VdM Reunion Time

Jon sent the kids and I to Utah a week early so that we could enjoy the annual Van de Merwe Family Reunion at East Canyon... we L-O-V-E-D it! The kids were so entertained and the food was YuMMy-licious! Thanks Grandpa for taking us on our once in a lifetime HOT AIR BALLOON ride! Parker was scared to death, clinging to me for dear life and Abby was not quite sure about it but managed to smile and wave!

More pictures to come... I have to go get ready for my hot date tonight!

the Book of Mormon in the mind of a 3 year old

Yesterday Abby and I sat on the couch and looked at the pictures in the front of the Book of Mormon. She knew Jesus and Joseph Smith and then I told her who the rest of them were. When we got to the last one- Moroni, I explained that Moroni's daddy's name was Mormon, and this is his book- the Book of Mormon. I realize now I shouldn't have said it that way but she's 3!

So she said "Well, let's give it back to him." A few seconds later "...well, maybe we can share it."

Later that day she wanted to know when Jesus is coming to our house. What in the world do I say to that one? I just said "someday sweetie. someday."

...SO Happyyyyyy Togetherrrrrrrrr......

Brynn & Abby did not see each other for about 2 whole months May and June because of overlapping vacation. Obviously they survived, and listening to their little phone conversations was pretty cute... here are some pictures of how joyous their 'reunion' was this month...

And the boys apparently like each other now too! They're both at the age where they're learning how to share. As you can see they have many similar interests including baby dolls and buses!

We have been spoiled having the Wilsons so near us for this long (6+ years)... O the tears that will be shed when finally we go our separate ways next year :( sniff, sniff.

Bonnie

We started swim lessons at Bonnie's house last week. Parker cried the whole hour long for all 3 days. Then on Monday, I took him to a friend's pool and he loved it-- swam under water to the wall, jumped off the edge and swam to the steps, etc. He was in heaven. I thought perfect~ we'll just show Bonnie tomorrow that he's conquered his fear. So yesterday we showed up for swimming and the second he saw her white hat, the wailing and gnashing of teeth began all over again. O the torture my kids go through! At least he won't drown now.

Abby has been great. It's taken a few times in the pool to "remind" her that she knows how to swim without her tube. Over the past week she's gotten more and more comfortable going off the diving board and swimming on her own. She likes to pretend like I'm Bonnie and she asks me to give her a "lesson" when we're at other pools. So I don't hold back--she gets thrown in and dunked under... just what Bonnie would do!

let's play...

When I was growing up, we always played House... as do Abby & Parker. But yesterday Abby had a friend over and I heard her say "Do you want to play Garage Sale? C'mon! Let's go upstairs and play garage sale." About 10 minutes later she had every toy in the loft lined up in different piles :)

Happy Father's Day!

My Husband, Mr. Incredible...

WA-LA! This is what Jon has been spending the majority of his evenings doing for the past 4 weeks. Most of the time I'm speechless. I keep asking Jon, "How did you know how to do that?" And he says "I just thought about it." "But I don't understand. How did you know how to do that?" I reply... it's all a big mystery to me, with an incredible end result!

As you can see, Jon has been very stressed out at work. How can we tell? Well 'projects' are his "therapy" and he accomplished this masterpiece in record time, with incredible craftsmanship and professional flare! My Husband, My Hero, Mr. Incredible!

My Little Flower Girl

Abby got to be the Flower Girl in my friend Ashley's wedding, while we were in Cincinnati. After all the prepping and fuss over the dress, she did a phenomenal walk down the aisle! She walked slow, dropped a few pedals, and LOVED all the attention of 400 stranger eyes all on her! We had a fantastic time--thanks ashley for letting us be a part of your big day! You were beautiful!