Its a good thing :)

Summer that is... little time for blogging, lots of time for FUN!

For some reason, i'm generally not a fan of summer. I don't like the heat, the bugs, blah, blah, blah... But this year! Oh so different! We are having a GREAT time! I only wish it could last so much longer!
We've done many many fun things... get togethers with family and friends, stampede, lake days, camping trip, playgrounds, waterpark, creek fun, hikes, watching storms roll in and out. *sigh* These are the days of summer :)

I can feel the seasons starting to change... the nights are getting cooler, days are getting shorter, and kids are getting ready to go back to school. I've even found myself pouring over curriculum catalogues and buying new pencil crayons for the kids ;) But i'm not ready to let go of this beautiful season just yet!

Finally some random pics of some of our summer fun:

Camp!

So I was going to post about how hard it was for me to let her get on that bus that took her away for 2 weeks, but that's not really choosing joy! So I'm just going to say that I'm praying like mad that my biggest girlie has the time of her life! I know she is going to have some amazing opportunities, and I hope that she makes some great friends. And I won't lie, my phone is pretty much glued to me 'just in case' she calls!  *sigh* 

A new habit?

So its been just over 3 months since I started this blog. And do I dare say I have a new habit? The habit of choosing to be happy. When I first started, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. It was a choice, and on a regular day (sometimes more like every minute) I had to think and consciously choose to be happy and thankful. And sometimes it was a fight, and I occasionally lost. But its so much easier now. There is less fight, and my automatic response (usually) is joy. And when I see the grouchies creeping in, I know how quickly that can be turned around by making a simple decision.
It is good :)

Lake day!

Ahhhh... the lake. Its sandy, its messy, and every time we go, it seems I have to bring way too much stuff. But watching the kids have fun, and enjoy the simple things, makes me happy.

Still choosing joy!

We've had a busy couple of weeks around here. Actually the whole month has been busy with the wrap up of most of our activities!
I went to a Bryan Adams concert 2 days after hurting my wrist. I got 2nd row tickets for my birthday from my Dad! It was seriously, so so so awesome! It doesn't help that Bryan Adams is my favorite artist and I used to have a huge crush on him ;) Now I just have a crush on my husband (well most days :P haha). But I still love Bryan's music. I wish I had a better pic, cause real life was much more amazing than this! But my phone was almost dead, so I snapped what I could! We were much much closer than it looks in this pic though. I could see his sweat :P It was so much fun to have a night out with my husband (and my dad and his girlfriend), and just feel young again!
Oh, and I should mention... we had the girls babysit, including wyatt, and they did so awesome. We came home to Wyatt sleeping, and the house clean, and them relaxed as can be. So thankful for them!

We also had Evan's end of year soccer mini fest. Only one other kid from his team showed up, but we managed to gather a few odd kids and make a couple games for them. Free bbq and bouncy castle, and he had a great time!!! (the big girls got to go to Calaway park for the day with a friend, and they had so much fun as well!)

Now tonight is our last night of music lessons, and the girls and their instructors are having a party! They are all bringing treats, and the 3 girls made up a skit to perform. As well, Madison wrote (and will play on her guitar) a song for her teacher. Maddy is so disappointed that music is over for the summer :( 

And then we have a whole long weekend free! No commitments to anyone, or anything! woohoo! Of course, right after the weekend we are back at being busy, but its good. I'm thankful for fun things to keep us going!

ouchie

not sure if its broken or sprained yet. the xray showed a possible break, but i have to go back for new xrays next week which will show for sure either way. 

so i had my pity party yesterday when i couldn't do anything by myself, and now today i'm choosing thankfulness. if broken, its only a hairline fracture, much better than it could have been :) and i wasn't holding a baby when i fell, and i'm *so* thankful for that! 

Nom nom

We love Emily art around here ;)
Lemon cranberry muffins on top and mocha cupcakes on the bottom! So tasty! My butt isn't thanking her, but my taste buds sure are! lol