Fun Times

Sheep came to live on the farm tonight.  Mara was in the thick of things.  She is not afraid to get dirty.  Someday she's gonna be a real help to her daddy!  (Brody and Mav were there too, just didn't make it on camera.  Mav was loving it, but was also so cute when he said he was "cared". (scared of the sheep)

Max and Claire were here alone one day last week, so we had a tea party.  Max is sporting a new chef's hat and Claire has on the matching apron.  For "tea" we had hot chocolate with marshmallows and our "tea cakes" were chocolate chip cookies.  Yummo!

Granted, the cups are tiny, but I think Max had 5 cups.  He is slurping from the tiny spoon here.  Claire is very patient with him and gave him the last of the marshmallows from the sugar bowl.  Just so that we don't appear to be one of those perfectionist bloggers, there were quite a few spills during this tea party, and I feared for the china tea set, but all ended well.

Introducing Barrett R. Park, M.D.

We attended a very moving graduation ceremony for Barry last Friday.  It was pretty exciting to hear Dr. Barrett Park for the first time.  Congrats to Barry on his accomplishment and to Bethanie for her unfailing support of this journey.  What a cute family!

Birthday Girl

Claire turned 5!  Wowee!  Our first grandchild, how did the time slip by so quickly?  She is sunshine in our lives.  I made her a  Barbie cake for our daycare birthday party day.  Claire loves sweets, loves to look good, picks her own outfits, decides on her own hairstyle, wears makeup and nail polish to add a dash of special some days, sings and dances all the time, has memorized many many kid Christian songs, has a heart for Jesus, sees the best in others, tries to keep the peace, is a wonderful nurse with an ice pack always on hand for boo boos, still likes a little nap, loves to eat, loves to cuddle with her brother and the babies Mav and Mara.  She has such a wonderful future ahead, can't wait to watch!  LOVE her!

Buddy Boys

Our three boys, our three grandsons.  Maxwell, 3 1/2, Maverick, 2, Broden, 4.  Showin' the love.

the Park boys

Maverick is obsessed with trying on shoes and boots.  It will keep him occupied for a long time.  No shoes or boots are too large or too small for him.  (the headband is just a bonus on this day)

Maverick has a sleep friend named Ellie (the elephant).  He still calls him baby.  He has three, one for Uncle Josh's house, one for the farm, and one for home.  This day they all got together to play!

Busted!  Too quiet is never good.  He has polished off a box of raisins and was into the animal crackers.  It didn't make any difference that I put the container of animal crackers up high.  He got 'em anyway.  Who knows how many he had put away before I caught him!  He's very happy with himself!

We spent a lot of time watching the baby chicks at the Zoo.  They all gathered in the corner by Mav.

Selfie - Omi and Mav (and Ellie and thumb)

Brody is taking swimming lessons.  It was fun to watch him with his teacher and the other students in his class.  He is so confident and comfortable in the water.  He loved to keep adjusting his goggles, he was a real pro at doing that with every task his teacher asked of him.

His teacher was a real hoot!  He passed and moves on to the next level of training!

These Two Pals Make Me Wanna Cry

They are such pals.  They fight and they hug and they count on each other.

Brody is 4 and Claire is 5.

I love the different body language.  See Brody's feet.

Peek a boo.  Visiting the farm at the Zoo.

They started going down the slide together a few years ago, as really little ones.  See Brody's hands,

and their hands together,

weeeeeeeeeeeee.  Love these two together.

Hangin' out.  Waiting for mom and dad to arrive, quiet end of the day time.

The Fab Five

They are all there if you look closely - hanging out at the playground.

At the Zoo together with Papa.  What else?  Snack time.  The Zoo is all about snack time for us!

Playhouse in the backyard.  Yep, they all fit inside!  Kinda look like a gang, don't they?

Ham it up, why don't ya!

Oh my!  Dress up time!  Are we gorgeous or what?  They really are the Fab Five to us!

Reading time!  Sometimes they need a quiet moment to regroup.  I mean, sometimes I need a quiet moment to regroup.  They each have their favorite books that they often grab.  I love:  Mara's ham-it-up look - Max laying his head on Brody's shoulder - Brody's foot and favorite cap and his "teacher" mode - Claire is so interested in what everyone else is doing/learning (her favorite book in her lap is The Little Mermaid - a very complicated version of the book) - Maverick (post-nap hairdo) and his cute feet and shoes, he loves this little book of prayers.

A Little Girl Named Mara AnnMarie

Tiny she is, but don't underestimate her, or call her a baby.  She wants to be just like the big kids.
She is tickled pink these days when she can sit at the big kid table and do projects.  Focus on stickers!

Maverick has a big boy bed for naps at the farm.  Mara is obsessed with it.  Snuggle time.  Loves the pillow and all the babies near the bed.

Love finding a small spot to share!

She loves to share food.  She is really piling it into Mama's mouth.  Mama can't keep up!

Photo bomb!  I was plotting a shot of Claire and Brody together.

Quiet day at the Zoo, so we let the kids run wild.  She loved the freedom.  Nice pink cowboy boots, Mara!

For some reason, the kids love to play in the porch.  Never mind that the floor is usually dirty from the goings in and goings out that happen there.