I have become one of those kind of bloggers! Yep, that's right ... you check in and no update. Don't you just hate that? Every time I go to read a blog and find they haven't updated in a week or longer, I get annoyed. And now, here I am annoying you! Anyway, I promise an in-depth update this weekend. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a "Forty-five on Friday" list of what's been going on.
- We've been to the Maryland [Baltimore] Zoo and had lots of fun & took some awesome photos to add to our Backyard Safari Scrapbook. (We're Zoo members now & Ben's super excited about that!)
- Andrew finally took swimming lessons this year! He actually decided he wanted to learn to swim and did swimmingly well! [couldn't resist] Red Cross certified up to level 4! Now I won't be paranoid every time he's invited to a swimming party.
- Caroline literally changes her clothes 12 times a day. It's a nightmare. She goes through panties more than any child on the planet. Every piece of your wardrobe must coordinate, you know!
- We're going to Disney in 5 weeks! Woo-hoo - so can't wait!
- Lola got her teeth cleaned, had two extractions and FINALLY has better dog breath! Her breath was seriously the most wretched dog breath ever!
- We saw Wall*E. We also saw Kung Fu Panda and the boys saw Space Chimps. All 3 movies were great!
- I'm taking an AWESOME photography course by the WONDERFUL Ms. Karen Russell. So excited; only the second week and have already learned a lot!
- Andrew took guitar lessons this Summer and has done a fabulous job! He is definitely musically inclined.
- Andrew is 57 inches tall.
- Benjamin is 47 inches tall.
- Caroline is 37 inches tall.
- (How weird is it that my children are 10" apart in height, respectively by age?)
- Finally figured out how to add music to my Ipod Shuffle without having to beg Sean Fox for help! :)
- Caroline sings ... all the time and it's usually accompanied by a dance of some sort!
- Benjamin actually ENJOYS reading this Summer!
- Benjamin still hates wearing pants (usually just runs around in a tee shirt & underwear) but still loves ice cream - tons of it every day.
- Benjamin has also discovered Cold stone Creamery!
- Andrew went to his first concert - the Jonas Brothers - and had a blast! (Scott accompanied him!)
- We went to Hershey Park with my cousin, Michelle, and her boyfriend, Dave.
- The boys both rode their first roller coaster at Hershey & loved it.
- We had a surprise anniversary party for my parents and they WERE SURPRISED!
- Andrew's bedroom has been painted & his border is definitely going up this weekend. He went with a rock-n-roll theme. Not shocking, really. It's metallic blue and will have electric guitar border & music accents - photos will be coming soon.
- Caroline got a quasi-big girl room. Purple walls, of course, with Tinkerbell accents coming soon. (Andrew's room must be completed first.) She still has a toddler bed and her old furniture, so that's why it's just quasi-done.
- Ben had a cool safari room done when he turned 3 & Caroline was born. He's getting a few updates just to be fair! (Andrew's room has not been painted since we moved into the house 7 years ago.)
- Scott's fantasy football leagues (yes, that's right he's in 2) get started in just 2 weeks.
- He's watching football right now.
- I'm going to be a golf & football widow soon, so I'm making him work hard on the home improvements for 2 more weeks. :) Did you know he golfs every Sunday?
- Scott is also going to become a Freemason and join the Masonic Lodge. Pretty neat because his stepdad is a Mason and my grandfather was also.
- Andrew & Ben are taking golf lessons in 2 weeks. Through the community college at a driving range behind the mini golf course. Caroline & I will be visiting the playground and duck pond while they are learning to golf.
- School starts in only 3 weeks. Ben will be in 1st grade; Andrew in 5th and Caroline just moves up to the 3's at Pre-K, but she'll go 3 days a week instead of 2.
- I hate mosquitoes - have at least 10 bites on my legs right now (from my evening walks).
- I've lost 23-25 pounds (depends on the day) and I actually have started running in addition to walking. I don't dislike running as much as I used to. 15 more pounds to go!
- I finally got to meet and take a class from Stacy Julian (Simple Scrapbooks & Big Picture Scrapbooking). Love her and loved her great class (Finishline Scrapbooking). She's very motivating and inspiring.
- Lots of giggling and goofing with Bonnie, Darryl, Kathy & Ruth at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge, PA last week. I even controlled myself at Vendor Fair & brought half of my money home. No Rusty Pickle trunk this year! :)
- Actually managed to get some gardening and weeding done this year. We still have a long way to go with our yard, but it's improved and it helps that Caroline is old enough to actually be outside without taking off on me!
- Caroline is a fruit fanatic and calls herself Princess Caroline.
- Andrew & Ben have begun trying new foods without hysterics. (Ben even likes some of the fruits and vegetables he's tried!)
- The kids participated in the Summer Reading Program at the Library. They each get to pick out a free book next weekend!
- Tuesday nights have been pizza night this Summer. After Andrew finishes his guitar class, we get buy one, get one pizza from Buontempo's on Main Street. They have the best pizza anywhere, hands down, and the owners are great guys!
- I have a crap-load of things to scrapbook and projects to complete even though I've gotten a somewhat decent amount finished.
- We're watching a different Disney movie each week to get ready for our vacation. This week's movie was 101 Dalmatians; next week it's Mary Poppins!
- The newest way to determine who gets to pick out something in our house is by doing "Tarzan, Monkey Man". It's an updated version of "One Potato, Two Potato" and it is goofy! Of course, Andrew is the one who is sharing it with us.
- I actually cleaned all 3 of our bathrooms in one night last night - and we weren't having company! It usually takes me a few days to actually clean all of them - I love them being cleaned, but hate doing it!
- My kids love to have their sleeping friends, blankie and pillows sprayed with Crisp Linen Lysol and Andrew commented how much he loves the smell of the Mr. Clean scrubbing pads (it's a clean, lemon smell). Does this mean they are going to be obsessed with cleaning like me?
- Whew - made it to 45 - Scott's still watching football and my little munchkins are still running 'round. It's 10:40 pm on Thursday - can you tell it's Summer since no one's in bed yet!?!
Happy Weekend! We're looking forward to: Friday night bed cuddles (we all climb into Mommy & Daddy's bed and veg for a bit together), boys' haircuts, Ryan's 4th Birthday Party (a bowling one), wallpaper border, scrapbooking, family wii night & board game afternoon, laundry & 80 degree weather! I think we'll squeeze in some pizza and ice cream, too! Make yours a happy one - life's too short not to enjoy family time - even the laundry can be done as a family! :)
