A little trip down memory lane. The year our Bee turned 3. Look at that sweet little face.

Now it's five years later and we are approaching her 8th birthday. Time has a funny way of going really fast, but it also seems like that was so long ago. I'm not sure how that can be. All I know is that I'm so glad that I have the pictures to look at. To remember such fun times.

Pinatas. Ballons. Slip-n-slides. Games. Cake. More cake. Lots of laughs. And kids running everywhere. I get a little nostalgic for those parties, time and geography and made them a bit harder to do. I'm just so glad we had the chance to have so much fun. What better way to celebrate the birthday of such a great girl?!

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EIGHT

This summer I will always remember as one of great growth and development for our Bee. She'll be eight next week. On her birthday, we will be at an amusement park in Kansas City. She will probably be riding her first roller coaster. She will be EIGHT.

Over the holiday weekend she lost two teeth in 24 hours. She's suddenly got the standard jack-o-lantern smile of any school age child.

She jumped off of the diving board for the first time ever on the second day of swimming lessons two weeks ago. It was with zero hesitation that she took her first dip in the deep end.

She tried out a rope swing on a lake and rode on a tube behind a boat minutes after her very first boat ride. She thought that a day spent at the lake was the very best thing she'd ever done (she feels that way often) and that it was definitely the BEST DAY EVER.

Maybe because she's our first, we've sheltered her a bit. Suddenly she's in the big world and trying new things with more energy and delight than anyone I've ever met. She's excited by small things and still loves being a kid.

It's off to third grade in August and I can only imagine what's next. I'm so glad to be her mom.

Honest, generous, creative, and sweet. Our Bee is such a joy.

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This is the view from our deck. Over our fence, over the walking path, over a semi-busy road...there is this field. I absolutely love this view. The darker green is an alfalfa field that has just been harvested. It will grow back, be mowed again, and baled. It's fun to see the process, which we've watched three times over the year that we've been here. The lighter green is pasture, where cows roam and eat and moo. We watch storms come over the horizon and firelies dance at night. It makes me happy.

We've got such a different life here. The kids are currently out front with the neighbor kids, caring for a painted turtle that their dad found fishing. There's a freedom in their lives that is new and fantastic. I know that part of it comes with the independence of older kids, it's a great feeling to know that your kids are happy.

 We've had picnics. Fireworks shows. They ride their scooters up and down the block. There are kids everywhere.

They've had their first boat rides. Summer day camps. Art and music classes. Nature hikes.

And lots of down time. It's been such a change of pace here and I LOVE IT.

August 1st will mark one year since we left Omaha. Yes, saying good-bye was hard, but there have been no regrets. Kearney is home.

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