Random

Sweet hugs on the front steps before Ezekiel's first day of Kindergarten. He's already been in school for 4 weeks and is doing really well. We're on the countdown to his first break which means we get to go to the beach with our family!!!

The sillies! Damaris and Didi doing what they do best- playing and loving on each other.

Mama and Maris. Not the best pic of me but I think Maris looks so sweet. She is so full of life and such a talker. And SUCH a girl. I never thought I would have a prissy, little girl who loves shoes, clothes, and makeup, but I LOVE her!

Newbies

This post is about all things "new." In early August we enjoyed participating in our friends adoption fundraiser. Some of our closest friends are adopting a baby girl from Asia and we were able to be part of bringing their "new" baby home. Our kids played lots of games, which cost a quarter, to help raise money for the "new" baby. Here is a picture of Damaris playing a chopsticks games. You had to grab a marshmallow with your chopstick and carry it to another bowl without dropping it. Damaris liked doing this since we try to use chopsticks when we eat rice at home.

In addition to playing games at the adoption fundraiser there was also a silent auction. Below is a picture of what we won. A brand "new" Chinese outfit handmade by the very talented Betsy Treece. Damaris loves it and she looks adorable in it. Oh and it's pink too. We also won one for Didi but he's not big enough for it yet.

And lastly a "new" room. Here are the kiddos on Damaris' very big girl bed. We picked out some girly pink and green colors and a quilt that was on sale at Target. Viola...a new room in a weekend. Now she has her own room and the boys bunk together. This pic is missing the chair railing Tim made for it. It's such a fun girlie room now, but honestly she really misses staying with her brothers. She asks if she can sleep in the room with them some times. Who wouldn't want to bunk their cool brothers.

Family Reunion

This July we had the chance to spend the weekend in the mountains of NC. We were excited about seeing our extended family during the Johnson Family Reunion. We had talked about this trip for quite a while with the kids, preparing them for the boat ride down the cold, mountain river, and sleeping outside in the tents and the barn. July in Raleigh was incredibly hot and we were really looking forward to a little reprieve in the mountains. Little did we know how much of a reprieve we would get.

It was unseasonable cool during our time in the mountains. Even still, we put our bathing suits on and tried to brave the cold, mountain water and now cold, mountain air. I was really surprised how much our kids enjoyed playing in the river even though it felt like we were walking around in a tub of ice water. The outside temp was 61 degrees when we went down to the river. Compare that to the 102+ degree temps we had been having in Raleigh. I think we would have played longer in the river if the kids lips and finger hadn't been turning blue. They were having a great time.

Nana came with us to the mountains. I love this picture of her and Damaris under the umbrella. In addition to the temperature being in the low 60's, it was also raining.

Didi didn't brave the water except maybe to put his toes in it. Instead he played with everyone else's fishing poles. I love this pic of him. I think it shows his personality well. He is such a little ham and keeps me laughing a lot.

The brave ones!

Here are Damaris and Ezekiel sporting their lifejackets that Uncle Lynn got them. The water was freezing but they didn't want to get out.

We all had a great time visiting with our family. Our kids kept talking about Uncle Lynn and Aunt Ruth and playing with their dogs. We always enjoy being able to spend time with our family in the mountains.