You know it's HOT when...

You are soooo sweaty your hair can do this...

...Ha!

My new daily reminder:

"Don't look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled by the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."

Cleaning Machines

A few weeks ago we began having the kids help out around the house. They each have been assigned a chore and, so far, they are doing a WONDERFUL job at keeping up with their chores...yay! Usually they ask Jake or I before we even think of it if they can please do their chore. And if they don't ask, all they need is a simple reminder. They gladly do their work and proudly put a pebble in their jar.

Emma is a master at cleaning the bathroom. The best part of assigning this job to Emma, is she not only cleans up the bathroom daily but she helps keep it clean throughout the day as well by wiping up water puddles and spilled toothpaste on the counter. She is doing that all on her own! She also very kindly reminds (sometimes more kindly than others!) her brother & sister to clean up properly after themselves when they are in the bathroom, because if not it makes more work for her...ha! Want to know Emma's new favorite thing to do? Clean the toilet. She thinks it's the coolest thing and loves how the toilet cleaner smells like peppermint! She even had Nate come watch her to see how cool it was!

Abby is spectacular at putting away the clean dishes. She organizes and lines up all the items that are to difficult to put away herself on the counter for me or Jake to help. She also is in charge of wiping down the counter, oven, fridge and trash can. I seriously think she would spray Windex and wipe down everything in the house if I let her! She is a hard worker!
Nathan's job is to sweep the kitchen floor. The day I introduced him to his chore, he said to me, "Awww, Mickey, why do I have to sweep the floor?!" Hmmmm....I wonder why?! I told him it was the best job because he will get to climb under the kitchen table. The real reason why is because he is the one who drops most of his food on the floor and under the table! He loves his job too does it everyday. His favorite part is when he finds dropped food under either of his sisters' chairs. He always announces to me that one on the girls spilled food on the floor. He is such a typical little brother!

Great job kiddos! Keep up the good work!

July, so far...

It's been a busy month! I can hardly believe we are halfway through the month of July...these past couple of weeks have flown by! It's been hot, humid and more hot, humid here in PA!!! I must say I'm starting to get a little sick of this heat, but I hate to complain because I much rather be too hot than cold:) Despite the unending heat, we have been having a busy and fun summer.

Fourth of July weekend, Jake and I had the opportunity to travel home to MA to visit family. We had some very special guest fly in all the way from London that we were so thrilled we had the chance to spend some time with. My little sister, Denise (who has been studying at Oxford University) and her fiance, Ross spent 10 days at my mom's house. They brought along with them Ross's parents: Ann & Jack. It was so good to see my little sister (who I haven't seen since last September!) and Ross and such a pleasure to meet Ann & Jack.

The newly engaged couple :)
Me and my little sis...
Connor, Chris & Renee...

The grill masters, Ross & Jake...

Digging in!

I just adore my Pepere :)

Connor had lots of fun entertaining us with these festive beads...

Chris, Renee, Jake, Nikki, Ross & Dee. With one couple in Massachusetts, one in Pennsylvania and one in London...these pictures don't happen often!

And of course we had to celebrate the birthday lady, Renee, who turned the big 3-0 in June! Happy Birthday Renee!

The next day we had a blast celebrating the 4th of July at Jake's Uncle Bob & Aunt Norma's house. It was an all American day filled with family, swimming, food & boat rides.

Tim & Dawn...

Burt & Christine...

Logan, Joe and Beezy enjoying the water...

Uncle Bob taking us out on a boating adventure...

Dawn & Larry...

Jake & his little brothers...

Logan & Luke had so much fun on tubing, that I decided to give it a try! Here I am on my very first tubing experience....

After I tried it out, Dawn gave it a whirl. She was a little more daring than I was...

....which ended her up off the tube and in the water!!!

It was such a fun day!

And back at home, we have been enjoying spending lots of extra time with the kiddos. We recently went mini-golfing...

Don't they look like movie stars?!

And have enjoyed one of our favorite summer treats....making s'mores! Yummy!

And that's what we've been up to lately.

We hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!

Need a Smile?

