Fun with Noelle

One evening, shortly before bed, Noelle's hair was still wet so I asked her if she wanted me to bobby pin her hair into little curls so that it would be curly when she woke up in the morning. (Molly, from the American Girls Series did this, so Noelle was familiar with the idea). Noelle was very excited and although I really didn't know what I was doing, I proceeded to tightly twist portions of her hair into rings.
We were both excited when she woke up the next morning to see what our experiment resulted in. Let's just say, she looked a little more like a poodle on a bad hair day, then my sweet little girl.
Her less-then-excited response was, "I don't think this was such a good idea." And then in a more panicked voice "How long until the curls come out?" I reassured her that the curls could come out at any time, but after a little taming her hair was really cute.

In other news, Noelle has become a little fish this summer. Here are 2 new talents she learned just yesterday: Jumping into the pool unassisted and floating on her back.

Summer Happiness

Summer happiness:




And top off a summer day with a beautiful sunset from our deck:

Birthday Celebration Continuation

Brad's birthday celebration continued into Sunday with a birthday dinner and fireworks. Here's the menu for the birthday boy:
hot wings, guacamole and chips, fresh tomato basil and mozzarella salad, sliced sweet peppers and top it all off with peach crisp and ice cream.
I have to laugh, because other then the peach crisp and ice cream I'd never even heard of the other food before becoming a Spence. (ok, I guess I knew about red, yellow and orange peppers, but I don't think I ever ate one).

Noelle and Sadie enjoyed their first Sparkler experience.
Brad and I were a little disappointed with the Sparklers. They don't make them like they use to...or they don't sell them in KY...which could be the case.

Home Sweet Home

It's been just over a week since we returned from vacation and I have to say...I like home. Vacation is always a wonderful break and I think getting away helps me appreciate the routine that I sometimes mistaken for 'mundane' here at home. It always feels so good to get back to normal.

One big highlight to our return was our new built-in cabinets that our dear friend, Ben, built and installed for us during my time away.

This is in the girls' room.

It's built into an unusual space that I could never seem to utilize to it potential. But now...step aside and watch me 'utilize'! Isn't it beautiful!?! Well, I have to paint it and then it will be beautiful to everyone. I think it's perfectly wonderful even without the paint.

This is in our basement - another unusual space that needed help.

Great for storage or hiding
Home is also extra special when you get sunsets like this from your deck.

Happy Birthday Brad

The Fourth of July means fireworks and Brad's birthday...two things that make for a fun day. In Brad's own words, this birthday marks "Halfway to 70" - nice, huh?
Here's the old man with a new mug and a sporty new sweatband for his runs across Northern KY.