Summer Fun

It's been a while. A long while. The last time you heard from us was, sadly, April. To say we've been busy would be an understatement. If you make it to the end of this post, you'll understand why. :)

Let's rewind to May and go from there.

Visiting G & B in Florida
We made our first long-distance trip with Ford in May to visit Gigi and Boppa in Florida. The weather was great, and we had so much fun. We were able to visit with David's aunt and uncle who got to meet Ford for the first time. And if you ask what we did all weekend, well, Dave and I spent most of our time bonding over puzzles. I think we completed 4 puzzles in 3 days; and I'm talking BIG puzzles. We were a little obsessed.

First plane ride! We got a free upgrade to first class because of Ford. Yippee!

Curled up for a nap on the plane.

"Let me drive, Boppa!"

Unofficial Family Reunion in Kentucky
Jamie and the kids came to Kentucky in June, so Ford and I packed up and headed south. Ford had a blast playing with all his cousins! He liked the boys, but he was most enamored with EmmaJane (I think because they're the same age). It was nonstop motion for the two of them. Where EmmaJane went, Ford followed. It was so precious.

EmmaJane sharing her water with Ford. :)

We took the rare opportunity to have everyone together to do a photo shoot with all the grandkids, which was pretty....eventful. Trying to get 5 kids age 11/2 to 10 was quite a feat. The photographer, a friend of Jennifer's, got some good shots though.

Stelsels in Indy
The weekends we were in town were often spent with the Stelsels. Kirk and Laura bought a new house, so they had a really busy summer moving to a temporary apartment and renovating the new house. Dave and Connie came down quite a bit to help out, so Ford got a lot of lovin' from his grandparents the last three months.

Any guesses how Ford ended up with one shoe and no pants at Kirk's *new* house? I'll give you a hint: it involved a paint can.

Vacation
It's been so busy this year, David and I decided to take our vacation a little earlier than usual. We normally like to go end of summer / early fall as our anniversary date approaches. But we couldn't wait that long. So we booked a last-minute (like, a-week-before-our-flight-takes-off last minute) trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida -- just the two of us! It. Was. Awesome. We laid on the beach every day (a private beach at that!), read our books, and just relaaaaaaaaxed. It was just what we needed to recharge our batteries.

New (and Better) Opportunities
Our last-minute vacation was spurned by....a new job! :)  I accepted a new corporate communications position for an industrial manufacturer in Lafayette. I started at the end of July, and I love it. Everyone is really great; I'm learning a lot; and, more importantly, I'm loving the work! The only downside to this great opportunity is being almost an hour from home. David is doing more Daddy duty than ever before, and so far, so good. We're making it work. After all, I don't want to miss this little munchkin's activity; he grows up so fast!

And that's been our summer, in a nutshell. :)

Categories: family time