Summer in Pictures

This summer has so been jam packed full of travel and the heat has been so bad that we haven't done much around here other than stay inside - nothing really picture worthy. I have another post of pictures that I'll post soon from our trip to Florida and South Carolina to see family that we took in June, For now I will share these so that our friends and family can see what we've been up to this summer. 

***Warning *** 

There are a lot of pictures in this post and none of them have been edited. I'm just glad I actually remembered to post them! This may only interest the grandmothers and Aunt Kate.

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Playing  in the fountain near our house:

We finally painted the brick on the front porch (started the project a year ago).

I love our flowers in the late spring/early summer:

Rebekah played in the yard while we painted. It's great to have a child old enough to not need complete supervision all of the time and be able to accomplish a project.

We celebrated Memorial Day by having a cookout with friends at the park:

Rebekah loves these girls! Anna (in pink) and Lydia (in blue) taught Rebekah how to "play mommy", which is now her new favorite past time. Rebekah is always the mommy and I am assigned the role of either the brother or baby. I'd like a new role once in a while.

Our first gum in the hair experience:

Rebekah was getting ready for bed and going to the bathroom. Sam asked Rebekah for her gum and then he dropped it somewhere. We put Rebekah to bed and then looked all over the bathroom without finding it. We found the gum the next morning in her hair. 

Peanut butter worked like a charm!

We took a family trip to Black Acre Farm and to our surprise it was pioneer day:

We came across a turtle on one of our hikes:

Rebekah wasn't too sure about touching it:

She eventually decided it was okay to touch with just one finger:

Pioneer Day Activities:

Planting watermelon seeds ( I don't think they lasted more than a day at the house.)

Making a clothes pin doll:

In early June Rebekah had her tonsils and adenoids removed:

She was a champ! It was a rough few days after surgery, but she perked up after about a week. The funny thing was that her voice was much higher after surgery. I can't tell if we're just used to it now or if it settled back down a bit. Her singing voice is definitely still a bit higher than it was before surgery.

Muddy sent a care package with everything one would need to make recovery easier: jewelry, legos, stickers, and beads to make more jewelry.

I also painted Rebekah's nails a number of times throughout the week to pass the days. She LOVED the attention!

There was some movie watching in there too. Her favorite movies to watch are Charlotte's Web, Cheaper by the Dozen, anything Curious George, Mary Poppins, and of course what any 3 yr old would like, Elf (she's scared of Santa. She calls him "the man" and covers her eyes at the part in the beginning with him in it but says she loves the movie.).

Aunt Kate also sent a package. It included coloring activities, a new princess cup, twisty straws, a princess wand, and a princess skirt. Every item was played with within the first 10 minutes of opening the box. Rebekah was thrilled!

Father's Day present for Daddy:

She was very serious about her painting and wanted the frame to be perfect.

Water days with Libby:

Rebekah has a Jeep:

One of Sam's co-workers recently gave us this Jeep. She was going to get rid of it and asked if Rebekah would like it. Rebekah drove it the first night until the battery died. 

Finally, we said goodbye to Carol, Chris, Abraham, and Anna Beth:

They moved to Ecuador yesterday to share the Gospel with the people there who either haven't heard or don't believe and to help disciple Christians who want to grow spiritually. We pray that their ministry is fruitful and that the Lord blesses them while they are there. We will definitely miss them and are so thankful to live in an age when we can Skype and see each other while we talk online. It's going to be a long time before we can see them in person again and it makes me feel better to know that Rebekah will get to know her cousins, even if it is over a computer.  

Well, that's it for now. It's a lot, but like I said, it's been a busy summer! Hoping to post vacation pictures soon and more of a specific family update after that.