Etc... (meaning "and all these things")

So my friend, Rach, gave me this darling Little Bo Peep style dress up outfit for the Pipster. She wore it for 24 hours after me showing it to her. It is adorable! I did a little photo shoot with backdrop and all... those are the pictures  I mentioned in the last post about waiting to get in the right format to put up but that still hasn't happened. I was going to call the post "Little Bo Pip." These are two pictures I took later while she was watching a show (probably Dora, her new total fav).

It's hot as can be around here so we are mostly staying indoors with occasional water play in the yard...

I love how they would fill up pails with water and then dump them from the top of the clubhouse on each other (like Great Wolf Lodge)... 

For some reason Piper was so grumpy about water play. I think her gun wouldn't work and she was very sad...

And Colson was our only injury of the day. Evidently if the already very steep slide is wet, you go a lot faster.

My Parents and Joby came for Memorial day. It is always so awesome when they are here. I didn't get many pictures but I grabbed these of my dad teaching Cole how to make his famous pancakes...

SO - those are just little glimpses at what's going on in our house. Or maybe I should say those are just little glimpses of the sweet, fun things going on in our house. I intentionally don't post pictures of me pulling my hair out because it's so frustrating to have everyone inside all day long, or of the wet pullups that continually get left forgotten in a closet, or the laundry monster than has outright banished me from the laundry room. You get the picture... just been thinking about how much I NEED the Lord in order to be a good mom or homemaker or anything!! I am so thankful for his patience and loving kindness. I long to show it more to my family... then I can post about that. :)

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

Well, I've not been keeping up with the blog the way I'd like - but have no fear.... I have excuses!!

EXCUSE #1. I've been waiting for Jason to help me get some cute pictures of Piper in her favorite dress up clothes on to my laptop. I figure my posts were getting pretty depressing and a little dose of an adorable 2 year old was exactly what we needed!

EXCUSE #2. My laptop died! Fortunately, my hero came to my rescue and after many hours restored it to life and backed it up so that all my pictures are safe.

EXCUSE #3. I was called for jury duty and actually served on a jury last week. I'd tell you all about it but you would actually be quite bored. Here are some things I learned from being on a jury...

~ Don't just bring a light sweater in case it gets chilly. Bring a sweater, a jacket, a coat, scarf, socks and even a blanket if they will let you.
~ Opening and Closing arguments on TV... 1-2 minutes of something stirring and compelling. Opening and closing arguments in real life... 30 minutes of blah blah blah.
~Video testimony is way harder to stay awake during than real people on the stand.
~ Don't hire a lawyer that seems shady - you will seem shady too. Ask yourself if your lawyer reminds you of a used car salesman (no offense to all the wonderful car salesmen out there) and if the answer is yes, choose someone else.
~ Some judges are actually quite nice and down to earth.
~ The lawyers and judge don't really have your name memorized, it's on a chart in front of them.
~ Not all of today's youth are hopeless - we had 4 college students on our jury and they were awesome.
~ It's not always hard for 12 people to deliberate together and come to a decision.
~It's not fun deciding stuff that affects other people's lives.
~ If your lawyer has a super cute trendy short hair cut it may result in at least one of the jurors, who is always looking for cute hair cut ideas, liking her.
~Sharing in open court that you have 7 children may result in that fact being brought back up more than once during the trial.
~ Sharing how the Lord has blessed you and been faithful to your family might result in finding a friend to eat lunch with who testifies to the same thing.

~ Said person may also end up being a 60+ year old widow who needed the company.

~ Think about bringing a snack to share with your fellow jurors.

~ Don't take pictures of a courtroom without asking permission first.

~ Having your family sitting in the courtroom to support you actually does make an impression on the jury (or at least on the one who likes cute short haircuts).

~ Having the greatest friends in the world makes you feel much more at ease being away from your kids all day.

EXCUSE #4. I have 7 kids people!!! (That one always works - right?)

SO - I should be back and running soon. Hopefully some cutie pants pictures of Pip Pip are on their way in no time.