Big kid.
Not the newbie.
A bit shy at drop-off.
Admitted she was anxious.
Walked in hand-in-hand with a friend.
And had an awesome first day.
With a teacher she declared, “Wonderful!”
Success.

Back of my neck getting dirt and gritty… And yet, we’re still playing outside, absorbing the sun’s hot rays and loving summer.

I highly recommend Superhero help for all your common household chores. Recycling becomes RECYCLING! when a Superhero is involved.

Nothing says Happy 4th of July like a fully-lined knit penguin hat.

Livia’s Auntie Bean gave her this super cute winter accessory last weekend and of course Livia put it on immediately. Who wouldn’t want to wear a penguin hat while lighting fireworks?!

I love having Livia next to me while we bake cookies. She helps crack eggs, samples each ingredient, and then cleans off the Kitchen Aid paddle for me. Plus, with her, baking is an Event and we don aprons. Makes it more fun that way.

Shiloh gets in on the action, too. He cleans up the floor. Today he decided the bare arches of my feet needed cleaning—way ticklish.

We like to make this chocolate chip recipe from my Aunt Ruthie because it makes enough for a crowd. What cookie recipes are your favorites?

Yes, it is really hot outside. The egg-frying part is debatable.
No, these photos were not taken recently. But they do seem fitting for a hot summer afternoon.
Yes, it is really hard to avoid looking at Facebook.
Yes, I might blog a lot more until I get Facebook out of my system.
Yes, I do miss reading about the minutiae of everyone’s lives.
No, I am not giving in already.
Yes, I am loving Summer 2011, hot weather and all.

Question #1: Do you like hot weather or cold better?
Question #2: How often do you check your email or Facebook or Yahoo News each day? Are you as obsessive as I am? Is this a problem for you, too, or is your level of online activity totally fine for you? Just curious.

Livia Day involved our second salamander hunt of the summer. And while Liv has found snails and flowers and exercise and fresh air, she and Jeremy haven’t yet located salamanders. I don’t know that anyone’s devastated by that fact, however. The reward seems to be in the adventures had together. On Sunday we waded through wet grasses, crossed over railroad tracks and back again, went under bridges and over them, and worked up an appetite for a hardy lunch at a nearby diner.

It was a good day.

Pull on some shoes, grab a net and get hunting because it’s Livia Day!

Seven years ago today Livia Raine came into our lives and thus today is a day of celebration.

Thank you, God, for your grace in our lives. You have made us a family and you’ve blessed us beyond telling. May Livia never know a day she doesn’t trust in and rely upon Jesus. May you draw us closer to you and closer as a family. We are so grateful, Lord! Thank you for Livia.

Livia, sweetly reading a book on the artist Matisse to our dog Shiloh:
Sometimes I like art. [page turn]
Sometimes I like little villages. [page turn]
Sometimes I like naked men. [page turn]

Mommy:
Um, what? [pause] Show me that page. [checks out the sexless nude figures] Ahhhh. Now, read it to me again… [busily types, mutters under breath] so I can share it with the world wide web…

Today we finally got around to joining our library’s summer reading program. One of the activities a child can do for credit is read to a pet. So tonight Livia picked up some books on famous artists, sat down with Shiloh nearby, and began to read aloud in words a simpleton like the dog could understand. After she saw me recording our previous conversation, she asked me to write down the book in it’s entirety. Here is the book on Matisse, according to Livia, thoroughly enjoyed by Shiloh.

**************

I like this antique picture.
Oooh, this one’s pretty. I like this village, too.
I like this picture of naked men, too. Playing music. (Un-propriate!)
Sometimes I like to look at this picture of fish.
Sometimes I like to look at these men again, which is swirling around and is an old painting, too.
I like this old antique house.
Sometimes I like to have feasts with all sorts of kind of food, even fish, and the fish are dead. And also it’s an old painting.
I also like this bowl of fruit painting. It’s nice.
And I like this picture of a lady playing a piano and boys playing checkers.
And I like this picture of a lady sleeping in a pretty dress.
The end.