Avery found a little friend outside last night. She was thrilled and wanted to keep it in her room. She asked what lady bugs eat. She was sure that it was leaves, so she promptly got some leaves and sat down in the grass and tried to hand feed the the lady bug that was scurrying all her hand. Her thought process was probably along the lines of "We feed carrots to the rabbits that way, why would this little bug be any different?"
I snapped the one above right after she said, "It flew away, but that is ok....because it's nature!" 
We took these to the kids' Great Grandma today and she loved them and the little visit that we had with her. She was so surprised, you could almost hear her heart melting as Avery marched in with them.
I think it is so stinkin' cute when he does this!
Avery, drawing with her sparkler! Oh, how I remember sparklers as a kid and how much fun they were. They are not the same as they used to be. I remember them being more sparkly...no?
These cars are actually my favorite part of the parade. You know they bounce up and down and have their stereo's cranked up. They were not as animated as they have been in the past. I know, I know what a weird thing to have as your favorite.
These white tow trucks are the "fleet" from our towing company. They all have names...The Big Show, The 95er, The Big Unit and Gonzo (not pictured).
How our tow truck crew got that van upside down and hitched up like that, I will never know. Way to go Uncle Rico (another nickname, of course), you Rock!!!!
Ron's new Sprint car...no nickname yet.
Bodie liked the horses!
I heard that his Dad pays him to do this every year! I think it is hilarious!
Rowdy entertained the prarade route with his pop-a-wheelies!!!
Avery was almost 1 in this picture. Not too shocking that her cozy is right by her side. I just wanted to blog about how much this little girl likes books. Sometimes, when we are shopping and we stop to look around in the toy section she can be found on the floor with a book. Often she will just blaze right throught the girls toys and nothing will catch her eye. But when we are near the books she will always find one to flip through. The photo below is a prime example of her nature. We had stopped in to take birthday treats to Rowdy's 1st grade class at the end of the year and this is where Avery settled in...the reading corner. 
I didn't ever post any photos of Avery at her spring dance recital because the photos were stuck in my camera. I accidentally had the camera on the wrong setting. I was finally able to get them out of the camera yesterday. The top photo is Miss Avery and her cousin backstage before their bunny number. They performed three dances in all. The recital includes the older dancers as well. Avery is just absolutely enamored with the older girls and several times throughout the night I caught her just starring at them as they warmed up or practice their routines one more time...it is so cute to watch her look up to the "big" girls. 
Ears positioned properly...check!
Waiting, on deck, for her turn to go on stage. See the little girl to the right...now do you understand why my Avery has "pony-tail" envy...it must be torture! If you don't know Avery has only had two trims (not actual hair cuts, just trims) in her life. Someday sweetie! 
We enjoyed some yummy watermelon at lunch today. I like mine cold so I stuck it in the freezer for a bit and it was delicious! All I could hear when I took this was **slurp**
Photo taken 07/02/09
The second one is a bit better, but a different feel.
The kids were in and out of it all afternoon.
Avery, swinging in Ron's other present. The hammock instructions said that it can hold up to 600 lbs. So, theoretically we could all get on it...hmmmm that would be interesting.And I just had to share this one...that's my boy!!!!
You don't have to wonder for very long why Uncle Roger (Katie's Dad) suddenly bursts out into his rendition of "Ebony and Ivory" when he sees these two girls together.
SIDE NOTE: I got to buck hay for the first time yesterday! And it was awesome! Now when I wear my cowgirl boots, I can feel like it is a little more legitimate. I was a little bit itchy afterward, but I can handle that. This is that first year I have been able to pitch in and help with this step of the process. The first year we lived here, I was preganant with Bodie and last year I called in "too fat, lazy and out of shape to buck hay...sorry!" 
I can't believe that we just finished T-Ball and it is time for me to register Rowdy for Football. These are photos from last fall. I don't think I posted very many of them during the season. Rowdy has mixed emotions about playing. He gets really nervous. But that is our cue as parents to get him involved. He played center last year and he could snap the ball really well. However, when the play got in motion he would just stand there. He is not very aggressive. And it is probably a little confusing to hear all your life "keep your hands to yourself" and then for us to be telling him to "GET A GUY" (that is something my Mother-in-law used to yell from the stands when she watched her boys play football, a little Shinkle family vernacular).
It is so hard to know as a parent if the things that you involve your kids in are going to be positive experiences that will help shape them into well rounded people. Or, are they going to look back and say, "My parents forced me to play football and I didn't like it!" 
{Effort and Success}
{Encouragement}
{Teamwork} 
