Brian is doing well. Although he managed to fracture his foot while working and made it worse by jogging 3 miles a day on it. :-( Anyways, now that seems to be healed. He also shaved his ponytail off!! Thank goodness!! A nurse at one of the hospitals told him that he looked like he was 50. Well, that did the trick and off it came. :-)) Should I tell him I paid her to say that?? Just kidding. His shift at work changed which is turning out to be a blessing because he is home more for the children. He can also spend more time outside working in the yard which I think he secretly enjoys, although he complains about how laborous it is. ;-)
Joshua is enjoying being out of school for the summer. Brian and I (reluctantly) decided to get him a used dirtbike. He is LOVING it. He has a limit for gas per week (or we would be BROKE), but rides as much as he can. He is getting really good and wants to race in the future. I am going to get footage of him on the camcorder this weekend; maybe I'll be able to put it on my blog-if I can figure out how. He also got his braces off last April. His teeth look absolutely gorgeous. If I could only get him to smile more.......
Brianna is 8 1/2 and thoroughly enjoying the summer. Her and her friend Abby swim in the pool every day they can. She has been riding her bike, scooter and skateboard all summer. Ok, so she sits on the skateboard and rides down our street...so what. ;-) She is going to be starting her 3rd grade year of homeschooling next month. Exciting! She is starting multiplication. It's funny that you have to think about how to explain a concept to someone that comes to easy to you. She LOVES to be read to. She is especially getting into mystery type of topics. She still loves playing American Girl dolls and stuffed animals.
Mia just turned three and is definatly THREE!!! She is doing all the typical "three" stuff. Asserting her independence that she thinks she has, having minor meltdowns, etc. Thank goodness for naps, which she still takes. She is a complete love when she wants to be. Very happy and wanting to make everyone else happy. She is sharing well and LOVES her little sister. Now, her older sister, that's another story sometimes. :-) We just got some training wheels for her little 12 inch bike; complete with knee and elbow pads. She looks like she's going off to war or something.
Tessa just turned 1 and it has been a busy time. She is walking, more quickly now. She tries to say: hi, da da, ma ma, go go go (for the dogs) and Ja (for Josh). It's cute, you know. I just started her on real food at about 10 months. She is loving most things. Not funny for us, considering that's yet ANOTHER kids meal that we have to buy when we got out. ;-) She is also a complete love. Very good natured baby. Never cries for no reason. Very happy and loves to be held and cuddle.
I am surviving summer as best I can with all the heat we've had (and no central air). July was very busy for us. We had an exchange student from Italy visit us. Her name is Beatrice. She stayed with us for a month. She is just turning 17 on August 8th. We miss her terribly. She was such a funny and lovable girl. It was truly a fantastic learning experience for all of us. To sit and talk with her about all the similarities and differences we have...it was really interesting. Brianna adored her (she says she always wanted an older sister) and Mia followed her everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean it. She would have walked right into the bathroom with her...but when the door shut, she would sit and wait by the door for her to come out. Too cute. We have stayed in touch, but I do hope to see her again next year. We also had Brian's mother come to visit for 10 days during Beatrice's stay with us. We had a full house!! It was fun though. I never felt frustrated or stressed out.
Oh, we went to Disney in April. We also went to Washington D.C on the way home. Two major comments: I wish I had more time in D.C and I wish we had not gone to Disney over April vacation. And the Disney thing I mean 100%. We will NEVER go during April again. If you could ever not have a great time at Disney, this was it. It wasn't a BAD time, it just wasn't great. And a person should NEVER not have a great time at Disney, come on. Anyways, there were some really good moments though. If anyone is going in the future, I highly recommend the Whispering Canyon restaurant in the Wilderness Lodge hotel. It is an absolute hoot. A must. We stayed at Pop Century again, which I also recommend for those with kids. Easy in and out with cafeteria style food eatery. I mean, how much time do you spend in the hotel anyways? I would never spend a lot. We left the hotel every morning by 8am and were not back until 9-10 at night. D.C. was marvelous. I must go there again when we have more time. There is so much to see and learn. My father got to visit the Vietnam Wall, which was truly the only thing I wanted to make sure we did for him.
So, did I forget anyone?? The dogs are still alive and kicking. And unless God has other plans for us, I believe we are done having children. It is quite busy enough here. :-) I don't know how the Duggars do it. :-))
