Where Did Summer Go?

Wow! The last three weeks have flown by.  I don't know how, but we managed to fill up our days and as of tomorrow our summer is officially over!  We've spent the last three weeks visiting friends, attending the LDS Temple in Spokane, getting ready for school and work, and who knows what else! At least we feel like our little family is planted and thriving in our new place.

 

Family Updates:
Taylor: A lot of time went to working on building a patio this month.  Taylor was able to work with some of his WSU professors at their home as they tried to finish their brick patio before the summer's end.  Taylor had fun working out in the sun all day and earning a little bit of money too!  He also found plenty of time to catch up with his shows and enjoy Netflix.  It will be a long time before he gets to do that again! 

Elise:  I turned 28!  I can't believe how old I am getting. It is odd to look in the mirror and see a mom staring back at me.  When did growing up happen?  I made myself a delicious ice cream cake to celebrate, culminating our summer of Tillamook flavors.  Favorites are still Cookie Dough and White Chocolate Raspberry.  I'm excited to start teaching this week.  It will be interesting to see how it goes, but I'm ready for the challenge and the routine that responsibilities will bring into our life.

Here's my little ball of towel!

Declan:  He is still a rolling fool, but still hasn't figured out that crawling doesn't require his face. I'm betting a few more rug burns on his nose before he realizes that it takes getting up on both arms and legs to do the job.  We also started letting him be in the big bath tub instead of his baby tub.  He loves laying in the warm water and splashing to his hearts content. I can't wait to take him swimming as I think he will love it!  We also started sleep training, so he has cried more than ever.  However, he is sleeping in his crib most of the night and for longer stretches of time.  In the end hopefully this means a happier baby (and a happier daddy). 

Wish us luck as the semester starts and work begins!

August Already?!

Wow! I can't believe how fast time has gone.  Only three weeks of summer vacation left!  Taylor starts school on August 25th which is the same day UCA starts classes. (I'll actually start training and lesson prep this week, but students won't be back until then.)  The best part of this week was having Taylor's parents up to visit!  It is so nice to have extra hands around to help with Declan, so if anyone else wants to visit please do!  I had fun shopping craft stores and doing Jamberry nails with my mother-in-law Debbie and we all went out to dinner together Friday night.  We also went to the WSU creamery and tried the ice cream.  I still don't know that anything can fill the void of flavors like True Aggie and Aggie Blue Mint, but it was definitely a close second.

Two handsome guys ready for church!

Family Updates:
Taylor:  We thought it couldn't be any worse than "Sharknado", but Taylor managed to find another cheesy shark video that at the very least ties if not defeats it.  "Megaladon vs Mechaladon" was Taylor's movie of choice this week. An extinct Megaladon shark is released from an iceberg so of course the government chooses to take it out by building their own giant mechanical shark.  Which works well until it goes rouge, transforms into tank mode, and starts terrorizing Australia.  I don't know how Taylor will survive the semester without watching such classy films.  He hasn't had any new projects to work on, but he did finally hang his USU poster straight so I wouldn't be driven crazy by its crookedness! 

Elise:  I went to JoAnn's and Michael's this weekend and ended up with a whole slew of new crafting projects.  They had wooden crates on sale for $9.99 and with my coupon I got another $2.50 off! I'll be using those to make some shelving for our guest bathroom.  Wood crafts were 80% off at Michael's so I have a bunch of small frames for a collage I want to put up on our wall.  I hope that the reality ends up being as good as I have it pictured!  I still am working on a lot of sewing projects as well.   I should have lot to keep me busy this month! I'll post finished projects as I get them done.

Declan:  He can roll onto his tummy without thinking about it at all now! The only problem is that he then tries to crawl using just his legs and his face.  He hasn't realized that arms need to be involved in the process.  He gets frustrated and I have to pick him up after a while because I'm worried he'll get a rug burn on his nose!  He has also had a cold this past week.  We thought it was getting a little better, but last night his cough started to sound a little like the croup so we're keeping a close eye on him.  Hopefully he gets well soon!

We're finally starting to feel that there is a routine to our days and we are enjoying Pullman, even though we mostly sit inside enjoying the air conditioner.  Hopefully we can fit in more fun summer memories before we're back to the daily grind that school brings!