a day of new life

 Hannah was yelling for me to come and take a picture of this little bunny this morning. It is really cute!

 When we came home from church this baby fawn was laying under the power tower.

 Derrick tried to walk up to it and it ran away.

 No worries, it came back to lay back in the same spot.

 This is one of my students from last year. His mom sent me a text this afternoon that he was being baptized tonight and invited me to come. I felt so special that she invited me to be a part of such a great event in his life. He had to read his testimony before being baptized and it was so sweet. It was all I could do not to cry. He is a great kid and has a great family. They were also having ground breaking for their new church building. He is the youngest member of the church and the older man is the oldest. They pulled the plow as all the other members of the church pulled the rope. It was a very special night for him and his whole church family. I am glad I was able to be a part of it.

swim meet and ice cream

 Hannah and her coach. She is a GREAT coach.

 Hannah was so excited to add breaststroke today.

 Hunter and Lilly were sharing a pair of headphones to keep themselves entertained.

 They were so excited to get to color on the banner like the big kids.

 Showing her team spirit!

 She did great for her first time to do the breaststroke at a meet. 

 The finished banner!

 Gypsy was enjoying the beautiful weather this afternoon.

 Oh, how I love this sweet girl.

 They had a great time playing the swing in the backyard at Mrs. Ruth's parents house.

 The kids started picking up walnuts and by the end of the night they had picked up 22 or 23. We told them to find 20. Mrs. Ruth gave them a penny for each one they found. Thanks for inviting us over. The ice cream was great and the fellowship was even better.

pool time = nap time

This morning after I worked out at the Christ Church Y we headed to the Maryland Farms Y. This is our normal Tuesday, Thursday morning routine.

 The kids were a little sad that I did not pack lunch today, but were happy to eat one more snack before we left.

After lunch I had them both lay down to "rest," which is another thing I try to do daily. Most days Hannah reads and Hunter sleeps. I usually let Hannah get up after about 30 or 45 minutes.

 When I went to tell her that she could get up this is how I found her.

Of course the Wild Man was out with all of his stuffed animals. I had to wake them both up so we could get Hannah to swim team. If you are counting that is right, we go to three different Y's on Tuesday's and Thursday's.

splash pad and consignment prep

Today we met some friends at the Splash Pad in Smyrna. Hannah was very happy to have girls to play with. They had a great time.

 We had a nice picnic lunch and then Hunter was done. He was not happy from the start and I hoped after lunch he would be better, but that was not the case.

 This was the best picture I could get of them together.

Since Hunter was resting, which is what he is calling napping this summer, I started working on getting things together for the consignment sale in August. I want to have it all pinned, tagged and ready before I go back to work. Hunter was in a much better mood when he woke up from his 3 and a half hour nap.

just an evening at the Hood's

 I love fresh corn and cantaloup. The chicken and green beans were good as well. After we ate this yummy dinner it was time to bathe Gypsy yet again. She got sprayed again last night by a skunk. She is not a fast learner when it comes to the skunk.

 She decided that it was not worth fighting us and just let us bathe her this time.

 All clean and smelling MUCH better. She is no longer allowed outside after dark. When we come in for the night so does she. I am sure she will not like being in that early but we do not like having to bathe her and her stinking.

After the kids were ready for bed we played a few games of UNO. Hunter watched the first few games but then decided he wanted to play. It was too hard for him to hold his cards so he just laid them out in front of him. Everyone won a game but me. Better luck next time, right?

playing

Of all the places to play in the house, he chooses the pantry. As much as I do not always enjoy stepping over toys while I am trying to cook dinner, I love listening to him play.

Hunter, Hunter, Hunter

 This is how he dressed himself to go out and play and the face he made when I asked him if I could take his picture. It just makes me laugh ever time I look at it. He is a MESS!!!!

We were watching The Amazing Spiderman and he was keeping me safe from the bad guys.

another day full of friends

 Hannah was so happy to wear the top that Nene made for her today. She looks so cute in it.

 Hannah and Kylie had a great morning playing. After lunch we went to Patrick's birthday party. They had a great time playing at Pump It Up.

 Racing to the top.

