Circus Circus, and then some...

Wheew. It's about 9:30 right now and I feel like I'm sitting down for the first time in about a month. We've been having a fun summer, but I'm ready for it to be over!! Between the weekend trips, day trips, zoo trips, and summer parties it feels like we've been going non-stop since school got out in May. And I, the ever over-achiever, decided to throw painting our entire house and training for an Olympic distance triathlon in the mix. And I'm afraid that I've made a gross misjudgement when I assume that school starting will make life slow down a bit. Once school starts I'll have to finish what has turned into a monumental (but fun) painting job, getting ready for Sarah (yes, we've decided to name her Sarah for sure-and of course this is a fun task too), and do the Christmas shopping (because Heaven knows I won't be going to the mall in December with a two week old in tow.) But despite the fact I feel spread a little thin, this is the happiest I've ever been in my life. So I guess it's a pretty nice problem to have.

It's been almost a month since I've posted, so I decided to split the last month into two posts so I don't overwhelm you or myself.

Circus

In July we took Jack to the circus. I'm pretty sure this was my first trip to the circus. If I've been before, it was a super long time ago and I don't have much of a memory of it. So basically it was both mine and Jack's first circus trip, and it was awesome. They know what they're talking about when they call it "The Greatest Show on Earth." Jason, Jack, Blaine, Michele, Shannon, and I all went.

Jack looking utterly amazed with Michele when we first arrived. Although there is no picture of my face at this particular moment, I guarantee it looked just like this.

Blaine got Jack a super cool light up sword. I had to keep Jack from whacking the people in front of us for the rest of the show. :)

More utter amazement.

Ohmygosh, the most epic circus food ever. S'more on a stick. Marshmallow dipped in chocolate, stuck to a graham cracker. Absolutely fabulous and worth every calorie.





The grand finale. Those elephants were pretty amazing.




Celebration

One of the neatest women I know is my friend Val. She and I met at church and have become good friends over the last few years. Last winter she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35 and her gracious battle has inspired me. This July we had a celebratory dinner after she finished her last round of chemo and was cancer-free. Yay Val!






Val, me, and Courtney





This is Pastor Mark. He is the best. He spent a good amount of his time at the party entertaining our kids. There was a little squirt gun Jack kept shooting everyone with. I was letting him have his fun knowing it had a tiny tank and it would run out soon. But it was like 20 minutes and this thing still had ammo. Then I saw Pastor Mark take the gun from Jack when it was empty and refill it at the hose. It was the third time he'd gotten a refill. :)







Val's son Aiden.





And her daughter Abbey impressing us with a jump kick.

RV to a Wedding??


On July 24th we went to Dallas in Blaine and Michele's RV for our friend Jason's wedding. Jason and I poked so much fun of this trip leading up to it. Here we are, 5 people riding up to a wedding in Highland Park in an RV. Does that scream redneck or what? Haha but it ended up being a really good time. And wouldn't you know, there were places on Mockingbird Ln in Dallas to part that thing.

Here is Jack on the "bus" watching a movie. Holy smokes, it must have been a good part.

Haha the best thing about traveling in the RV was that we could get pizza for lunch! We just called it in and drove right up to get it. We had a table and plates and napkins, the whole bit!

Jack and I before we went into the church. (It was very important to him that his Lightning cup was in this picture.)

Jason, Shannon, and I at the reception.

Shannon, Michele, and Jason

(Kids weren't allowed at the reception, so Paw Paw stayed in the RV with Jack.)

Jack's 3rd Birthday!!

I can hardly believe my little boy is 3!! He's so smart and so funny and is learning so much! When we say our prayer with him at night he tells us things he's thankful for and things he wants God to help him with, like "Mommy, I want God to help me to not yell at you." Such a sweetheart!

Even though he had a Lightning McQueen party last year, he insisted he have a Cars party again. Here's the cake.

Michele got Jack a slip and slide for his birthday so we set it up for the kids to use.

The kiddie pool-completely packed.

Where the adults hung out. In the shade with two industrial sized fans blowing on us.

Sweet Hannah.

Jack's friend Laney. Laney is the best-full of spunk and sass just like her mamma! She's also a tomboy in some respects, so she's a good match for Jack who is 100% boy. Jack and Laney will be in the same preschool class this year-Tammy and I are so excited!

Officer Edge and Nicole.

Nana and Paw Paw

Cake time!

Check out Shannon's face. That's classic. (Happy birthday to Shannon too-Jack and Shannon share a birthday. Such a sweetie to spend part of her 18th at Jack's kiddie party.)

Jack and his buddy Luke eating some cake.

Rachel and I helping him to open his presents. Our main task was to keep him focused. Every time he opened a new present he wanted to open the box and start to play with whatever was inside.

An Update on Sarah Elizabeth

Rachel had an appointment today and everything checked out perfectly. She measured right on target. Rachel says she moves a lot. I've gotten to feel her a few times too. It's hard to believe that in three months we'll add another little one to our family-we can't wait! Jack is getting really excited too. At night in his prayers he thanks God for his sister and Rachel and he likes to tell me everything he wants to teach his sister. He says some pretty funny things about the subject:

1. Me: "You know Jack, babies can only have milk when they're born. They can't eat sandwiches like you.

Jack: "Why Mommy?"

Me: "Because they don't have teeth when they're born buddy."

Jack: "Oh...can they eat yogurt??"

2. Me: "Jack, do you want a brother or a sister?"

Jack: "I want a brother. And LOTS of sisters."

Me: "How many sisters Jack?"

Jack: "Six."

3. Jack, watching me paint her room: "That's beautiful for my sister Mommy!"