Some June Photos

Here's a sampling of what June looked like for us...

A lot of water-pouring practice

(Notice the pile of pergola-wood behind Gwen)

Cool, giant camouflage moth on the patio

One of the pergola's early stages

CSA food!  We have a 1/2 share, so we get a box of goodies from a local organic farm every other week.  Very adventurous! So far, it's been a great thing for meal planning motivation and healthy eating.  Downside: beets.

2 Saturdays spent pergola-building

He smiles because he likes me, not because it was a bajillion degrees up there

Thinking of you, Baby!

Oakley holds down the air-conditioned fort

Beautiful and thoughtful flowers

And more!

My mom helped me chop the gross parts off a chicken I endeavored to cook.  She was there for technical and moral support while I did the hand-into-slimy-cavity work.  I was determined to learn, and it was a tasty outcome.

Gwen got this playhouse, and is learning to appreciate it as much as I do.  So many possibilities!

This was us, breaking in the playhouse while it rained

More to come...

Furball transformed

From this:

To this:

Cons:

freaky looking

Pros:

furniture and floors without fresh clumps of hair on them everyday

no more matting (ouch)

clean unmentionables area (well, this IS a major perk)

get to skip the spring shedding season of horror

See?  See?!  It's worth it! 

She seems content with the new hair-do.

The groomers just said she was MAD about being restrained while they cut her hair, she didn't really care about the actual cutting.  When I went to pick her up, the floor looked like an Oakley explosion!

We were kind of shocked to find that she has a regular cat body underneath all that fur.

And her stripes (which we hadn't seen since she was a kitten) are so pretty.

First taste of dirt, etc.

This was on 3/19/12.  

One of those gloriously warm days that the Lord gave us just out of kindness.

Gwen ate pears and cheese barefoot.

We played outside!

She cried when I pulled her away from a pile of dirty, wet leaves.

She delighted in her strength to scrape the snow shovel around the patio.

She found a patch of black dirt in our grass and loved it.

She took this job very seriously.

Pure Joy

You can see she's still upset with me for not letting her continue to eat dirt.

Oakley delighted in her hair blowing in the wind.

Gwenster and Oakley

Can you tell they both keep me entertained?

Gwen and Daddy in January

He is so great at caring for Gwen!

Beat-boxing into the cup together

Love this.

My encouragement on a bad hair day:

Take heart.

It could definitely be worse.

December Updates

The day has come!  Gwen can hold the bottle!

We got a dining room desk (in the background) this was the organizing process.
Sorry no "after picture," but it looks better now.

Yet another scene of these two together at play.  I do not set these up.

She tipped over and didn't move for a while.  I was baking nearby.

December has brought the snuggles for Gwen.  She leans her head into us now.
It is absolutely wonderful.  Swoon.

Decorating for Christmas

The weekend after Thanksgiving was the beginning of Christmas at our house.  We've never gotten a tree so early before, but it has been so fun to have it this year.  And we have already gotten a lot of use out of the fireplace, which is very cozy. 

Adorable. They wouldn't stop giggling.

So helpful. So obsessed with ornament hooks.  Thanks Oakley.

Just one more. I can't help it.