August Highlights

If July could be called our month with friends, then August was definitely our month with family.  My mom and dad took the kids at the beginning of the month for ten days--yes, you read that right, ten days!  They swam, rode the gator, and had sleepovers with their cousins.  Oh, and let's not forget the unmonitored levels of soda, candy, and popsicles!  All in all, they had a great break from mom and dad.

And I should also mention that mom and dad had a great break from them!  Besides sleeping well, eating while our food was still hot, and getting to leisurely walk around Pier One, I painted for four days, we cleaned out and reorganized our basement HVAC room, and did house project after house project.  To top it all off, we installed new 6-panel doors throughout the house.  Do we really know how to live it up with the kids gone or what?!?

I was able to spend a couple of nights in OH, too.  I really enjoy going back home to the flat open fields where the kids can run and play ... and I can ride a bike down the road without having to get off and push it up a ginormous hill!  I like living so close to a big city and everything it has to offer, but there is something about the freedom that comes with growing up on a farm that I wish my kiddos could experience.  Thanks, mom and dad, for giving them a week of "country life!"

While home, my Aunt Mary and cousin Madison were in from North Dakota too.  It had been seven years since I had last seen them.

And as a special treat to myself during the OH trip, I was able to hang out with my best friend Brooke for a "birthday brunch."  (Move to StL already, Brooke!)

Near the end of the month, Tyler's mom and stepdad came out for a visit.  Here we are in one of our favorite spots:

Early birthday presents from grandma and grandpa were also enjoyed.

To end the month, we started back to school.  This is P's first year and she was eager to get started!  (Ok, a full disclosure: I didn't take official first day pics because we were in our pj's most of that stormy day.  So let's just pretend that these are from the first day.)

And someone else wanted to join in on the fun.  =)

Other news from this month: it has been confirmed by a second doctor that Z needs to get braces already.  He is missing a couple of baby teeth and one adult tooth.  No biggie except that two of his adult teeth are coming in at a 60 degree angle, aimed right at his top front teeth, and about to cut through the roots.  He will need minor oral surgery and then a couple years of braces.  He can totally blame me for the bad genetics on this one!  And sadly, if I remember correctly, S is missing the same baby teeth so we may be down this road again in a few years.

With no one left in diapers, me trying to get rid of every baby item in the house, and braces on the horizon, it appears that we are officially moving into the next stage of family life.  Is that college I see creeping up around the corner?  Say it isn't so!

July Highlights

This has been a busy month! StL weather has been remarkable; the first non-miserable summer we have had here. We were able to be outside almost every day and spent a lot of time hanging out with friends.

For Independence Day, we watched fireworks from our house and did some of our own.  This is the first year we didn't make the parade.  They moved everything to Forest Park and all parking was offsite; I didn't think the kids would be able to handle the long walks.  I also didn't think I would be able to handle the long lines waiting for a bus to commute into the park!

As a late Father's Day present, I built a fire pit for Tyler.  Our un-level yard proved to be a nuisance again!  But sitting around the fire eating s'mores with the kids made it worth it. Tyler and the girls also set up the tent and camped out for the night.  Z. and I took the less adventurous road and slept in the comfort of our own beds!

On S's 7th birthday, she wanted to go to a workshop and build a bug house.  She is so easy to please!

The day after her birthday she wanted to wear this dress to church.  Formally her Aunt Holly's dress, circa 1990.  Now we just need to teach her how to clog!

For her birthday party, she wanted to big soccer game in the common area behind our house.  It was so hot that day!  It was also very warm in our house and I attributed it to the 20+ people in it.  However, after everyone went home that night I realized that four of the five vents on our first floor were closed.  (Sorry everybody!)

Instead of little pizzas from Pizza Hut, we do a reading program through Six Flags where the kids earn free tickets.  Just Z, S, and I went and we had a blast.  The wave pool was a favorite, along with the log flume, shazaam, and the Scooby Doo ride.  The lines were so short that we were able to ride all of our favorites at least twice.

My attempt to get a group shot at a park.  This really is the best one I could get!

Hanging out with friends at a going-away party.

S. with her best friend.  Even with mouths full of pizza, they are so cute.

Hanging out with my senior year college roommates.  It was so nice to catch up with them.

I was able to spend some time with my good friends Kristina and Jenny.  Kristina and I sat at a picnic table and talked for six hours.  What did the kids do that whole time?  They found plenty to keep busy!

In the midst of a major toy clean up, S. tried to see how tall she could build a tower without it falling over.

Good news from this month: N doesn't need glasses!  (At least, not yet.)  I was so incredibly glad.   And bad news from this month: S broke her left arm on July 31. Here she is after we received the news from the doctor.  =(

June Highlights

My, how time flies when you have four kids!  I just realized that it has been more than two years since I have blogged  ... and I still blame Facebook for my demise.  However, I am hoping to start back up with a picture-heavy post every month to help us stay better connected with family.  To kick it off, here are highlights from June.

What is the start of summer without some water?  We went to a BBQ/swimming party with friends and Z had a couple of buddies over for a sleepover and slip-and-slide.

We were invited to explore the botanical gardens with friends.  Typically I try to avoid the gardens because of my newly-acquired StL allergies, but this year hasn't been as bad.  This was the first time we have been in their children's garden and it was really cool.  To our local friends, I highly recommend it!

Z and S love being outside, digging up worms, catching creepy crawlies, and playing with toads.  Here is their record-long catch.  Ewwww!  Oh yeah, and the really big news for the month is Z got a haircut!

Actually, there is another major happening from June.  S and P both had to get glasses. S is far-sighted.  P is near-sighted.  Thankfully, neither of them have the same eye condition as Z.  N is scheduled to see the eye doctor next week, so stay tuned for whether or not we are 4-of-4 in this department!  Here the girls are in their new glasses at Grant's Farm.  (After running through sprinklers, I tried to get a good group pic but I couldn't stop N from photo-bombing. She is a nut!)

We took the kids fishing--a first for P and N.  Everyone caught at least one, except for N, and I managed to not touch a worm the whole time.  :)  After P caught her fish, she screamed and almost threw the pole back in the water because, "The fish got slime on me!"  Surprise, surprise, she also did not touch a worm.  She is definitely our daintier one!  (Side story: She cried before we left to go fishing because she wanted to go to the store first and buy some "polka-dotted fishing shoes" to match her dress.)

In non-kid related news, we have been working on getting the house ready to potentially sell.  We met with a Realtor and are finishing up remodeling projects.  When we bought our house as a foreclosure, we said that the first thing to go would be the bright blue countertops.  Well, five years later and we finally got rid of them!  Hard to see in the main pic, but we choose a speckled design of neutral colors.  The old bar was drywalled in, so we have some repair work to do there.

Finally, I spent some devoted time this month updating CarePoint's website.  As all webbies will attest to, there is always more to do.  But this round I condensed their therapist page by putting their bios in pop-ups and integrated their online system.  Now new clients can fill out all their paperwork online and existing clients can schedule appointments. Check out the recent changes!