bye bye puddle jumper

Hannah's been taking swim lessons this week. I am not allowed to watch (which is a good thing), but yesterday when I went to pick her up she wanted to show me what she's learned. Oh, and her name is Ariel in the pool. Call her Hannah and you might get reprimanded. {Her friend, Katie, was Cinderella but yesterday became Ariel too.}

That's right y'all - no more floatie for this girl. I was excited on the first day when Mrs. Brownie said she didn't need her puddle jumper (floatation thingie that fastens around her chest and has arm holes). Well, I don't want to go back so we're sticking with it. Obviously she is no super swimmer yet, but hopefully we'll make major strides this summer. We know she's ready.

Joseph was hot from a long stroller ride, so Mrs. Brownie let him get in the pool. Don't think she realized that once he got in, it would be hard to get him out. This kid loves the water.

They were made to swim. I am so thankful for these little water babies.

mobile uploads and a visit from gran gran

Since the last edition of mobile/iPad uploads, we've been busy kick-starting the summer.

Went to a couple birthday parties for friends, Frank (1) and Kessler and McFerrin (3). Picture quality is bad, but fun was had by all.

Waiting (impatiently) for Daddy after church one Sunday {Hannah's actually blowing a whistle and yelling. Joseph yelled more calmly.}:

Dressed in patriotic attire for church on Memorial Day weekend:

Lunch with friends Elizabeth and Jane, and their mom, Jennifer. We love Subway and lunch dates!

Later that day we had a bit of a behavior problem and a certain little girl landed in timeout and fell asleep.

Last week Gran Gran came to visit.

Hannah had Gran Gran busy the whole time - playing dress-up, doctor, house, coloring, painting, reading, you name it. I'm not sure who was more tired on her departure! It was a great visit and we can't wait to do it again (hint, hint GG!).

Yesterday we met Aunt Karen and Uncle John for dinner. They are dear friends of ours and Hannah's godparents. We miss them so much.

It's been a busy and HOT June!

{The last two mornings it's been 90 degrees before 10 o'clock!}

sea island

The week of Memorial Day, we joined friends for a few days of fun in the sun (with lots of sunscreen). Other than a couple meals a little too late for Joseph (and once we moved Hannah to a nice, fluffy pallet on the floor after the first night of her sleeping between us), it went pretty well. The weather was gorgeous the whole time and the kids had a ball playing in the water.

Joseph especially liked the fountains on the side of the pool. He quickly realized his hat would make a great bucket, so he filled it up, dumped it, and filled it up again...

...and again. Pretty much the whole time we spent at the pool. Everyday.

Hannah had a great time swimming around in her floatie, playing with Annabeth (and the many new friends she met in the pool) and jumping to Daddy.

Practicing her kick...

Taking turns with Momma's sunglasses...

And, for whatever reason, Joseph spent a lot of his time rubbing his eye. I think below he actually had sand it in. I took him to the bathroom and flushed his eye out. But the rubbing continued even after the beach.

The only family picture taken:

More rubbing...see what I mean? Maybe it was sunscreen. Maybe it was the sun...who knows.

Henry going after Hannah with a bucket of water.

Joseph took naps as I pushed him around in the stroller.

Resisting a pool-side diaper change. Can you say rehearsal dinner picture?

One of my favorite memories from our trip is when I pushed a sleeping Joseph in the stroller down the beach, and climbed on the jetty. I sat on that concrete wall for an hour as he slept, staring out at the water, watching the waves come in.

Mostly, I talked to God. I always feel so close to Him when I can get alone and spend time in nature, witnessing His awesome creation. Somehow I feel like my problems and worries are put into perspective. I feel calm and unhurried. I sense His presence and power and feel completely at ease. He knows me inside and out. I don't have to over-think; I can just cast my cares on Him and praise Him. It was a nice time of reflection and prayer, and exactly what I needed. I wanted to remember it, so I took these pictures with my phone.

We spent one more afternoon by the pool.

And then it was time to pack up. Hannah was not ready to go.

The end of a vacation is always sad, isn't it though? It was a nice trip. We were thankful for the invitation to get away and are grateful to have kind friends.

little painter

We gave Hannah an easel for her third birthday, like nine months ago. She's played with the chalkboard side for a while, but just recently became interested in painting. Part of that's probably because I haven't really encouraged it. {It's kind of a messy activity, ya know...especially with a two-year-old boy hanging around.} But the past few days during Joseph's naptime, I've gotten the brushes out and watched my little artist in action...

We've painted a little together. Yesterday, this was our masterpiece:

...our own Starry Night. {Vincent van Gogh painted his version while in an asylum. While our house can feel that way at times, this was painted in the playroom.}

So, do we have a little van Gogh on our hands? Or a Pollock, Picasso, Matisse, or Cezanne? Maybe many years from now people will be talking about an artist named Hannah Buck...

my favorite runners

As you likely know, Hannah occasionally joins Joe at the end of his run for a cool-down. This morning I got her ready and, as soon as she saw him coming up the street, she busted out the front door, dressed in her new running clothes (from Meme). I watched as she ran off with her daddy. I didn't even have time to take a picture of their backs. But I did get this one of Joseph who came out of the house to watch with me:

...And then I got the runners as they came back downhill.

Look at that stride! Need to start training for her first race...

Happy Saturday!