I have 3 to share :)

Have a happy day!

Keeping it Fresh

Well, summer sure has gotten off to a pretty great start for the Marshall kids! The first week after school got out, they all had the opportunity to spend the entire week with their Grandmom, Pop-Pop, Aunt Judy, Uncle Ryan, and cousins Christian & McKenna. While there, they also had the opportunity to do VBS at the church they used to attend. And last week we had some of Jake's family come stay with us for a few days. Emma, Abby & Nate had lots of fun playing with Beezy, Joe, Auntie Christine & Nana. What special times!

It seems like things will be settling down here for a little while at least :) We still have lots of fun things planned for the summer. But as far as vacations & visitors go, I think we are clear until August. So this weekend, we began working on establishing a routine. I know what you are thinking, "A routine on summer vacation?!" Yes. A very relaxed routine, but a routine nevertheless. But don't worry the kids LOVE IT!

Jake and I have been very relaxed with the kids when it comes to doing chores and stuff around the house. Mostly because we felt like they spent so little time with us that we didn't want them to always be "working." But our schedule with the kids has changed drastically over the past year and they now spend several days at a time with us. So, we decided it was time to enforce the importance of helping out around the house. They each have a special chore that they do each day in addition to their typical responsibilities like making their beds and cleaning up after themselves. Each time they complete a chore they earn a pebble (thank you for this idea Christine, the kids LOVE it!) and they are working together to earn enough pebbles to get a reward. The kids are super excited about it and do their chores with great care and diligence. Yay!

In addition to all that, each day the kids all do some pages in their workbooks to keep their brains fresh for school in September. This has also had a very positive response!

Emma, working out some problem solving...

Abby, carefully printing her numbers and letters...
And Nathan, so proud of himself as he should be! Nate has not been overly excited about doing anything constructive or anything that has to do with numbers, letters or the word "school." I must say, we have made a LOT of progress with him in the recent months and we are so proud of him. I'm hoping doing his workbooks everyday this summer will help him even more.

So, in between having TONS of fun this summer, we will also be helping out around the house and prepping their brains for the 4th grade, 1st grade and pre-school:)

Special Guests

Last week we had some very special guests come and visit us here in PA all the way from MA. Nana, Auntie Christine, Elizabeth & Joseph came to stay at our house for a few days. And what a great time we had!! I have never had house guests before, so I was a little nervous (especially about having 9 people in a house with one bathroom and the fact that it was 90 degrees & humid and we don't have air conditioning!) but it all worked out fine and as usual I was worried for nothing:) I must say I am extremely grateful for our little inflatable pool and sprinkler which are just as fun for adults as they are for kids!

We enjoyed big, family meals all gathered around the table. This is always my favorite time.

Everyone had fun cooling off and splashing around in the pool...
What's a summer day without popsicles...

...and watermelon??

This yard sale find was worth every penny!

Can you say, "Victory!" Beezy can. And she did several times!

Can't get enough water...

Lookout girls...here comes Daddy!!

Friends.

Up until this point, everything was calm and relaxing. Well, as relaxing as it can be with five children present. And then something happened. I'm not entirely sure what. Exhaustion from non-stop action? Feeling revived from being in air condtioning while dining out? Too much sugar for the kids? Or was it the margarita's consumed by the adults? All I know is that at one point Nana, Auntie Christine, Jake and I were all playing nice game of Bocce, when suddenly a war broke out...

A water war!! Adults vs. kids and I don't think anybody won! We all ended up drenched! Poor Auntie Chris. In her kind effort to aid the children in attack against Jake, she wound up being tossed in the pool!

Once the water fight was finished, we settled down to watch a little fireworks display. Sorry for the bad photos, but you get the idea :)

Emma Ruth...

Nana & Nate.

The whole gang.

Then there are the good-byes. Obviously, Nate is not a fan of good-byes...or pictures!

Thank you so much for traveling to PA to visit us and stay in our home. It meant a lot to us that you came. It was our pleasure to have you with us. We all had so much fun! Can't wait to see you in August!

Love,

The Marshall's