SS' best friends stayed with us for 9 days, and headed home this evening. I thought that I would be pulling my hair out with so many kids and some potentially moody teenagers, but our week went great. The little boys begged them not to leave, and we were sorry to see them go too. On the other hand, I am sure that they will be happy to return to their much quieter home where they can actually sleep in once in a while!
My dad, always a drinker. ;-)
My cousins' twin boys enjoying some watermelon.
My other cousin's beautiful little charmer!
The organizer and baker!
My cousins. We used to chase each other with four wheelers and hope we didn't flip; now we chase after our children and hope that we can visit for more than a minute!
Our street, looking south.
Our yard.
After a few failed attempts, the crane finally got a grip on our tree trunk; but UH OH, there's smoke!
The excavator joined in to assist.
The crane had to drop the trunk and let the excavator take care of it. The boys said the "tougher" machine won! Needless to say, the excavator driver was pleased with the boys' enthusiasm. (Oh, and his family homeschools too! )
Needless to say, my entire front yard looks just terrible, but they managed to avoid half of my front garden, my new redbud tree, and my new little smoke bush! Considering the benefits of their work, guess that I can't complain!
SS turned 17 yesterday! Though she was reluctant to celebrate her birthday because she is SOOOO old, she finally agreed to a small celebration with two friends and both sets of grandparents.
SS got her first doll - ever! She grew up making dolls with mud and plants and is so excited to have a real Barbie doll with handmade clothes from Oma and Opa.
Yes, only 7 candles! Aside from the fact that I was out of candles, 17 of them would have been entirely too traumatic. So if she is SOOOO old at 17, what does that make the rest of us?!?
KiKi had fun following the bigger kids and got to take a nap in Oma's trailer.
Neil-Te spent a good portion of the day following A or chasing his younger cousin E.
A discovered his "uncle's" 20 year-old air rifle buried in the side of a hill. He has already started sanding off the rust and has made a military uniform to wear.
The kids all look forward to riding around with their uncle. Though KiKi doesn't look thrilled here, his face lit right up every time they were in motion.
We headed out after a relaxing day for mommy and a fun and dirty day for the boys. We left CoCo behind with O and his family, so we are all missing him tonight. He wasn't at all worried about being away from home, but mommy... Guess I like to think that he might need me.
This is the sight that greeted me when I arrived home! My dad came over with his Steiner this morning and dug up the sod. Hubby put up all the brackets along the house, and started the framework. Right now he's out getting a fish fry as a reward!
Grandma painted this pot for me as a Christmas present, and I have been eagerly awaiting planting time. The boys picked out petunias this year, and Neil-Te helped me plant the "Grandma Pot."
Here is a standard teenage pose. I am only sorry that I caught it on the couch vs. while she is watching a movie on the computer, gmailing, google-talking, and talking on the other phone at the same time! It is highly impressive what a teenage girl can learn to do with technology in only a year.
In yet another successful attempt to imitate his older siblings, KiKi has learned to use SS' Ipod. 
Neil-Te joins in, and together they mess up the song order and manage to frustrate their sister. (This after she was chased by CoCo and A with slimy worms! You can imagine her subsequent mood!)
This picture was meant to be of A's summer haircut; but as you can see from his eyes, this was moments before we realized that he was running a fever. Three days later, he is still running a fever. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for him.
The boys and I headed over to the lilac festival. Yes, we could call it a field trip, or a celebration of the boys' last day of history this school year; or we could just admit that it was a beautiful day and we wanted to go to the festival to wander around and eat junk food! The above picture is our token flower picture - though I took several, none of them turned out well.
Picnic lunch in the park.
KiKi was feeling drinky.
The boys collected lilac blossoms from off the ground, and we had several moms give us nasty looks on the assumption that I was allowing them to pick them off the bushes!
Time for cotton candy bigger than their heads! Neil-Te, KiKi and A all wanted cotton candy. A is the only one who actually enjoyed it a lot, though he didn't enjoy his headache later!
CoCo and I split a funnel cake and ended up sharing with Neil-Te and KiKi who decided that they definitely prefer funnel cakes over cotton candy!
KiKi was so eager to finish off the last of the funnel cake, that he tipped the sugar all over my pants. Guess that I'm extra sweet now!
Neil-Te: "Mommy, I have something important to tell you."
After much thoughtful consideration, the plans for the deck have been made.
Hubby began digging.
Neil-Te joined in.
A joined in periodically, but preferred the supervisory or tool-supplying role.
CoCo dug at every opportunity, even when Daddy was resting or at work.
The best part - verifying the depth of the holes!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the other mothers out there. May we all be reminded that each sleepless night, drippy nose, messy floor, dirty bottom... is a temporary nuisance in the miracle of motherhood.
