What month is it?

Well, this summer is going by very quickly so far, and I don't believe it will slow down. We have had visitor after visitor come to stay with us, and have loved every moment. All but two members of my family have come to visit since we moved here. I don't think it will be too long before the other two come by...at least that's the hope.

I know I missed out on my Blog update for last month, so I think I will just skip ahead to the most recent events.

Lincoln is finally getting teeth! He now has four. They tried to all come in at the same time. He's been kind of a grump over the past month, but at least he has teeth. I was starting to wonder if the poor kid was ever going get them. He is also starting to walk a little. He has been standing independently for a long time now. He would just stand up in the middle of a room with no help, but then sit back down after a few moments. Now, he takes two or three steps before he stops to sit. He thinks it's funny too. I think he likes to walk, but crawling is still the easier thing to do. He has also mastered the stairs, which is a good thing in our house. We have three sets of stairs. For about a week I had to watch him constantly to teach him how to get DOWN the stairs. UP was no problem. I had him in our family room one day, went upstairs to the kitchen to get a drink, and when I turned around he was on the floor right behind me. I knew I was in trouble then. But, he has learned very quickly how to get himself turned around and get down the stairs. I don't have to have the eagle eye out for him anymore.

Kaylee has found a new friend. She has won the hearts of many people in our neighborhood, but she has really been able to cling to Mercedes, who lives just one street over. She is the 14-year-old sister of one of Breanna's friends. She also happens to baby sit. We haven't used her babysitting services yet, but we know that it will be no problem getting her to agree to watch the kids. She loves carrying Kaylee around while the other kids play, and helping her in their pool. Whenever Kaylee hears that Mercedes is outside, she zips out to play with no hesitation.

Brett and Breanna are taking swim lessons right now. Breanna is a fish, but Brett seems to be very afraid of the water. I'm starting to think he might have a phobia. I have to talk up swim lessons about an hour before we go, then I have to bribe him with something just to get him in the pool with his instructor. The lesson usually consists of him clinging to the teacher pretty much the whole time. There are only two kids in his class. Today, the other little boy did not show up, so Brett got both teachers all to himself.

They were able to get him in a life jacket today, but every time they let go, he would start to panic. Something isn't right there. I am hoping by the end of next week, he will at least be comfortable getting into the water by himself. But, I don't think he will be passing level 1

My brother, Sean, came to visit for 4th of July week. He rode his motorcycle all the way from Colorado. I think he really enjoyed being around the kids. They sure do love him. He tagged along with us while we ran errands, and we went out to lunch all together one day. We went to a festival on the 4th in another small town here in Iowa, but it was much too hot to stay outside for too long. So we spent the rest of the day either inside, or out playing in the little pool Sean bought for the kids.

Brett and his friend, Tristan

We went to see fireworks that night, but there was a mishap while setting them off. We saw three fireworks go off before it got dark, and then there were fire trucks and ambulances. Two people that were dealing with the fireworks got injured and taken to the hospital. We weren't sure what was really going on at the time, so at 10, we had had enough of tired kids and started to getting them back in the car. We thought the whole day was going to be a bust. But, just as I finished getting PJs on Lincoln, the fireworks started, and it was a pretty good show.

My birthday was two days later. John decided to take the day off and let me go to the hair salon to have a few things done. I not only got a cut, but also got highlights done. She put a lot in too, so I'm mostly blonde. But, the hair left my natural color looks much redder now. I think it looks good. I can't seem to get a good picture of it though. I've tried.

While Sean was here, we took advantage of the motorcycle. The kids were enamored with it, and John and I got to take a ride each with Sean. Actually, I got to ride on it twice. It was fun. It did not, however, convince me to let John have one. (As I'm sure John was hoping.)

This is just the dinner I ordered on the day of my birthday. John and I were able to go out that evening to a nice restaurant and go to a movie. This was the parmesian pork and fettuccine Alfredo. I think I was able to eat maybe a third of it. It was good though.

Oh, and this is my delicious birthday cake that John made for me. It was a chocolate cake with cherry chips, chocolate chips, and marshmallow cream in it, smothered with crushed heath topping. Brett decorated the top with red cookie icing pictures. I told John it looked like a big meatloaf. It was soooooo good.

(Notice the 27+3 candles. Or maybe you shouldn't notice and just assume I am 27)

All in all, it's been a good summer. We aren't able to make the one last car trip we want to, but we are going camping the last weekend of July with some friends. We are looking forward to that.