A monkey. A squirrel. One happy family.

Soccer Annie Soccer Ella

Really, does it get much better? I'm thinking that it doesn't. Surprise gift of a library card catalog. Coconut cream pie. Both whipped up by the lovely Spencer Kane. A lake house weekend with ridiculously awesome food.  Some of the littles at the lake house, post swimming extravaganza. Some of the bigger littles. Three girls in a boat. Semi-synchronized jumps. Spencer schools some young fisher-people. There were also s'mores, many bottles of wine, and some pretty fantastic grown-ups who have mad charades skills, none of whom I managed to get a picture of. Anyway, they were there, and they were awesome.

Annie has a summer 'do. This is her with my hairdresser Amy, who did the honors of chopping off the tangled length. The sassy cut suits Annie, and she is quite happy with it, as its shortness makes it possible for her to brush it on her own.

A few pictures from our 4th of July weekend at Holiday Acres Lake outside out of Cairo, MO. The pictures of Ella make me miss her more. She is spending four weeks at "grandma camp" in Florida. She just completed a week of film camp, and tomorrow she will be at Sea World day camp. I want her summer. Spencer and I spent the weekend farming Annie out to the neighbor so we could scrape off popcorn ceiling and rip up carpet and sub floor in preparation for this week's foundation repair. I would much rather be by the pool in Winter Garden. Happy summer! Annie June. Ella takes a grapes-and-cheese-stick break from swimming. Sisters. S'mores. Spencer very excited about grilling a ridiculous amount of corn. Jordan (nephew of my brother Aaron and sister-in-law Cristi) and Ella. Annie and cousin Trey ("It's too sunny!")

Spencer's last day in radio was Friday, July 12. Here is the message he posted on Facebook. A sad, exciting time. "And now, for something completely different. Tomorrow marks the last day of my radio career. I have finally decided to go get a grownup job, and have accepted a position as a loan officer with Veterans United here in Columbia. In my wake,  I leave 23 years of radio. I worked at some great radio stations in my career, with some great broadcasters - from K-Nack in Austin, KRBE in Houston, WTGE and WFMF in Baton Rouge, Z100 and The Buzz in Portland, and my current stations in Columbia, KFRU/KBBM and BXR. I did overnights, nights, afternoons, mid-days and mornings. I worked Saturday night bar remotes, washed cars for charity with the fire department, and camped out for a week for Star Wars tickets. I got to cover some great moments in Mizzou sports, and see the best concerts I will ever see in my lifetime. It was, in short, a helluva time - and they paid me too!...

Ella's long legs were made for running, and this weekend she and other members of the Russell Boulevard Elementary Running Club ran a mile-long race in St. Louis. This mile was the final mile in the kids' cumulative marathon they have been running all semester. As part of the Go! St. Louis Read, Right, and Run Marathon , the kids not only logged miles, but they also read 26 books and did 26 good deeds. Here are some pictures from Ella's race. We are very proud of her! Mama and Ella wait for the race to start. Annie waits to watch Ella cross the starting line. Ella runs by her cheering fans! Ella high-fives spectators as she makes her way to the finish line. Ella shows off her finisher's medal. Dr. Schumacher, Ella's principal and organizer of Russell's running club, surrounded by proud runners.

It is the last day of our spring break together. We have hunted and eaten eggs, nibbled ears off of chocolate rabbits, and played with some of Annie's new toys. We have visited with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We have seen great artwork. We have cast lines into the water with little hope of catching anything except the joy of being in the sun and with each other. We have seen pelicans and learned about their migration patterns and hunting habits. We have made new friends. We have rejoiced at hearing these words come out of Ella's mouth: "Annie, it doesn't matter what somebody looks like. It's the inside that counts - being smart and kind and funny." We have cooked together and shared meals with family. We have celebrated our sweet Annie turning four. She was showered with incredibly thoughtful gifts from friends and family far and near. We are so grateful for her, for each other, for you. Here are some of my favorite photos from Annie's bi...