A day with the Henery cousins...

Evalie Says...

On Saturday while we were up visiting Josh's dad, we met up with my sisters and the kiddos at the Minnesota Zoo. It was nice to be able to spend some time with them while up in the cities. Taryn brought her best friends along. It was so much fun to watch them interact. Sam was our navigator since he has a summer pass with his Grandma Rousseau. Leyla and Kate had a great time seeing the animals and playing together at the playground. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

checking out the fish

i see sharks!

what do you see, Kate?

i see a bear!

checking out the leopard

leyla sees it, too!

how cute is he?

these are her dance moves

weeee

leyla and kate

feeding the goats

careful

brushing

my beautiful God-daughter

yes, Kate is trying to eat her shoe

I sure wish we lived closer to my favorite little people!

Aren't they the cutest things ever?

Grandpa's

Evalie Says...

Two weeks ago, we headed up to Hugo to visit Josh's dad and Kelly for the weekend. Josh's brother, Drew, and his family also were able to go up for the weekend. When we arrived on Friday, we all went out for dinner and to the race track for some entertainment. Kate loved watching the horses race around the track. Grandpa brought carrots along so the girls could feed then between races. It was a lovely night, and we even one a few bucks!

Kate and cousin, Rylee, waiting for the horses to go by...

About to feed the horse...

An attempt at a mother-daughter shot...

Waiting for the horses...

The boys watching closely at the finish line.
I promise Josh did not drop Kate here:)

I will miss...

Evalie Says...

i love my job

i love having a passion for education

i love the first day of school

i love it that i can make a difference everyday

BUT

i will miss this summer

i will miss my cuddles on the couch in the mornings

i will miss our lunch dates

i will miss our play dates in the backyard

i will miss dancing and singing all day long

Each year it gets harder and harder...

Happy Anniversary

Evalie Says...

Happy Anniversary, Joshua!

I love you!

Shiner's Bath

Kate Says...

"I help, Daddy?"

Josh Says...

"Sure, Kate, you can help Daddy wash Shiner...."

Kate Says...

"I scrub Shiner. Me help, Mama."

Tomato Thief

Evalie Says...

If you live in my neighborhood and have a tomato plant in your garden beware...

I know a little thief that likes to head into our neighbor's yard and to their garden...

A quick little pick and away she runs...

She screams if you get too close for fear you will take it away...

She quickly eats the whole thing like an apple, just like her Grandma Kate...





(Okay,Lisa how many tomatoes do I owe you?)

Old McDonald Farm

Evalie Says...

Our new favorite summer attraction is the Old McDonald Farm/Zoo in Bever Park. Kate and I like to head over in the mid-morning, say hello to the animals, then head over to the playground to go down the slide. She always takes a great nap on these days. A few weeks ago, we even met our friends Eli and Miles there!

Playing in the house, waiting for Miles and Eli to show up.

Saying hello to the goats and chickens.

I'm pretty sure this is a smile to my friend Jazz...Kate thinks she the coolest!

Kate and Eli

She loves this duck.

Hello Ducks!

Bell Christmas in July

Evalie Says...

My three cousins on my mother's side of the family have always been like three other siblings verses actual cousins. When we all began getting married and having children, it was so hard for us to coordinate time to get together during the holidays. This year we decided to do a Christmas in July and picked a weekend to go camping.

We had such a wonderful time, and we plan to continue this tradition into the years to come. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing and loving family...



Bell Christmas in July

Fourth of July....A Little Late

Evalie Says...

This year we spent 4th of July here in Cedar Rapids. My sister, Kristin, and her family were spending their family vacation in the Dells and thought they would swing down to see us for the weekend. We didn't do anything real exciting, but we still had a great time...

Kristin and I had some great sister bonding time by staying up way too late on Friday night when they arrived. We talked on our back patio into the wee hours. We believe we have solved all the world problems, or perhaps only a few...

Leyla and Kate have begun their "loving" cousin friendship. Leyla's favorite saying all weekend was, "no Kate!" Kate liked to tell her, "share". There was even a time when they both barked at each other from across the room for a while. It was a riot to watch! I know they will be best of friends when they get older...

Taryn enjoyed reading to me from her new books that she got on a trip to Barnes and Noble with Josh and her dad. She even read to me her journal that she kept during her vacation. It was priceless....she is growing up way too fast...

A few pictures to share of the girls playing in our backyard and their 4th of July outfits...

Zoo

Evalie Says...

For Father's Day, Josh asked for his gift to be a trip to the Omaha Zoo. Even with the rain, we had a great time. Kate loved all the animals, just as Josh hoped she would. I think this might become an annual trip....

Happy Belated Father's Day, Josh.....We're so lucky to share our lives with you...We love you...

-Evalie and Kate-

"Doo Doot"

Evalie Says...

During the school year one day when I picked Kate up from Linda's, both Linda and her daughter, Michelle, met me at the door excited to tell me about Kate singing. Michelle asks me right away if Jason Mraz is my favorite singer and if I listen to the song I'm Yours. I inform her only when it comes on the radio, but that I like the song and sing to it when it does. Well, they both insist that Kate knows the words to the song and that she is right on key. I question it, but I don't think too much of it.

About a week later, Kate and I had to take a trip down to North Liberty. I'm Yours came on the radio, and sure enough Kate was singing her heart out!! It was the cutest thing on the face of the Earth. I mean she can sing little nursery rhymes with me, but this was something different. As soon as we get back from North Liberty, I looked up the song on YouTube to show Josh. Of course, she just starred at the screen. So, we bought the CD to listen to it in the car to hear her perform. Slowly we moved to a few singing performances with the YouTube video. Her car performances are her best.

Since Josh and I were crazy in trying to get her to sing to us, she has become addicted to listening to the song on YouTube. She will take our hands and lead us to our computers announcing, "Sing Doo Doot!" We may have created the youngest Jason Mraz fan...

An attempt to catch the singing on video (she usually stops when I pull the camera out)




(I have given up on the videos. I have two really good ones, but for some reason I can't upload them. This one gives you somewhat a picture of her singing.)