We had a little sewing class at church.

 Both of the kids got to make lined zippered pouches.

And I got to learn how to install zippers too! Yay!

Oh, the things we will sew!

At bedtime tonight...

Deacon: "Mommy, when's your birthday?"
Me: "May 19th"
Deacon: "So, that's a long time ago, huh?"
Me: "Yeah, a couple of months."
Deacon: "Well, I got something for you." (As he hands me a 10 dollar bill.)
Me: "Oh, what's this for?"
Deacon: "For being a good mother."
Me: Tears.
Deacon: Almost tears.

I love my tender-hearted boy!

My little girl hopped on her bike and headed to the salon in "town" and asked for a new, cute, funky haircut! Oh, how I love this little "town"!

Me: Hey buddy, you need to take a shower.
Deacon: So, it's all about you, huh?
Me: What do you mean?
Deacon: It's always about YOU and YOU wanting a good smell in the house...

Oh, the kid cracks me up!!

Sports Camp

A couple of weeks ago, our little bitty church hosted a Sports Camp at the local school.

This was my facebook status on July 6th:
"Erik and I are coaching the volleyball portion of our Sports Camp/VBS and it feels really cool. Volleyball was a big part of our "courtship" and now we're coaching our own kids and their friends in a little volleyball camp. I have to admit, it's been a bit of a dream!"

It really was a bit of a dream. Volleyball was such a huge part of my summers growing up in Minnesota. We would go from house to house a couple of nights a week to play volleyball and eat yummy food. Nearly everyone had a net and a bag of lime in the barn to make the boundary lines. It was a great sport and a cheap sport to do with the huge families like we all had. When Erik and I met, we also spent a lot of time on volleyball courts; grass, sand and gym courts. I remember being impressed with his kindness on the court, he was very gracious and was quick to offer a "oh sorry, that was my fault" or "nice one". I noticed, he certainly caught my eye. And uh, his skill didn't go un-noticed either at 6' 2"... well, let's just say, the man could play! So, years later when we were in wedded bliss and ready to put down some roots in Washington, one of my criteria in looking for a house was a yard flat enough and big enough to play volleyball. It didn't look very likely as we scanned the Columbia River Gorge for a home, but we found one, one might even say God planned it just for us. We haven't played a lot of volleyball in our yard yet, but we have the net and the space and now that the kids are old enough to learn the game, we hope to make many family memories playing volleyball in our yard.

Here are a couple of photos from the camp:

Elena and Deacon picked up some basic volleyball skills and a serious interest in the game. Yay!

It was so fun to do the Sports Camp with the whole family, Erik even took the mornings off so he could participate. It certainly wasn't easy, we were all thoroughly exhausted when the week was over, but all of the joy and special memories made it all so worth it! 

Volleyball dreams do come true! 

The Latest Additions to our Ducky Family!

In a previous ducky post, I mentioned that we may have more ducks on the way... well, here they are!

 

Meet May and Fay

 Erik brought them home the other day.

And he surprised the kids. They were delighted!

May and Fay, also known as "the girls".  They look pretty similar, but May, well she has some moves, she does this cool head bobbing thing that's sure to make her stand out in a crowd.

Within a minute of their arrival, "the guys" were very happy to have girls in the yard again. Elena exclaimed, "guys, you just met!" followed by "if they were people, they'd probably be in jail!"

As we watched "the guys" follow "the girls" around, Erik mentioned; "I guess, these guys haven't had a girl to follow around for awhile." Without missing a beat, Deacon said, "yeah, I think they like the view!"

Oh, they are just so pretty.

And they ruffle their feathers a bit, leaving pretty little snowy white feathers all over the yard.

 We have two Pekin cuties.

And two sleeping beauties.

We received these two girls from our friends who live in Hood River. This isn't their first relocation; on previous attempts, the girls made their way back home. We hope they'll choose to stay with us, they certainly add a lot of charm and beauty to our little Ducky Family!

A Girl and Her Books

 A girl organizing her books.

A girl who loves her books!

A Boy and His Ducks

 A boy feeding his ducks.

A boy that loves his ducks.

Just a few photos to catch you up with the ducks...

  

Although she fought hard to save her babies, mama duck didn't make it. So, the current duck population at the Lundby Hive is: 2 Drakes, 3 Ducklings and there may be more on the way... stay tuned for more updates on the Ducky-saga at the Lundby Hive.

Deacon's birthday party!

A glimpse of Deacon's belated 9th birthday party.

Elena started making this surprise quilt for Deacon about a year and a half ago. With his birthday looming, it seemed like good motivation to finish it up. So, we arranged a few playdates for Deacon and Elena and I hustled to get it done and yeah, the belated party certainly worked in our favor.

Deacon was very surprised and pleased with the quilt! And I love that Elena wanted to make a quilt for her brother, it just melts a mommy's heart!

It was a lovely day filled with good friends and good food and lots of celebration. Happy birthday Deacon!

With the creative juices brewing and stewing at the Lundby household, getting a good look at the roof and cleaning the gutters seemed like a good idea to three of us, actually all four us us ended up on the roof that day. Sometimes you just need a new perspective.