Vitamin Elin & backyard baseball

Viggo came up with a fun new nickname for Elin. He and Svea often call her E. Then one morning Viggo started calling her Vitamin E, or Vitamin Elin.

Have you had your daily dose of Vitamin Elin today? It seems I can never get my fill.

And look at what she can do now!

I just love seeing her little legs in action.

When you set Elin down on the grass, she sometimes holds up her left leg . . .

. . . so the grass doesn't touch it, and she keeps it up in the air like that . . .

. . . for awhile. I don't know why she does this, but it happens almost every time you put her on grass.

Yee-haw! Time for some backyard baseball!

Viggo really focuses and tries to hit those homers.

Svea, on the other hand, is slightly more unorthodox in her batting technique.

She's like me. She loses interest in baseball quickly.

Why play baseball when you can just be silly.

Elin loves watching the big kids be funny.


The end.

Soccer Saturday: Nate takes to the field

Last soccer game today.

Boys against girls! That was something new.

Secretly I was rooting for the girls. They still lost, thanks to my son who scored 2 of the 3 goals against them.

Then the parents were invited to come out and play.

Nate had to manuver those long legs around all those little kids.

It was so fun to watch he and Viggo out there together.

After the game, Viggo and his team-mates got cookies baked by the coach's daughter. They were a little burnt but Viggo scarfed his right down.

I can't say I'll miss those early morning games but I will miss the fun and excitement soccer season brought to our household.

I put all the kids in the tub tonight. It was wall-to-wall blondies in there.

Those are all our kids.

Wow.

We have a tubful of kids.

Kisses for the baby.

Outside in the sunshine

Isn't this little diaper cute? I won it from Baby Hope's Cloth Diapers. Thanks, Hope! We really appreciate our prize, and so does Elin!

Viggo and I were playing some funny baseball and Elin kept going after the bat. Viggo tried to show her how to choke up on it.

You're never too early to start learning.

We love this warm weather. See you outside!

Celebration of Learning, Lost tooth, and the Power of Prayer.

Parents and siblings were invited to school on Thursday to the kindergarten's Celebration of Learning!

All the kids wrote a report on the sea creature of their choice. Their wonderful teacher typed it up, but the words were the kids'. When Nate asked Viggo where he got the gray whale pictures, Viggo replied, "Google!"

Svea was so excited to be at the school and see her big bro.

The secretary at school made this super-cute cake!

How fun is that! Why did we not have cakes in kindergarten?

Svea was more than happy to partake in the big-kid treat.

Viggo and one of his buds! Svea had to jump in the pic too.

I mean how cute can these kids get!

This was up in the library. Did you know what a literary genre was in kindergarten? Who's Genre? Yeah, I had no idea. Viggo, on the other hand . . . well, he knows more than his mom!

Red and yellow, black and white.

They are precious in His sight.

Viggo and his sweet teacher.

Viggo poses for me in the "take a break chair". I think we might need one of these in our house. Mostly for me.

When Viggo came home from school later that day, he brought home this. Three guesses what's inside! He's had four teeth loose, and this one was flapping in the breeze for a good month. After the Celebration of Learning was over, he had gym, got hit in the mouth with a ball, and out came the tooth. And to think I had wasted my time the day before trying to pull it out (yes, Viggo lets me pull on his loose teeth). The Tooth Fairy came and brought some Presidential dollars. Whee!!

No question - we are doomed for orthodontia.

Later that night after soccer practice, I brought all the kids home and got Elin in bed and put Svea and Viggo in the tub (with creamsicles; it was hot out!). In the middle of their bath the power went out. I quickly lit some candles, got them into bed, and lit some more. It wasn't quite completely dark out but I wanted to be prepared. After I had covered every surface with at least a few candles, it was glowing plesantly in here - and then I prayed, and then the power came back on. 20,000 homes and businesses in Northern Delaware lost power that night, and after I prayed, it came back on.

Northern Delaware, you're welcome.

Adventure Aquarium

On Memorial Day we headed back to the Adventure Aquarium in good ol' Camden, New Jersey.

The kids were so jazzed.

Let me just say we've been to the aquarium umpteen times. And we have seen the hippos, Jenny and Buttons, many times. In fact we're on a first-name basis with them. But for as many times as we've seen them, we have never seen them out of the water!

Oh Jenny. We love you. I know this is Jenny because she has an extra freckle on her nose that Buttons doesn't.

Collectively we weigh as much as a juvenile shark (including stroller). To be fair, Svea only had one foot on the scale so we're off a few pounds.

It is a very lightweight stroller.

Bonus hippo movies!