Happy Summer!

Summer is in full swing around here! We still have yet to brave the beach or lake due to Caleb's poor little leg, but the great news is it has healed really well, faster than expected, so he is out of the cast and in a walking boot! Hooray! Summer.Officially.Saved!!!
He says it still hurts, though. It's so hard to watch your child be in pain.

We lovingly refer to the new brace as The Terminator. Or Darth Vader. Depending on the day.  ;)  It is HUGE in person!

Everything I've planted is growing so well! We've never had shade in the front of our house before so I was worried I wasn't growing the right things, but they seem to love it!
It looks like I won't be getting that veggie garden going this year, but I just don't have it in me. I still have to finish the rock planter wall out front and I just can't make myself do it anymore because I am soooooo sick of hauling rocks.

This boy has been gone since early Thursday morning. I really really miss him! He's having a blast up in Maine with my Dad and uncle. (I had gotten annoyed with him the night before but I didn't handle it well, so I ended up bringing him some French Vanilla tea with Hazelnut creamer and we hung out and talked for a long while- this growing up business is SO HARD and I just want to do a good job but there is so much out there is is bad bad bad...anyway, we had a nice chat and he said he'd like some of "that tea" for the road. That, I can do.)

We've been able to play catch and soccer a little out back, with Caleb as goalie, signed up for the summer reading programs at the library, and tapped into our creative sides this week. Jonah and I went out the other night and he found a drawing book at JoAnn's that he liked, so I told him I would give him my coupon for 40% off if he kicked in a couple dollars from mowing the lawn, and he agreed. They've all taken turns using it and have been sharing their masterpieces with me all day! I am very impressed with my little artists (insert French accent there)!

I was on my way to a dentist appointment early Wednesday morning only to discover the driver side tire dead-flat. What a terrible feeling! I was thankful I hadn't gone far, and was able to back up the road and back into the driveway. Of course I totally lost it (this is the 3rd problem with that same stinkin' tire, and they even replaced it with a brand new tire last time!), called Bill, called the dentist to cancel because I didn't want to get charged the $50 missed appointment fee on top of everything else! I think the tears might have helped with that one- she felt so bad for me, and by then I just felt kind of stupid, but in my defense, it was extremely upsetting because I had lots of plans with the kids that day!

Well, that handsome prince of mine called AAA, and the man was here within 30 minutes to take a look. He was super friendly so we chatted for a while, and come to find out there had been a tire slasher going around town last night, and he had already put 12 spare tires on by 8:30 in the morning! I think that's much worse, a deliberate awful thing versus a random accidental inconvenience. The AAA guy found nothing wrong with the tire after inflating it back up and suggested calling the garage to have them look at the rims and seals, so that's what I did.

Our day's itinerary was pretty much shot by this point anyway, so I decided to seize the potential and we turned the trip to the garage into a picnic lunch while we waited- they had said it would take 15 minutes, tops. Famous last words! It was well over an hour and a half, but everyone handled it so well, and I was really proud of my children. Ethan had grabbed some books and a ball out of the trunk when we got there so we played, read books...at one point, Isabelle laid right on Ethan's back while we all crammed together on the picnic blanket and played some game together on his phone. This story is probably boring the daylights out of everyone else, but I will always cherish that memory!
http://instagram.com/p/avx9TtAM6J/

Removing tile isn't much fun, but these guys have made it go a lot faster! We're almost ready for the new floor!!! Jonah was impressed that his tile came up whole, whereas most break off in several chunks. He's got the gift!

And lastly, Bill and I headed downtown to walk around, enjoy the Supermoon above us, and bring home Chinese food and a movie. 

http://instagram.com/p/a1zgXFgM_7/ 
**I can't get Instagram pics to upload here- any advice?**

Our little excursion even involved a fabric store...because I ran out of white thread! What!?! Who ever runs out of basic white thread, in the middle of a project, with not a spare spool in sight? Yup, me. I mailed out 6 or 7 nighties and an eyelet bonnet this week, and I'm finishing up some more orders...well I was until I ran out of white thread, that is. Ha!

Oh, one last last thing -- I wanted to share some end of school pics. It has been a big year! We had literally just moved the weekend before school started, so all of their pictures from the first day are at Bill's parent's house. All except Ethan, actually, who flat out refused to have a First Day of School photo, so I used one from his birthday. He has changed SO much!
I'm just throwing this one in because I love it so much! He is a thoughtful, super smart, funny, all-around great boy, and while it's hard watching him grow up, I love it at the same time!

They have all changed so much, but I see it mostly in Isabelle's sweet little girl face and Ethan's more serious face. I had also forgotten Jonah started the year with braces, and Caleb was on both feet, ha ha! At least we're on the home stretch! I'm so thankful for wonderful doctors and for insurance!

We've got a big BIG day ahead of us so I'd better skedaddle! Happy Saturday!