April 30th - July 2nd, 2016

Hello Friends and Family,

Summer is here! Ah, the relaxation that comes in knowing that it's totally okay if we don't open a single book today. :) Although, my first thought on our first day on summer break was, "Okay, now what do we do with our day?" Thankfully, it hasn't taken long to fill up our time with fun activities and playdates with friends that we otherwise don't have time for during the school year. 

Here's a little of what we've been up to...

Blake and Seth participated in their first Field Day in May. There were close to TWO HUNDRED homeschool kids from our county that gathered to compete in races, games, and team exercises. The boys loved it and said their favorite was the long distance (about 1/4 mi ) run.  :)

Blake about to cross the finish line!

Liza and I sitting and watching. Doesn't she look all grown up (in a miniature sort of way) sitting next to me? hehe

Towards the end of May we participated in a walk in Winston Salem to raise awareness for Huntington's Disease. One of Micah's co-workers was recently diagnosed so we went to show our support. 

Had a lovely visit with "Big Nana", Micah's Grandmother, while in Winston. 

Love these lazy summer days at home!

Here is our garden soon after we got our planting in. It's always fun to see a newly planted garden before all the weeds and bugs do their damage. :)

Blue Belle is in hog heaven around here. Lots of attention and romps around the yard. She is so laid-back (as you can see) that we can often let her out to run around and she doesn't try to run away. She's a little on the chunky side anyway, so even if she did try to run we wouldn't have trouble catching her. Hutch to 5K ?

Visited a lake and walking track where the boys discovered a huge tree that simply must be conquered! And despite how the picture looks, Liza's stroller is not positioned under the tree, incase you were wondering. :)

Micah and I celebrated our EIGHTH anniversary in May! Are we supposed to feel like grown-ups yet?

We discovered that a town just 15 minutes away has a huge train collection and is open to the public once a month through the summer. Pops, you would love this place! They have about 5 trains running on the tracks at the same time and all sorts of scenes set up. 

Someone is just a LITTLE excited about his Frosty from Wendy's   :)

Liza has been getting a steady stream of hand-me-down girl toys and our ratio of pink to blue in the house is starting to take a dramatic swing. Liza is walking like a pro now and loves to babble all the time. She reminds me of Blake when he was her age. I think she's going to be a talker! 

Our first attempted pig tails. :) 

Liza's First Birthday!

She had never had cake or bread before, so she didn't quite know what to do with her birthday cake. 

Getting a little worried now...

Liza LOVES flowers in the yard. She never sees a dandelion that she will pass up while toddling through the yard and often stop and plop down next to one to pick it (and then usually eat it). 

Blake and Seth with Micah's youngest sister, Susanna, at a play she was in about Esther. Blake was excited about getting to finally go with Dad and Mom on a "date". 

Softball season is almost over and the boys will be so sad. Here is Owen with one of his favorite playmates. After this they will probably resume their normal softball game past-time of sitting in the dirt and gravel making large mounds to then destroy. 

One year old measuring time!

Grandma Ensmenger surprised Owen with a Captain America Mask the other day and as you can see, his life is now complete. :) And yes, Superman is still making an appearance around here on a daily basis. 

Waiting for Uncle Jesse's wedding to begin!

Owen was asked to be the ring-bearer so we've been prepping him for MONTHS about what he needs to do and where to walk, etc.. In the few weeks leading up to the wedding we were working through some intense "terrible two's" episodes on a daily basis, so we had some doubts about how the wedding day would go. His favorite thing is chewing gum, so that was to be his prize if he walked down the isle without incident. 

Owen makes it to the front without trouble! This is him eating his precious reward of a stick of gum that Uncle Judah slipped from his pocket. Whew, I have to admit that I breathed a sigh of relief when he made it there. We've been talking about that stick of gum a long time! :)

Liza's ready for her post-wedding nap!

Had a blast spending time with Aunt Hannah and Uncle Isaiah (Noah's brother) while they were here for the wedding. 

Liza's current favorite activity. She likes to stand up in the drawer and hold the front while she bounces up and down. Not sure how long the drawer is going to last. 

Bible time cuddles :)

We went to the Raleigh Museum of Natural Sciences last weekend and between the potty breaks, snack breaks, diaper change breaks, lunch break, and hand-washing breaks every ten minutes or so, we had a great time. :)  It will be fun to go back when the boys get a little older and can understand more of the science behind the exhibits. 

There was a special exhibit on early American settlers. It was really cool! Strange there was not a single mention of the Mayflower, the Pilgrims or the fact that they came to America to flee persecution in England. Apparently, the settlers founding Jamestown "were there purely in search of gold". Sigh...

Liza got to attend her first Princess Birthday party for a friend turning three. She didn't quite know what was going on, but she loved the little fairy wand and huge mirrors. Moms and Pops, I was glad she had another excuse to wear the adorable dress you gave her. :)

Liza has discovered that there are blackberries ripening on the vines in the backyard. Yesterday she walked all the way from the sandbox to the vines by herself and started trying to pull them off. After a minute, she gave up trying to pick them off and leaned over to eat them directly off the vine with her mouth! LOL, so cute!

Here is our garden now. Yes, some of the plants are bigger, but some are smaller than the first picture. We went out one morning to find that the deer had mowed down almost everything in one night! They even ate the baby cantaloupe. Sigh... At least we have some healthy looking sunflowers... 

Funnies...

Owen "Seth can you pleeease come and play wiff me in da garage?" Seth- "No, I can't. You can go play by yourself." Owen- "I don't wanna go play with me!"

Better run! Hope you all are going well! 

Sincerely, 

The Foxes