Balloon Madness

I don't think I have ever written about Miguel's obsession (yes it really is that bad) with balloons. When he was little he would take helium balloons in our living room and watch them rise clear to the top of our vaulted ceilings. He then dangerously proceeded to stack stepstools on top of a swivel barstool and climbed on top to see if he could get the balloons all back down again. A friend once suggested we tie a longer ribbon or string to his balloons so that he could easily pull them back down. Miguel however didn't like this program, he rather liked cutting the strings off of the balloons and set them sailing as high as they could go. Part of the adventure was the recovery of the balloon itself. For years we have all pictured Miguel happily content selling balloons at a circus or better yet making balloon animals and creations of all kinds for delighted children everywhere. When he recently saw the trailer for the new Pixar movie "Up" he was excited to say the least. We realize that we may now have to be much more vigilant about watching Miguel who most likely will make a run for the roof top with a massive quantity of ballooons to tie to our house.

Catch me if you can

We were sitting in the office the other day... me preoccupied on the computer while my son Colton talked to me and Mimi twittered about chasing a pesky fly. Suddenly she comes over to us with an excited giggle saying, "I caught him!" I looked at this little tiny white box she was holding and had literally been trying to snap the fly up with. I thought no way. She's making this up, there is no way she could catch a fly in a box. However I decided to play along with her. As she grasped the box tightly in her little hands she asked, "Do you hear him?" I looked at her knowing smile and with my ear to the box said, "I can't hear him, are you sure he's really in there honey?" "Yeah" she said, "listen when I shake him." So I listened and watched , more interested now as I saw her excitement grow. Finally I begged her to show me the fly. Her smile was a mile wide as she cautiously lifted the lid to reveal none other than that pesky (now disoriented) fly sitting dazed in the bottom of her box! Wow, she's quick!

Mimi's first Soccer Team

Mimi kicked off this spring with her first ever soccer experience. She loved it so much and by the end was really playing her heart out , especially when she knew a trophy was involved. Her good friend Zoe and her sister Talia were on her team which made it even better.

A Visit from Someone Special

A couple of weeks ago, Miguel and Mikayla got to meet their half sister Payton, who is now 8 months old. She is a real doll and as you can see my older kids fell for her instantly.

Love pats for Colton.

She really liked Tayler.

About once a year we get to visit with the kids Aunt Judy and Uncle Mel. Their cousin Amanda and Aunt Theresa came this time too. It really has been a great blessing in our lives to have stayed in touch with part of Miguel and Mikayla's family, it means so much to them.

Amanda and Mimi.