 Hunter did not want to be left out.

 Hunter had a great time spending the night with Blake, but I think he might have stayed up a little to late.

 He stayed awake until we were out of the parking lot then he was out.

 It took Hannah a little longer to fall asleep, but the weekend caught up with her too.

 Gypsy decided she had too much fun this weekend too.

 We thought Hannah was in her room playing, but when we went to check on her, this is what we found. They both slept from about 4 until 7:30.

a day full of friends

 This morning we went to Mrs. Sharon's house to play and have lunch. More friends were supposed to come but it did not work out. I think they still had fun playing on the slip-n-slide. It took them a few minutes to figure it out put they all got really good at it before the morning was over.

 Hunter liked playing with the water guns the best.

Hannah and Ty got brave and creative. 

Hunter does not weigh enough to get all the way down without a little help. 

 They all worked up an appetite playing and ate a good lunch. After lunch they all played a little inside before we had to go. Thanks Mrs. Sharon for a fun morning and yummy lunch. 

 Hannah was so excited that her "sister" was coming to spend the night tonight. Tuesday, Kylie and Blake came on and rode to BYKC with us. Hunter heard the girls talking about spending the night together and he decided that Blake was going to spend the night with him. I told him I would talk to Mrs. Sarah. I asked her if Blake could come too. She talked to Mr. Brandon and they decided that they would take the boys and we would take the girls. Hunter has been beside himself excited all week. Mr. Brandon came and picked him up a little before three. I hope he is being good and have a great time with his "brother" Blake.

 The girls gave each other a makeover and then changed into their dresses. They sang and danced.

 They switched dressed before dinner. They watched The Littlest Pet Shop while they ate.

After baths they were pretty tired so they got all settled in for the night and watched one more episode of The Littlest Pet Shop. I am sure they will be up early ready to play some more. I love listening to them talk and play. They are so big now. It seems like just yesterday they were this size.

I am thankful they have each other and hope they will always be best friends, I mean sisters!

oh Gypsy

Last night Gypsy went out after we got home from BYKC. We usually do not let her out once it is dark, but for some reason tonight we did. I went to let her in before I went to bed. When I opened the door it smelled like a skunk. That is not uncommon, we have seen skunks walking up the driveway and around before. When I closed the door I could still smell it, really strong. I had Derrick get up and come smell. It smelled so strong before it had sprayed Gypsy. He picked her up with a towel and put her and the towel outside. This morning he had to be at work early so I decided I would google how to help her. It said call the vet and then told a mixture you could make to bathe them in. I voted call the vet because I did not want to bathe her. Well, the vet was no help. She said if it was not in her eyes or making her sick that there was nothing she could do, but that I could call a groomer and see if they would bathe her. First, I really did not want to put her in the car. Second, I don't think Gypsy would be a fan of a groomer. I decided to just leave her outside and we would stop at a pet store on our way home from our play date and see what they had. The vet had said there was a spray your could put on them. The man at the pet store looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him about it. He quickly told me no they only had a shampoo. I responded, Oh so I have to get her wet to use this. He again looked at me like I was crazy. Hunter said, "Mom, Gypsy is not going to like that." I told him he was correct. I bought the de-skunk and we came home to attempt to bathe Gypsy.

 Cats do not look good wet. Hannah helped me until she got scratched and she was done. It was not easy to hold and rinse her at the same time, but I somehow managed. She was not happy at all.

 I thought if I gave her some treats she would feel better and not be so upset about her nice little bath.

 Oh, yea the directions say to wet the cat, apply the soap and work up a lather, then let it stay on them for 3-5 minutes then rinse and repeat. Do you know how long 3-5 minutes is when you are holding a mad, wet cat? A LONG TIME!!!!!

 I think she was still trying to figure out what just happened. I am not going to try to bathe her again today. I think I am going to wait until Derrick is home tomorrow to help. That sounds like a fun Saturday morning project, right?

Poor Gypsy is not happy that she can't come in the house. I did hold her for a little while and pet her. She smells much better, but I still smell a little skunk on her. She will be getting another de-skunk bath in the morning and probably spending another day outside.