Joanna the Bracero

The weather this morning was very nice, even though thunderstorms are predicted for this evening. For the morning the impending storm just created a nice cooling breeze. Joanna and I went to Tougas Farm.

Joanna started by visiting the goats. She thought the long beard on this one was pretty funny.



After the goats it was off to the playground. There were plenty of tires to play on.



Soon it was time to get to work picking strawberries. With both of us working we soon had a nice bunch of strawberries to take home.



Farm labor is hard work so we stopped for a yummy blueberry smoothie before heading home.



We were both pretty tired when we got home.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Rick!

For your hard work and dedication you get a one-of-a-kind designer tie and a decorative mobile all hand crafted for you during junior church.

After church it is lunch at Outback followed by relaxing at home and a knitting lesson from Joanna.

In the late afternoon the neighbor kids will try to show Joanna how to use the Slip 'N Slide while Shiloh looks on with curious uncertainty.

Sounds like a great day to me.

A Very Busy Day

Last Saturday was very busy. On Saturday morning we went to a picnic at Hopkinton State Park. It was an end of school party for Joanna's preschool.

There was a ton of food and Joanna had a great time hanging out with her friend Abigail and playing with the other kids,



You might notice that in the last picture she had a long weed in her mouth. When I asked her why she said she was doing the tango.

Joanna, Abigail and Abigail's mom and older sister went to splash around on the beach by the lake while Rick and I picked everything up. When we went to go get her she really did not want to leave. Rick had to carry her. I told Abby's mom I would give her a call to arrange some time for the girls to get together this summer.

We then went to Rick's office so he could meet with some clients and I could write the church bulletin. Joanna was not doing too well at working on her own so as soon as the bulletin was done I took her to a nearby bookstore. She picked out a Father's Day card and she saw a little globe she thought daddy needed. We got a gift bag and some paper, wrapped the gift and headed back to the office.

The work at the office was done so it was off to the next event, Missy Newman's graduation party. There was another great lot of food and kids to run and play with. Just after dusk the host set up a ice line of citronella candles in the yard. Soon after Joanna and Mariah went along that line blowing them all out.

After all this we thought for sure that Joanna would fall asleep on the ride home. Nope! We got home with a keyed up, hyper-tired grumpy kid who did not want to go to bed. I guess car ride magic doesn't always work.

Last Day of School!

Joanna just went off for her last day of school. This morning was very different from other mornings. She usually gets out of bed looking like this.

I was really tempted to leave the red eye from the flash on that one.

This morning she was up and ready before Rick was. She even got her picture taken in the shirt Auntie Julie got her in Thailand.

She also wanted to show off the picture she drew.

After the pictures were taken she got her shows and socks on then stood at the door saying "Come on Daddy!"

In other news, Joanna learned to knit! You can read more about that here.

Slip Slidin' Away

We finally had a sunny day today! Joanna got to wear her new dress to church.



After church we went to Ainsley's house for a dedication reception. Joanna had a lot of fun playing with the other kids.

When we got home we set up the Slip 'N Slide in the yard.

Joanna modeled her new swim suit.



Daddy tried to show her how the Slip 'N Slide worked.



Joanna didn't want to run and jump so she just tried to go through with a commando crawl.



She was very proud of herself when she got to the end.

Joanna Turns Four!

Happy Birthday Joanna!

We started the day opening gifts from the family. Joanna can't wait to try her new Slip 'N Slide from Uncle Rob.

We had planned to have the party at Davis Farmland but the weather did not cooperate. It was very rainy and the farm did not open. Fortunately the Bells came to our rescue and offered their house for the party. They even put up a sign!

The party was great. The kids had a lot of fun and Joanna enjoyed her "Pirate Dora" cake. That took a little improvising.

After the party Joanna still had another gift, a new big girl bike.

She is still learning how to use it and if we can get some sun she will be able to get more practice.

With my camera and Rick's parents camera in action we got way too many photos to put them all here. If you want to see the rest, just click here.