We have one thin rose tree in the back yard, but it has been blooming continually since May. There are actually 5 buds on here now, despite the fact that we've had a few nights in the 30's lately! I never imagined it would bloom so long and so beautifully.

 And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing...They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellencey of our God.  Isaiah 35:1-2

We took this two weeks ago at the state fair. I am pretty certain that this is the first and only picture with all of us in it since Emily was born. She's 8 1/2 months old. Right after this pic, we got funnel cake, my whole reason for going to the fair in the first place. Mmmm, fried dough.....

Vertical

Emily, almost 8 months

Here is our August in pictures, with a few captions thrown in for good measure

In August we went to Grandpa's house in Tennessee. It was HOT, so we stayed inside a lot and hung out...

and ate ice cream...

and swam.

To mix it up a bit we went to the splash park - we don't have one of these at home yet!

We also got to meet up with a bloggy friend and her lovely family at this park - it was too enjoyable, I didn't want them to go!

Sometimes we played out of the water....

and we celebrated someone's birthday while we were there:

This picture could also be captioned: Why You Should Be Patient and Not Try to Frost Your Cake Before It Has Cooled. Anyway, how long do you think it will be till my kids are no longer happy with my poor attempts at birthday cakes? Still, I love that smile

I also went to the shooting range for the first time! Here's me (FIL said I did pretty good, but I think he was just being nice to me ):

And finally, since my mom asked, here's another recent picture of Emily:

I was trying to get her with her tongue sticking out, but every time she saw the flash, in it went.

And here is one for Auntie Caitlyn (how do you say Auntie in German? Anyone?)

No Texting at the table!

And, one more, just because he's So Darn Cute:

Ooo, This is my 100th post! How exciting. To celebrate, I'm posting some pictures.

Here's one I should have put with the last post, but I didn't:

She's really reading to them!

Here's one for my Mom:

I couldn't get him to put his hands down, to show the 'Lakers,' sorry.  

Here's one for fairness:

The smile, the eyes, they never fail to bring a smile to my heart. :) 

And last, but not least:

Doncha just want to kiss those lips and squeeze her little arms? I think I'll have to go do it now, so Good Night! 

"Potty. Potty."

"OK, do you want my help?."

"No, Me do. Me."

I'm not even allowed to turn on the light.

After the light you move the stool over to the toilet;

and lift the lid, 

and the seat,

and pull down your britches (ok Mama, I need a little help with that)

You didn't think I was really going to go there, did you? Well, I didn't. But buns are okay, right? Everyone loves baby buns. ETA: buns are apparently NOT ok, and we have removed the offending picture :)

Anyhow, at least he flushed AND put the seat back down. He'll make a fine husband someday. See how tolerant he is of a woman's whims: this face is clearly saying "I'm tired Mama; why are you taking pictures of me in the bathroom again?" And yet he went along with it like the sweetie he is...

What a big boy.

Ahh, spring. I suppose those of you who have always lived in climates with noticable season changes don't really think about it too much. I bet seasons come and seasons go with hardly a nod from you, except maybe to grab or shed your coat. I bet some of you even complain about your weather!

But I, I think it's lovely to have seasons that noticabely change. I spent my whole life in southern California, and there were but two seasons there: HOT, and slightly cooler ( I was inland folks, you know the desert?). Though I did spend several lovely years in the beach cities of Santa Barbara and Monterey, which were, like I said, lovely. Well, SB was, and if we were a six figure salary kind of family, I'd live there still, but I digress. But even lovely weather gets a little dull when it's. always. the. same. On a warm day in Monterey it was 72 degrees. A cool day was 66.  It was always partly cloudy, with a chance of drizzle. Always.

It is nice to have seasons to look forward too. It is hard to teach your kids about God's creation when the leaves don't change color and there is never any frost or ice or chance of snow. What do you mean birds come back in the spring and flowers bloom and bugs and other critters wake up? They've been here all along.  I know honey, but try to imagine they haven't...

So we planted some tulip bulbs. Some. I have discovered I am not one for gardening, though I do like to pull weeds, so go figure. We had 100 tulip bulbs (Costco, of course) and I planted maybe 30. BUT the important thing is that they are blooming - which may make them the first thing I have ever successfully planted. Though I suppose there is still plenty of time to kill them off. We saw the first flowers on Easter morning, and of course I pointed out the parable to the kids. It's all part of living and learning you know. There are many more flowers ready to open, and still more shoots poking through the **ahem** soil, but these are the ones we saw Sunday.

I totally **need** a new camera. Because I'm sure it's that, and not me.