At the pool

Nora is more comfortable in the water every day. Today she got even the top of her head wet. Liisa came with us to the pool and played with the kids before the lesson started.Henry has been walking around the wading pool while Nora's class is in the big pool. Today he brought a boat that he filled with water and drove around the edge. He also did quite a bit of scooping water out of the pool with it.

Friends

Ilse, Lydia, and Helena enjoy a little social time before Bible study begins.

Swimming School

Want cooler weather? Schedule swim lessons. There are 4 other little girls (including her friend Jill) in Nora's beginning swim class. Nora doesn't really like getting her face wet but she is taking it in stride and still having fun. Here they are pretending to be dogs as they make their way across the wading pool. Nora suggested they be lions when it was her turn.

Summer days

We are having a pleasant summer. The kids finished the local library's summer reading program and picked out their free books. We've been meeting friends at the park and playing in the water. It is too hot to do much baking, but we did try making pretzels. Nora and Henry did the shaping and applied the egg wash.
Tea with breakfast.Mark put up my new clothesline last week. It has more than twice the space of the old one, so I can fit two loads on it. And by the time I've washed a third load, the first is dry!

Another talker

The almost-5-month-old is rolling over, grabbing things and likes to play with her feet.

Happy Independence Day!

Helena wore this outfit of Mark's last Sunday. I took a few pictures of her and everyone else wanted to have their picture taken too.