Melissa, Andy and the kids' Blog

8/2 It was finally time to change out the main street house.  We had the same renter since buying this house.  Melissa and the kids all came several days over a long weekend to turn it over.  Melissa probably put 5 hours into the living room vinyl flooring through the weekend.  Finn and I had to build a support bracket for the window AC, because a plastic bucket full of rain water didn't seem like a long-term solution :)   8/4 Bedtime is my favorite time of day.  Everyone snuggled around my wombat plushie, reading the Friend magazine before a song a prayers.  These moments tend to be my favorite interactions with the kids.  For months Finley requested "tell me a story when you were (insert age)," Hannah asks me to make up a short story. While Lilian asks deep and meaningful questions, in an attempt to stay up just a little later.  8/5 Part of homeschool, as we prepare for our big European vacation, was for the kids to make maps of imagin...

7/1 Melissa and the kids started July with an activity days painting party.  7/2 The next night we began the Blanding Independence Day fun with the Melodrama.  7/4 We met Grandma and Grandpa for the parade and returned home with plenty of candy.  Melissa and her mom might make a tradition of going to the park without the kids to wander the booths and get a treat.  We spent the afternoon at Matt and Katrina Lyman's, invited by Rob and Mallory, for a BBQ and yard games.  7/6 We hit the road toward the beach.  We took a slightly different path and ended up in Buckeye, AZ.  It was ~110 degrees outside and even the pool water was hot.  That night we tried to walk across the road to get dinner, but it was so hot we only made it as far as a taco truck in the parking lot!   7/7 Sunday we checked in at South Carlsbad Beach and the kids went straight to the water!  Everyone had sand and salt rashes on their legs the next day.  We suggest...