Labor Day

we decided that it was best that russ work that monday. business has been really bad for him lately, due to many factors. And when business is bad, money is tight. But on a brighter note, i took the kids out back to play in the yard, thinking that with fall approaching, the weather starting to cool down and all the rain we've been getting, this might just be the last time they get to play in their summer pool! we spent hours out there and the kids had a blast, despite the ugly clouds blocking the sun!

i haven't done this in awhile, so i felt it was time to go camera crazy. you should have seen all the pictures/videos i took overall!

it looks like he was about to fall out of the pool here, and i can't remember if he did or not. lol

natalie looked so beautiful, i couldn't stop taking pictures of her

she drew the hopscotch game all by herself -- i just helped show her how to draw certain numbers

then she hopped her little heart away:

russell kept busy making this cool tower

putting the finishing touches on top

while we were outside, i happened to spot something high up in the tree. when i took a closer look, i realized that it was natalie's shirt! over three months ago, we spent father's day at my parent's house and while we were there, the kids had fun while my dad sprayed them down with the hose . natalie's shirt was soaked so when we got home that night, i put it on the chair on the back porch to dry. the next day, it was missing. it kept bothering me, not knowing what happened. all i can think of is that a squirrel snatched it for some reason. i know it sounds funny but i couldn't come up with anything else! anyway, OVER THREE MONTHS later, sitting about 20 feet up high in our backyard tree, surviving all of our summer thunderstorms (and there were a lot!), we finally solved the mystery! it was so funny to me, i had to share :)