ice cream fun

Camille was all packed to go for ice cream. Have we taken them THAT infrequently, that she thinks there is packing involved? Or is she just wierd? Sonja K. is NOT supposed to drive this tractor anymore, it is on it's last leg, or wheel. We got it for Benjamin when he was two, nineteen years ago.

Charlotte Claire

Suzanne finishing up her cone.

Charlotte Claire chose cotton candy flavored ice cream because it was pink...I chose to help her catch the drips because it was GOOD!

Jonathan had mint chocolate chip.

Another cotton candy girl, Sonja K.

Is there anything more maddening than going for ice cream with someone who didn't get any? Mr. Paul eats very healthily these days.....so he just went along for the ride, and to pay.

Evelyn Joy...

Suze with Camille....

Jonathan and Charlotte Claire...and all the free chocolate milks. One per customer, Customer Appreciation Day. We brought them home and gave them to them with their dinner.

Charlotte Claire...too bad there is a lady's backside in the background. I do not know how to edit things out. Oh well...this was cute anyway.

Suze with Camille

Evelyn and Camille, all ready to go home from the ice cream place....

I don't know why I like this picture....maybe someday we will marvel at how cheap gas is now?

Sonja K., coloring in bed. My girls can write entire stories with just light from the bathroom across the hallway from their room.

This is our dollhouse tractor. The steering wheel really turns the front wheel, which is just IT for Jonathan. We have had this since Ben was little too, actually we got it for Emily over twenty years ago. Toys just ain't made like they used to be.

After our ice cream outing, (yes, I had one. Even though Paul didn't. I WANTED to nevermind and not have one, just enjoy the kids enjoying theirs...but I saw the mint chocolate chip....oh well. I look lovely eating ice cream, too. I am just the cover girl for why one should NOT have ice cream...but it sure was good) anyway, we got home and went in the pool AGAIN. It isn't just bliss, going in the pool with the little kids. Suze will splash Evelyn, and Evelyn will yell at Suze, then one of them will jump in and moon everyone.....and then there are the Ladder Wars. Charlotte Claire is at home on the ladder, and when Jon wants to take a break because the water is very deep for him and he doesn't wear a floatie this year, he has to have it out with her. He also likes to use one of the inflatable rings, and there always seems to be one less ring than there is child. And then there is the ONE floating lounge, which has been worth it's seven dollars many times over, but oh my goodness does it cause trouble sometimes. I must admit, it is fun getting in on tipping someone over....

Then we cooked some coneys (spicy white hot dogs, snappy grillers) on the grill, and had pasta salad. They had so much energy still, I don't know why, but the two little ones were going wild. I sighed a sigh of relief when I tucked them in...even though I love them to pieces. I just plain get tired at night.....

Today when we were driving to the ice cream place, I was thinking about my kids. I hope they know how much I love them, despite how much I can WITCH at them, with a capital B, for important things like leaving their shoes all over and leaving cups in the living room, and empty ice cube trays and leaving the cheese open.....I am still in so much need of patience. I have been encouraging the younger kids to get along better, to stop and think before they speak, to be more patient and forgiving, to really work on being nice...so we can have a peaceful home. When I tell them these things, I am fully aware that I need to work on things myself, too. Don't get me wrong, it isn't utter chaos here....but there are times...yes, there are times....