Weekend at Home

This past one was our first weekend home with the new aortic valve... we haven't officially named her yet, we're leaning towards Anita (starts with an A and seems like she could kick some tail if necessary) or Clicka (self explanatory once you've heart DB's new mechanical heartbeat, and rhymes with Pippa).  All we know is that it's female... in our family that seems to be the healthiest way to go :)  Ha ha!  Not really funny, but kinda :)

Here's a picture of a general St. Jude's mechanical heart valve... pretty amazing!



Anyway, overall we had a good weekend!  First, Uncle Jay, Cousin Madison, and Linda all came to visit Wednesday - Saturday... not only was it great to see them, they were also a huge help at the house.  From helping with babies to washing dishes to doing yard work and making the weekly trip to the dump, it was just awesome to have them here.  Plus, their smiling faces are always welcome additions to our days :)

Then "aunt" Brooke came in town Friday - Sunday, and again, the helping continued!  And of course, so did the fun... I just love that girl.  And so do my children and my husband - I'm so lucky!  DB even suggested that Brooke, Kristen, and I all go grab a margarita one night, so after the kids went down our sitter, Laura, came to stay with DB just in case the kiddos needed anything while we went... it was really nice to be hangin' with the girls.

This weekend was also a tough one... I won't talk about it too much because it's not my news to share, and to be honest it still hurts a lot, but we attended the memorial service for our boss, the headmaster at our school.  Dr. Wall was the healthiest man you ever knew and, at the age of 59, very unexpectedly passed away due to complications from Leukemia.  It has shaken us.  The services were a wonderful testimony to his life, but it still seems surreal to say goodbye.  He is missed, a lot... he was a great leader and friend.

Of course, when Brooke comes in town, there are always lots of great photos to share!  The photos in the last post were just the beginning, below is a bit of that Sunday...

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy!

Unfortunately, no wabooshkie this Fathers Day...

but we still had fun :)

Pretty sure George had the upper hand the first go-around...

... but Olivia came back for more!

Neither of them look too terribly upset about the whole thing :)

Samuel, whatcha doin'...

... having a great time!

This kid loves to look at things from EVERY angle,

I just can't believe we finally caught some proof on film!

Notice the guilty look?  If you've been to our house lately,
you have definitely heard, "Samuel, not in your mouth!"  He knows!

(We do this because it helps Samuel learn to play with toys.  His first instinct is just to stick stuff in his mouth, but once you get him to take it out, he actually starts to play with the toy.  The more he has practiced, the better he has become at learning what his toys do!)

Dueling smiles...

No offense DB, but I think Olivia won :)

Daddy's little girl :)

George, just like Samuel, loves to throw the ball for the dogs.

Go Scout!  I think Belle already got a head start, sneaky little girl.