June through August

Grab a snack as this post will likely be more lengthy than the others!  I can't believe my last post was in June!  How sad is that.  I actually have to think back to remember all of the fun things that you have missed out on without me updating.  Father's Day seems so long ago but since I don't see that I mentioned anything about it I thought I should add those pictures.  Chris' big gift was a weber grill this year.  It was a combo anniversary and Father's Day since I didn't do nearly as good as him for that event.  We used our old grill until 3 of the 6 burners no longer worked.  We took it out last Thanksgiving so we have been really overdue for a new one.  Since we aren't sure if we want to build something new by the pool I thought we could do some demo so that we can just roll it into the old grill spot.  What's funny about this gift is that I had to figure out how to get it home from Home Depot, assembled, and keep it hid for two weeks until Fathers Day.  It came in assembled for the most part but I did have to put the top and bottom back together and the hood back on.  I was able with very careful moves to get it out of my vehicle and assembled but then where to hide it?  I ended up pushing it in a corner, covering with a blanket and putting garage stuff all around it.  Can you believe he didn't notice it?  Needless to say organizing the garage has went on my things to do if it's so messy he can't see a huge grill like that! The install into the old grill spot was an easier thought than in reality as we had to saw through a concrete like substance in order to get it in.  All in all we have used it alot and Chris loves that it heats up so fast.  So much better than our previous Jenn-Aire grill.

The Father's Day weekend we also drove to Tampa to see the Lowery Park soon.  Boy it was hot!  The boys had to wear their hats the whole day so now they associate hats with the zoo since we haven't worn them anywhere else.  The zoo was really nice.  Highlight of the day was feeding the giraffe lettuce leaves.  We also took a trolley ride through the back area of the park which brought us very close to some animals.  Those in the trolley with us got some good laughs as Miles argued with me on what kind of animals we were seeing.
Mommy: "Look at the Leopard Miles"
Miles: "That not leopard, Tiger Mommy"
Mommy: "It does look like a tiger but it's a leopard"
Miles: "No mommy....tiger"
Mommy: "okay...you know everything"
Our zoo experience was the first time we let the boys go without a specific nap time.  They actually do okay but were very tired and ended up sleeping for the entire trip back to Orlando.

For the July 4th this weekend we had visitors!  Nate, Leslie, Carl, and Dinah were all here.  We had a good time.  We watched the fireworks and met for dinner at City Walk one night.  We were sad to see all of them go home!

The following weekend George and Trudy stopped by on their drive back to New Orleans.  We were able to celebrate Trudys birthday with her this year.  The boys were really excited that we had cake.

 After George and Trudy our next visitors were Dinah and Lacey.  Dinah missed the boys so much she only waited a month to come back and since she kept texting Lacey when she was here Lacey felt left out and knew she had to come and see us.  The boys once again enjoyed their visitors.  Miles was sick the first day they were here but thankfully he bounced back to be himself within 24 hours.  They even took a trip to the local park with just Lacey and Dinah.  When they were leaving the park Miles told them that after the park we always get ice cream so of course Lacey and Dinah took them for ice cream.  Funny thing.....in the many times we have went to the park we have only had ice cream once and that's because it was raining and we were trying to kill time before we went.  That Miles...we are going to have to watch that kid! 

After Dinah and Lacey we had more visitors.  Jeremy, Charell, and new baby Sydney.  Sydney was less than 2 months old when she was here and this was the first time the boys had been around a baby.  They had seen them at school but not really close.  It took them so time to warm up to the idea.  We had to say many times 'The baby don't like that' to get them to quite down or stop running in the house which to this point has been only theirs.  Colston even tried several times to share his toys by putting a calculator on Sydney's chest and then running away.  Even after Sydney left there are times the boys will say "the baby don't like that?" when I tell them not to do something.

Last week we had our first outing without Daddy.  We met Kelly and her kids at Aquatica.  It was a lot of fun and not nearly as stressful as I had thought it would be.  We staying in the toddler area with the kids so they could touch the bottom of the pool.  There were even slides just the right size for the kids to go down by themself and fountains for them to play in.  Colston as always didn't want to be far from Mommy and the first time I left him to go and grab Miles Colston fell over in the 1 foot 8 inches of water and thought he was going to drown.  We had a really nice time and need to get together with them more often.  As Kelly said "it only took the kids 2 hours to figure out how to all play together."  Picture time with four toddlers doesn't rank to high on their list.  I think it took 12 shots to get one with all of them sitting up and half paying attention.  Don't they look excited?

