Goodbye CDL, Hello Kindergarten!

Henry's last day at the CDL was Friday. So, naturally, I had to get some pictures of his last water play day with friends.

 

With Braden, one of his best buds over the summer. The pair have been together since Preschool II, three years ago.

And Jack S.

(Henry misses you already, Jack...he made you a picture full of Spider Man stickers yesterday.)

 

 

 

 You are THE true Spider Man, Jack!

 

 

 

Caden. Another friend we've had since Preschool II.

 

 

Thanks for a great summer, Ms. Amanda!

Crazy About Peaches

This morning, on a whim, we decided to drive to one of our favorite orchards and pick peaches. It was a beautiful morning, and the peaches were finally ripe for the picking!

 

Henry was such a good helper. He tested all of the fruit first, and as soon as he'd find a ripe peach would yell, "MOM! Found a squishy one!" 

 

Think this will be enough for a pie? Or two? Or ten?

 

Sam was too busy flying his airplanes to pay much attention to anything else. But what a landing strip he had for his planes!

 

 

One more, to grow on.

 

Later that afternoon...

 

Peach pie for dinner anyone?!

Playdate with Molly

While Ann and Omar enjoyed an afternoon out, I enjoyed spending time in Norman with my niece. They got Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, I got Molly. And as great as Garth and Trisha are, I think I got the better end of the deal on Saturday. Just look at all the fun we had, and laughs we shared.

Fireworks

The Fourth of July has become one of my favorite holidays. Quite possibly because over the last decade it's become a time for family reunions. This year was no different. We had all the Riselings, minus Creyton (we missed you)...and of course, Grandmother Happy. Golly I miss her too.

As soon as their feet hit the driveway, the boys made a beeline for the backyard and the pool/slide. Sam had stripped down to his diaper (no surprise) before I made it to the back porch.

 

Corndogs were on the lunch menu.

Corndog #1...

 

Corndog #2...

 

How Molly eats a corndog.

 

Papa Bo opted for a cigar in lieu of his corndog.

 

You know that rule about waiting 30 minutes after you eat before getting back into the water? Well, we don't follow that rule at Papa's house. Heck, we never follow that rule.

 

 

She melts my heart.

 

Henry's too.

 

And the cigars continue...

 

 

Scoping out the best spot to light our fireworks.

 

We're Riselings...cigars are what we do.

 

Linda, the Lovely.

A Molly sandwich.

 

Lots of love in the air, folks.

 

Molly is beside herself when she learns we'll soon be setting off bombs and lighting things on fire.

 

我爱七月四号 ！

 

我妈妈是最酷的 ！

 

Wade loves it when I take his picture (not).

 

Prepping the chiminea for smores while our neighbor tries to impress with his fancy schmancy fireworks display. But our fountains were WAY cooler.

 

(I don't know why he kept doing this.)

 

The Blackwell show to the northeast from our back porch.

And we saw Ponca City's show to the southeast...and Tonkawa's to the south.

We had the best seats in Kay County.

 

Time out for more smores.

 

The following morning I snuck out of the house early enough to watch the sun rise and enjoy a light rain. It was actually cool enough for a blanket. And as I sat, I felt like the luckiest person in the world. And I thought about my mom...and prayed for our miracle.