And it has been forever...not sure that anyone even checks this anymore due to my lack of updating! But I can blame it on being busy...right? That is what summer is all about and we do it well - even when there isn't anything on the calendar we are busy with something!

The kids are growing too fast for their Mama...I am having a pretty emotional time with Aubrey approaching the 1 year mark. She is just learning things so quickly in the last few weeks. It was kinda funny that it almost felt that we were in a developmental rut where she wasn't doing anything new for a little while and then all of a sudden she spent some time with Ellie and decided that she wasn't going to be left behind! Pulling up, attempting a little harder at the walking...still just into the scooting (not sure that she will actually crawl) but she is now trying to get over things a little more and that it interesting! She really got mad at her Mama today when I just left her stuck and waited for her to figure it out. She has also developed the high pitch scream screech of a little girl - Yikes!

Andrew is just getting smarter and smarter. He told me the other day that something I did was not appropriate! If that wasn't my words coming right back at me. He was messing around in his room after being put in bed and I told him to settle down and get to bed....30 minutes later when I went to tuck him in and go to bed myself, he was still awake and asked me "Mama are you going to apologize to me?"
"For what?" I asked...
"For yelling at me" he says.
"Yelling at you when?"
When I wasn't in bed and you wanted me to shut my flashlight off and get to bed. That wasn't appropriate to yell at me and you hurt my feelings." -----
REALLY! I proceeded to inform him that I am the Mom and it was 'appropriate' and that he should have been in bed! Of course I did this very gently - being careful not to let him know that I was dying trying not to laugh!

So the summer has been full of fun....we went to Okoboji for a weekend with my Mom, swimming at Mark's moms several times -- to Daly Park near Mapleton to camp with Mark's family for the weekend, to Canada with Erica and Mike, I made a quick trip to Sioux Falls to visit a college friend and cousin Jacy and Eloise, and several other random little things that I can't remember!! We are headed up to Clitherall for a week after Labor Day weekend to do some fishing with the other part of Mark's family. Well the boys are leaving on Monday and me and Aubrey will head up on Wednesday so we are there for Andrew's birthday!

Here are some updated pics so you can see how the kids have grown! Shoot me a message or give us a call -- there are still a few good weather weekends left and there are lots of people we haven't seen in a while!!