Time for some catch up!

Summer has been flying by! I spent a month in Utah and have gotten even further behind on the old blog. Here we go!

Mother's Day...
I can't think of anything in life that I have done or could do that is more rewarding that being a mom. My kiddos drive me absolutely crazy but I love them more than anything in this world. Miss Emma is a little sweetheart and lets me know each day how much she loves me. We call her the Kissy Monster because she loves to give kisses...over...and over....and over! That takes us back to the driving me crazy part. :) She is such a good big sister and is such a big help with the little monster. I can't believe that she has been in our lives for 5 years now...yet I don't really remember life without her. She is very smart and very creative. She loves to tie things together and we find traps all over the house.
Levi likes to go go go! He is so busy and is such a boy. He is starting to snuggle lots more and loves to come and hug me during the day. The other day he hugged Emma and she was so excited that he hugged her "the way big kids do it!" These little people keep me so busy but I can't imagine anything I would rather be doing with my time.
Emma and Ike picked out a beautiful planter for me to put on our back steps. Ike also had the kids make these super cute cards for me. It was so funny because at the crawfish boil Levi kept dipping his hand in ketchup and anything else he could get his hands on and making hand prints. I guess he liked making the cards. :) The one picture that Emma is holding up says "Emma's favorite thing to do with Mommy" and it is a picture of a slide. I felt very loved this Mother's Day and am so happy to be a mom.



After Mother's Day my good friend Candace came and stayed the night at our house. She used to live in Ray and recently moved to Minot. She had been involved in the community choir, band and orchestra here. She has a major in music and is very talented. She plays the french horn in the orchestra but also plays the piano and guitar. I think she might also play some other instruments but I can't remember. She is amazing is all I know. I am sad that she moved because she was going to give Emma piano lessons and we were putting together a kids music time. Oh well.
We were able to go to her orchestra concert and I helped her do her hair. It was so fun to have her stay with us...I really miss her. Levi loved the concert! Only problem is he wanted to be really close to listen. That kids loves music more than anyone I know. When we were at church in Corinne there was a musical number and he bolted out of the overflow room where we were sitting so that he could see where the music was coming from. He likes to dance to every commercial with music and all his musical toys. He also really likes to lead the music at church. He is a funny boy. We enjoyed the concert despite having to chase around the little monster. This top picture is Levi conducting the audience. It was way cute...but I bet some people were annoyed. Such is life. :)