Keeping Up With the Dennis'

It's hard to believe that almost a month of summer has gone by. We've been having a great time here in Lind. The 14th was the annual Combine Demolition Derby in Lind. The kids decorated up their bikes and rode in the kids parade for Junior Grange. They were so excited. Then they got to catch candy and watch the "big" parade. It was a very good parade. My favorite part was the Viking group from Poulsbo that threw candy at the kids and then rushed the kids with their wooden boardswords drawn. Ben spilled half his candy and the girls latched onto our legs very quickly. It took us a few minutes to convince the kids that it was all just for "fun" and they weren't really "bad" men. Oh, how I wish I had a video of that!!! Here's a couple of pictures of the kids getting ready for the parade and a picture of my boss' wife with the Vikings.



We also had a trip to Seattle for another post surgery visit with Ben's surgical team. They took x-rays and examined his mouth. The graft looks good and he got the go ahead to eat corn on the cob! He was a happy boy! We made a fun day of it and went to the zoo after Ben's appointment. A good time was had by all at the zoo. Some of our favorite things were the birds and the butterflies. We got to get up close and personal with them. We also got to see the lions mating. Talk about an educational fieldtrip!!!
The last pictures on the slideshow are from one of our visits to the Ritzville pool. We went ahead and got season passes for the Lind and the Ritzville pools. I think the kids are part fish. They are so happy when they are splashing around in the pool. Emma is doing really well in the water. She still likes to have her tube float most of the time but has actually been jumping in and diving for things in the pool. She even got up the nerve to go down the slide at Ritzville by herself. Of course, Ben talked her into going down backwards and she tipped over and got a bit anxious but she dogpaddled out by herself. She needs to learn not to listen to big brothers. That is a lesson I learned pretty early in life. Probably the reason Dot & I are still alive - we had each other for back up against the boys!!!

Long Time No Blog

Whew! Forgive me readers for I have sinned. It has been almost two months since my last blog. To catch everyone up: Ben was released from activity restriction after 5 weeks and has been constantly on the go ever since. He was able to play T-ball the last two weeks of the season and really enjoyed it. The kids finished school this last week. They will all be going to summer school this summer. Hopefully it will help them retain all the knowledge they have gathered and it will give them something to do so they aren't always bored. They will also have swimming lessons during summer school - something cool that the school does for them. They will probably spend every afternoon at the pool as the babysitter now lives in town - just two blocks from the pool. Rod is going to get a bike rack fixed up for my van so we can take their bikes to the babysitter's every morning. They are really bike riding fools.
Emma had a very momentous day today. Her top two front teeth were very loose and she asked me to pull them out - so I did. She only cried for a minute when she saw the blood. She just went outside with the boys and got out Ben's old bike. It is smaller than her bike and is a little easier for her to control. She got on it and rode it to the end of the street and back - very straight and controlled without training wheels!!! So two teeth out and riding a bike without training wheels - can't get much better than that.

Since I have been promising Aunt Melanie that I will post new pictures, I have put together the following slide show. It shows the kids helping Dad drive the Terragator, T-ball photos, our camping trip where the kids had a ball rolling down the hill and playing in the river, the spring concert at school & riding bikes. Just another normal month at the Dennis house! Hope you all are having a good spring and are as ready for summer as we are.