. 

In the car. 

While I was driving.

And yes. I almost had a heart attack. Right there with all of my children in the car with me.

And yes. There may have been screams so loud that the entire neighborhood heard us.

And yes. Ashton managed to sleep through the entire thing.

And yes I had to pull the car over and take everything out of the car and pray for all of Heaven to supernaturally deliver me from my "just trying to be a good Mom decision." And yes. I had to ask someone else's yard guys to please assist in the deliverance. No he was not successful. But suggested that I hurry home and just leave all four doors open and "more than likely he would just get out on his own." I hurried home alright. With a lizard loose in my car......

Big Sister was mortified by about the entire situation. It was just too much for her. :)

 I then decided that I needed to know that he was definitely gone. As it turns out I'm not much of a "more than likely" type of girl. I'm more of a definite type of girl. And the only lizard removal tool I had around the house were my Williams and Sonoma salad tongs.  

Have you ever tried to catch a lizard with a pair of salad tongs? Well. A Mother has to do what a Mother has to do. And I was a desperate woman. Don't judge me.  It didn't work. Turns out he was too slippery. 

And yes to this very day  I may still be driving around with a lizard in my car.......

In other news and not without an outpouring of His immeasurable grace we managed the biggest hurdle we have had in a while. I just survived almost one month to the day completely solo. Mr. Pearls and Grace has been away for a month. Let's just say that the airport pickup last Thursday evening was a bit of a scene.  I'll let the pictures do the talking...........