The boys are starting to look more like boys and less like my babies.  Colston is still a little taller than Miles and his feet are currently 2 sizes larger (geesh!).  Colston has really been trying out his independance lately and getting in lots of trouble.  He frequently tells me no and will do things just to see how far he can push Chris and I.  Don't get me wrong Miles is no angel but it seems Colston is pushing a little more right now.  They do marginally well sharing unless it's a favorite toy then they will push each other, poke in eyes, or screaming and cry.  Our mantel has become a second toy box for all of the toys that have been taken away for not sharing.  They also like to tell each other what to do.  I find some of the comments comical as they say the exact phrases that we use when correcting them.  For example...Miles was whining in the car yesterday and Colston told him it was "enough". 

Car rides have become very entertaining.  Now they want to listen to "muzik" and think they can dictate which songs I play and how loud they should be.  They also have one book in the car that they can read based on pictures (Brown Bear, Brown Bear) so they fight over who gets it first, etc.  I'll be looking for another one of those books this weekend at garage sales!  They no longer switch beds on weekends because Colston is territorial and doesn't want Miles to sleep in his bed.  They still love to play outside and think they are big stuff when we let them walk around the pool.  One weekend I was cleaning the pool and Colston did fall in.  Although I was only 10 feet away my heart jumped and I quickly dropped my stuff to run over.  In the 5 seconds flat it took me to get to him Colston had already rolled over and floated to the top and was taking his breath of air.  I was very impressed.  The swimming lessons and practice has worked!! I pulled him out and he wasn't that upset by it.  He looked at me and said "Mommy, Colston fell in the pool."  Now Miles on the other hand was a basket case.  I guess since he was standing there when it happened Miles felt that it was out of control and he was unable to save his brother.  Miles cried harded and louder than you can imagine and even started to run in to tell Chris about the ordeal.  I guess he does love his brother after all!  Needless to say it was a great learning lesson for all involved and I've noticed the boys be more careful around the pool since it happened.  Overall the boys still bring us lots of laughs and lots of frustration which is normal for this age.  Sometimes they love each other and sometimes it's a fight.
For Chris and I things have obviously been busy with all of the visitors.  My job with Iron Mountain officially came to an end on July 27.  I was interviewing for another position within the company however since my elimination was the beginning of a large re-organization they have put all hiring on a freeze until after that is completed.  I won't know until Oct/Nov timeframe if the position of interest is still available.  If you know me well you know I can't sit still very long.  Two weeks after my position ended I was in Real Estate class and one week after that I got my license.  This week I interviewed with three agencies and just need to decide which one is the best fit.  I'm excited about this new adventure but not sure it will be a full time gig.  We'll have to wait and see!  In between the classes I have gotten quite a lot done around the house.  For the first time in 5 years I deep cleaned the entire house.  My last project of cleaning grout was this week.  YUCK!  I also have started a new project to restore an old table and chairs for the kids.  I would just like to say I'm mid project with this one and I would suggest never stripping paint off spindles to anyone!  I'm making list of things my Dad can help me with when he visits in Oct (wink, wink), and I hope to have the mural in the kids toy room finished before the end of this year.  (I've only been working on that one for two years). I recently bought a treadmill with the hopes of shedding a few pounds. ( Don't hold your breath) I also have a short list and long term list of to do's that cover an entire whiteboard.  I figure if I get all of the items off the whiteboard then it's time to start looking for a corporate position again.
Chris has been keeping busy with the mortgage business. He also has been keeping neighborhood watch. We caught 3 deer eating his fruit tree on a couple occasions which he is NOT pleased with. It was so serene and tranquil to watch but Chris' blood was boiling. :) We also had two baby squirrels that were visitors. One even tried to come in the front door.

We also have new neighbors. One set next to us and another set down one house across the street all moved in and out on the same week. Who would have thought we would have a parking problem with multiple semis on our road at the same time?  The boys were caught on a few occasions watching out the windows at the neighbors as they moved in from the "big trucks". Well - I think that's it for now.  No promises on the next blog since I tend to fall behind when I tell people I'll be better about updating!