The Month of July

I know, I know, it takes me forever to write an update. I keep trying but there is so little free time these days, even for stuff like this. However, I currently have a chance, so I going to do it. Lot's has been going on in July.

We went to a friend's wedding on July 3rd. It was a beautiful ceremony and it was nice to get to get dressed up and spend an evening amongst adults. Brian may disagree(about the dress up part) but we had a really good time.

The next day we took off for Lake Greenwood. Those of you who know me well know that during my college years friends and I would gather at this lake house to celebrate the fourth. It used to be a few days of swimming, jet skiing, drinking and just hanging out. Fast forward about 13 years and our numbers have dwindled, and now we all have a few little ones in our charge. The days have turned into 24 hours at best, but we still have a great time. I really do enjoy it. So here are some pics from that weekend.

Here the baby is on the lake with my friend. This is the scrunchy face she makes now whenever she thinks something is funny or neat. I think it is kinda cute myself but I am a bit biased.

Brian, with lots of help, built a neat little pergola shaped structure to give us some shade on our deck. It has been really great so far. Actually I spent this morning staining a large portion of it. It's new color is the like the color on the top of the frame. That dark color. I like it. It gives great shade and now you can actually sit out there in the middle of the day and it isn't too terrible.

Here are some more pictures from the lake. Baby sister and her friend due on the same day. They were actually born 2 weeks apart. The size difference is still pretty significant. They played really well together. Well, for as much as babies this age play with each other at all.

Here is another picture of baby sister. I like her smile in this picture. And yes, ANJ was there but he was busy swimming or jet skiing. He really did have a blast. He found some girlfriends there. The neighbor girls. They watched him while he was watching the fireworks(in case he got scared). He loves the older ladies. I am going to be in so much trouble as he grows up.... He is already girl crazy.

In an effort to get rid of some of his excess energy, I have enrolled him in gymnastics over the summer. He seems to have taken a real liking to it and does seem to be very agile. I can't remember now which pics I have included but here are some new ones. Here he is learning how to do a back flip. He does pretty well.

I thought it would be funny to see if his sister could do the uneven bars. I will tell you what, she could hang there for a long time. I was really impressed. She is a really strong baby. I am not sure if gymnastics are in her future but we will see.

I like living in our town. They have lots of events that are free for families. Case in point, an evening outdoor screening of a kids movie. They gave away free snowcones and drinks. We went and hung out for a while. We had a blast. ANJ and his sister are starting to play together a little bit now. It really is fun to watch. Although most of the time he wants to just wrestle with her, most of the time she just thinks it is so funny and just laughs and laughs and then goes back for more. Here they are horsing around at the outdoor movie.

She also wanted to try my snowcone so I had to share.

Big news in the month of July is that I left for a few days to attend my Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas. Oh, what a great time I had. I learned so much. I got some great ideas about how to grow my business and overcome obstacles. I just love these events so much because they are just such positive, inspiring events. You are built up and encouraged, sometimes by people you don't know. It really is a pink bubble. Sometimes coming back is hard because life starts to get in the way, but this time I really feel it spoke to me and I am excited about the changes that are coming.

Here are some of my friends at our area dinner. It was yummy.

Don't ask how, but I got really lucky and got a chance to ride in a stretch hummer and be dropped off on the red carpet. Here me we are posing. Now, I don't know about you, but that was my first time ever on an actual red carpet. It was just so exciting. I can't even tell you.

While I was gone Brian was on solo duty with the kids. I think they all had a great time. He took them to a local museum to see some exhibits. Here is ANJ with the giraffe. He is tiny compared to that baby.

Here his sister and he pose with the wildlife.

Most of these summer days have been spent running around mostly. We go to the amusement park some and go swimming some. This day he refused quiet time but ended up conked out on the sofa. Too funny.

Also, the baby now refuses baby food. She wants table food. So this was her first time eating spaghetti. It made a huge mess. I can't even tell you. But she seems to like just about anything you put in front of her. So I can't complain.

That is the quick update in our lives. I hope everyone is doing well.