Amy and Perry came to visit...

....and they brought their kids! The five kids played hard all weekend long. It was a fabulous visit.

In our usual style we worked up quite a petri dish around here. Steph had a stomach bug (poor thing), so she laid low the last day of the visit. It caught up with L later on in the week. An interesting note about L when he is sick: he gets really mellow and sweet and compliant. He is calm, reasonable, and doesn't complain about anything. It's a real treat. I feel bad for him when he is sick, yet I get such a nice break because his disposition shifts. His usual cantankerous self full of vim and vigor is replaced with a slightly reticent, "okay, whatever you say, Mom" little guy. I think I will have to sneak a little arsenic into his milk. Just a little.

Make a Smilebox photobook

L has been wanting a leotard

So we went to Value Village and he got a green one with black paw prints all over it. He is so very excited to be in gymnastics now, too. He will not wear the shorts I got for him over the leo. It is what it is: he is not budging and I am not pushing it. He is delighted with his new leo.

L put on some boxing gloves and hit the ring with Grandpa S.
He absolutely loved it...I refuse to consider the fact that he may someday enjoy boxing because I have never enjoyed boxing as a spectator sport or a pastime. However, with humongous padded gloves and headgear like this, it's really a different type of "boxing." The voices you hear during this video are my mother, father, aunt and uncle.

Air guitar, anyone?

louis, originally uploaded by Ken Reppart.

Jumpin' June Bugs

chloe, originally uploaded by Ken Reppart.

Relatives from Midland, Texas

We hosted my father and mother, my mother's brother and his wife and my sister for the weekend.

L refused to join the picture. He was too tired, so MP and he stayed inside and watched while our neighbor took this group picture of us.

My uncle and aunt hadn't been here since 1982, so we enjoyed showing them Spokane...Riverfront Park, Manito Park, and of course, the downtown library.