The Mergenthaler Family

We have a lot of frogs around our house.  The wet, warm weather is perfect for them to thrive, and they are great entertainment for the kids. One evening, when Makayla was headed out the door to go practice basketball, a fat frog hopped right in our house.  It was creepy!  Makayla saved the day by catching it in a cup and taking it outside. Last Sunday, when we were on a walk, I saw the smallest frog I have ever seen.  When I pointed it out to Makayla, she was not surprised at all.  Now that I know they are there, I see them everywhere.  In the following pictures, Makayla is holding one in her hand.  They are smaller than a fingernail. Our first years here, the kids would spend hours outside catching and playing with frogs.  They would give them names like Hoppy or George and carry them around for hours.  Unfortunately, I know they have unintentionally murdered several of them.  Their population doesn't seem to be affected, th...

School got out two weeks ago, today.  If I thought I was busy while the kids were in school, it's nothing compared to having everybody home.  It takes a couple of weeks to adjust to being around each other all the time, and it's an adjustment for me to rarely have a moment's peace.  I am trying to enjoy our time together and appreciate the warm weather and carefree days. The end of the school year is a beast in itself.  There are so many end of the year presentations that it seems like the last two weeks of school, Sean doesn't get a decent nap because I have to wake him up and take him to one event or another. Nevertheless, we go and I try to enjoy the kids' accomplishments while I wrestle Sean to keep him from pulling down the classroom book displays or running like an adorable little tyrant through the halls. The first school thing we went to was Ricky's "Spring Showcase."  Ricky has really made a lot of progress this scho...