Summer updates.

When I last wrote about our summer I had shared that Riley was being a little sassypants, but apparently once you write something like that on a blog it changes the behavior. We are relieved that she's back to her usual self. Not sure what caused all the back talk and whining, but glad it only lasted a couple weeks. I'm guessing I've now cursed it by writing about how great she is. I thought that only went the other way - like your kid is sleeping great and then you talk about it and the next thing you know it's hellacious night wake ups for weeks. OK, I'm going to stop talking about it before I regret it. 

Not much else has happened the last couple weeks. We had a glorious weekend with no plans last week. In fact, I can't even remember what we did, but I remember it being wonderful. While we've been getting a lot of rain this month I can't really complain about this past week. So many beautiful days! 

There was a little rain on Saturday, but we were still able to stay dry at my nephew's graduation party (partly thanks to a garage). So strange to see my nieces and nephews graduating from high school when it seems that they were born just a few short years ago. I went to the party alone as Riley spent the night at grandma and grandpa's house and Jesse stayed home as they were going to drop her off. Plus, he used the time to work on my new office shelves.

Anyhoo, I took a few pictures from Saturday and promised my brother, Barry, that I would get a picture of Evan smiling.

I have this uncanny ability to capture people with their eyes closed, mouths open... not always with the best expression. Hey 4 out of the 6 people in this picture have their eyes open so I consider it a success.

Lol. I'm fairly certain my sister in law, Jodi, was not distressed about something here. In fact, they were talking cabin plans, but I seemed to capture this look which gives it a whole different feel.

Chuck: eyes closed. Jacey: genuine teenager look. Probably the most realistic picture I took all day.

Yes! I got a great expression from my sister in law, LaRaa, (in blue) - probably because she had no idea that the camera was on her.

Yup, that's a cell phone. An itty bitty, teeny weeny cell phone. I didn't know these things still exist.

See Barry, I got a picture of Evan smiling. I don't know what was so hard about that.

Lol. It looks like little Rocky is about to fall backwards, but he just threw a ball up in the air. 

Three of the four brothers. They never all make an appearance together (and all seem to have different styles), but I would love to get a picture of them all together one day. Also, see big genuine smile on Evan. It's not that he doesn't smile, it's just that he tends to have a grin instead of the big smile, I guess.

Sunday was another nice day that felt productive. I actually mowed the lawn - something I used to do all the time, but once I was pregnant I think Jesse took over full time. Part of it was that our old mower smelled like a gas leak and that didn't go well with my susceptibility to migraines. We bought a new mower last year so it was about time I actually mowed the lawn. Plus, Jesse was finishing my office shelves so I couldn't justify playing on the iPad while Riley colored pictures on the deck.

We've also been trying to get a ceiling leak fixed, had some new screen doors installed, and are getting some bids for some new windows. More to come on what seems like our never ending home improvements, but so far I am loving this summer.