Take Me to the Circus

The circus came to town!  Not the elephants and acrobats circus.  The break a beer bottle and win a goldfish circus.  We were stoked!  (By the way, you'll never see me going to a real circus...I hate seeing the animals living that way - and since I'm not supposed to scream profanities at people, it's best I don't go.)

Little miss blue eyes was so excited to go down the road to enjoy the festivities.

Cue the creepy circus music.

We had $5 with us, and that meant we couldn't do much.  We wandered in circles until Nate finally played (and lost) a game.

Andrey was blissfully happy.  She was staring at everything and in obvious awe.  It was so fun to watch her watch.

She wanted to play a few games, and was trying to steal stuffed animals.

She spent a good portion of the time on her dad's shoulders.  She pulled out wads of his hair and drooled all over him.

Maybe when she's older, and we have $10 in our pockets, we'll give the circus another try.

Sister Friend

Yes, my sister is my sister...and my friend.  I was so glad she allowed me to take some family photo's while she was here.  I shamed her for going to cheesy portrait studios in the past - and told her to let me give her fam a try.  My poor sister didn't have any pictures of all five member looking at the camera, and I set out to change that!  Here are some of my favorite shots.

Love you sista, and your whole fam too.  Including baby number 1,890.

Click Click - The Cell Phone Pics

The last few weeks have been busy.

We went to a new restaurant in our hood, and paid an arm and a leg for mediocre pizza.  Andrey loved the free water.

My pregnant sister, her hubs and their three boys came to town.  We spent the 4th of July together.  Much of that time her youngest was undressed.  I love his tummy!  It was very hot outside (see the carpet on my parent's deck?) so they swam and swam the day away.

We missed the family trip to Glenwood Springs.  We decided it would be more fun for little Pumm to get sick.  No, it wasn't more fun.  See her hygroma in this picture?  It was swollen and yucky.  And she felt awful.

Once her temp reached 104.6 I burst into panicked tears and screamed at Nate calmly asked Nate to call the Pediatrician who sent us to the hospital.  Andrey did great listening to the British nurse and watching some TV in her hospital room.

She loved being held all day by her daddy.  And he was in heaven holding her.  They snuggled in our bed, and Nate thoroughly enjoyed all the attention he got to give her.  It was pretty sweet!

She didn't feel great a few days later, but was able to rally for a BBQ that night.  See those tired eyes?  Sucky.

We saw my sister and her fam once more (and I took some fun family pics!).  Kade kindly offered her a doll.  She took it, and hit him over the head with it.  We're working on being nice.

 Part of being nice, is hugging.  Right?  So we forced them to hug.  And they did.

The next day she was starting to get back to normal.  But we had a lot of diaper changes, ifyouknowwhatimeanandithinkyoudo.  So she spent most of the day in a t-shirt and diaper.  We built a fort and she absolutely loved it!

Finally, I've painted her toenails!  I've been so excited to do this.  My little girl sat perfectly still and let me slowly paint.  After they were done, she said "woah mommy" while pointing at them.  I love this girl!

Around These Here Parts

It's been hot around here.  

Our poor dog can spend about 3 solid minutes outside before she's ready for the air conditioning.

Ponytail!! 

Andrey and I haven't been out to play for a few days.

She's getting pretty sick of playing inside.

So, I decided we could go out and play on the shaded porch.

Seven minutes later she was crawling back inside.

In other news, we're making progress on our backyard.  We now have our patio in!  Notice the dog, in the shade.

And our ground has been leveled and prepared for sod.  And Nate slowly built a lovely retaining wall.  He told me to leave him alone while he worked on it.  Apparently I'm not a helpful audience.

And as with all projects, we learned we have another unplanned for cost.  We will now have to repaint the house.  It's been destroyed by the deck paint.  Yay.

Missing the Important

Sometimes, when I read something really wonderful, I promise myself it will change me.  Or when I see something that adds new perspective, I just hope I'll never be the same.  It's the things that make you stop, in your tracks, and think you've been going about life wrong that I let slip away.  Why do I do that?  I can remember a rude comment from a year ago, but not the important lesson I need most.  Where are those life lessons going?  Why can't I keep them fresh in my mind?

This.  This lesson losing issue.  Has got to stop.

Will I ever be the person I'm called to be if I watch my potential fall through the cracks?  How do I expect to gain character if I can't remember to breathe and listen and shut my trap?  If I can't remember what I'm dying to remember?

Change is on the way for me.  Purposeful, intentional and spiritual change.  The kind that ought to be noticed and yet leave me filled with humility.  Am I capable of it?  Can I read a sentence, verse or book that begs me to be different and actually be different?  Yes.

The desire to be better is part of actually being better, in my opinion.  I want so badly to grow and learn and be quiet and calm.  And I think just wanting it so desperately is my first step.  Knowing that I can't remember that wonderful thing I was supposed to remember, makes me want to pay closer attention.

And if I'm paying closer attention, I'll remember.

I can do this.  This life thing.  I can and will get better.