Long overdue

I know I'm long overdue for an update. It's been one crazy summer so far. We got our new playground and the kids have been loving that. Then Emma's birthday. Then we had a family reunion in Pigeon Forge, TN with some of my wonderful cousins and aunts/uncles. And now the neighborhood pool just opened up. Next week my mom is coming for a short visit and to attend a baby shower for our friend Shannon on Saturday. This weekend, aside from the 4th, we are working on the kids rooms trying to make them look more lived in by adding paint and wall decor. They are enjoying picking stuff out. It's sad that we've been here for 18 months and still haven't accomplished that much. But I'm definitely in project mode, so as long as the funds are available, I will start tackling small projects here and there.

Like I said, we've been pretty busy so far, and it's going to be busy pretty much until school starts on Aug. 20th. We'll have a week here or there without much going on, but mainly we'll be on the go. So forgive me if I don't post as often over the next several weeks.

The reunion was wonderful. I had a great time and it was nice to get to see people I hadn't seen in at least a decade. I'm glad we'll be able to keep up the reunions and maintain some connection with family. It felt weird for me during the reunion because I didn't really "know" anyone. Having spent what felt like soooo much time with all of them as a kid, I realized that we all grew up and went our own ways - understandably. But I just remember so vividly spending time with all of my cousins when we'd visit Iowa, which seemed like we did often. And my cousin Maria and I used to spend a week at each other's house in the summer. Life was fun back then and I enjoyed having a big family. I think that's part of why I wanted more than two kids. I wanted my kids to have people to play with at home and at family gatherings too. I think we accomplished that! Now that Dave's sister is adding to the cousin count, we'll have more family to play with.

Anyway, I'll leave with a few pics. Too many over the last few weeks to post them all, but I'll pic the good ones.