Mommy needs a voice . . .

I've been sick. It started with a sore throat and moved to an annoying and persistant cough. The most challenging aspect of it all is that I have ranged from not having a voice at all to it simply being painful to speak. This is not good when you are taking care of small children who tend to need a lot of instruction and to have those instructions repeated numerous times. Fortunatley, I think I am on the mend. Meanwhile, Sophia is in the process of sprouting three new molars.

Grant has finished his first week of summer preschool. He has come home worn out each day, so I know they are keeping him busy. They are spending a good amount of time each morning outside. The preschool has a nice flower garden about 100 yards from the school that Grant's class walks to each morning. They are also doing snack time picnic style on a blanket outside.

Grant has developed a new skill: master castle builder. About the time that Grant turned a year old, we bought a big bin of mega blocks (oversized legos) at Sam's Club. In the three years that we have had those blocks, I don't think they have seen as much action as they have in the past week. Every day this week Grant has spent a good amount of time focusing his energy on building castles. They really are really quite impressive. I'll have to post a picture of him with one of his master creations soon. Sophia has a new skill, too: master castle destroyer. It's been fun to watch them learn to play together as Grant builds and Sophia destroys. Grant tends to be more patient with her than I would have expected.

Travis has also started summer school. During the month of June he is taking the last class that he needs in order to finish up his Education degree. We are both excited about him finishing as it should open up some more job possibilities. It will also make the transition from practicing law to teaching seem more complete. It has been a long road, but it was definitely the right one to go down!