Last week

we met Joel's Mom's side of the family in the cities for our annual get together.

SISTERS: Cathy, Linda, and Carol

bingo with Grandma Cathy



Off to the Broadway play WICKED at the Orpheum Theatre. It was fabulous!!

only child

Eli is having his turn at "cousin camp" with Zach. Noah informed me early this morning that he likes being the only kid. He spent the morning playing with Austin and Katelynn.

Then we went to Erin's family lake cabin for a relaxing afternoon followed by ice cream at SCOOPS.When Joel got done with work, we went out for supper, and then it was Wii time with Dad.
He really thought he was hot stuff when I let him sleep in Eli's bed tonight!!

my first attempt

Grandma Betty's potato salad

sweet boy

While Noah was napping yesterday, I was busy cooking and cleaning for his party. I told Eli that he could watch TV or play DS, but he said he wanted to help me. He cleaned up all the toys, put treat bags together, and straightened furniture. After he went to sleep last night, I taped a note to his door thanking him for being such a great helper. Today he told me that he put a note on my bedroom door, but I wasn't supposed to look at it until tomorrow (it's almost midnight). "Mom-

I love you giving me lots of things to do

from: Eli"

one more party

How old are you?

Robin plane




How do you decorate for a "Robin" party???
Grandma gets VERY creative, and
cousin Tyler paints Robin!
I see a room redecorating project in my near future!

July 22nd

birthday boy lounging in Grandma's pool

pizza picnic by the pool
(it was so humid that my camera lens was foggy)

1st present

Iowa fun

Well...it was fun until Eli decided to get car sick on the way home. Luckily, we made it to a rest stop.

DAY 1

Adventureland with Grace, Jake, and Chase
DAY 2
pool and splash park with Jake and Chase

Annual Truax Gathering

=FUN!! Austin was in charge of throwing the target ball
for the bocce players.

Eli & Austin tubing

Annual Fishing Derby

what is this???

Yesterday, Noah had a big rash on the side of his neck. Today, I found this circle on his leg (click to enlarge).

4th of July

Joel was on call for work and had to stay home all weekend. The boys and I met Craig, Jen and kids at my parents' on Friday. Saturday we all went to Krista and Brent's for Drew's 5th b-day. Eli

NoahUnfortunately after Sat., my pictures ended and so did the boys' lake activities. Not only does Eli not like bugs, he now claims that he doesn't like to get wet. Noah has decided that he should be just like his brother. They did however enjoy the 4th of July campfire and watching fireworks from the pontoon.

shark teeth

Someone is getting ready to lose a tooth, and he's pretty excited (try to ignore the food in his other teeth; we just had snack). What does the Tooth Fairy pay for teeth these days???

What have we been up to???

I took the boys to one of the neighborhood wading pools the other day, and Eli was doing all of the things he learned in swimming lessons (including the 2 things he didn't pass). I guess he needed the 2 ft deep pool for a little confidence boost.
Since I still haven't been able to run at all, I had an MRI done on my knee. My iliotibial band (tendon that runs from hip to just below the knee) is inflamed on the outside of my right knee. I had my first session of physical therapy yesterday and was told that the left side of my pelvis isn't right which could be causing the problems on the right, so she adjusted it. I have to do some exercises and go back a couple times a week. We'll see...
Last night Eli had a b-day party at the Redhawks game for one of his friends from school. Joel and I decided to take Noah to the game too. It was a beautiful night, Papa Bucky gave us GREAT seats, and the Redhawks won.
Today, we met Erin, Jack and Ella at the pool. Here are my little fish in action.

Father's Day Fun

We went to the Lake with Craig and Jen for the weekend. Yesterday, Joel went golfing and canoeing before we had a picnic at "the river" with my Dad's side of the family. The kids had fun on the new trampoline and everyone got a ride on the 4 wheeler with Grandpa.

While Joel fished and went "to town" (his favorite lake activity) on Saturday, the rest of us spent the cool morning picking strawberries and eating at Zorbaz. The afternoon was nice, and the kids went fishing with Grandma, Joel and Craig. Noah caught 4 which made a nice supper for the kiddos. They also got to help Grandma make a yummy strawberry pie.

Swimming lessons

Noah was excited that he could jump in by himself! He who loved going to lessons everyday has changed his tune now that he found out that he will be repeating level one with his little brother next year. He did however start swimming a little on his own which he certainly wasn't doing two weeks ago!

He wouldn't do the back float by himself which is one of the passing requirements.

We had a great time at Jack and Ella's on Friday. I stole these pictures from Erin's blog. The weather has not really been cooperating for fun in the sun this week.

The boys started swimming lessons on Monday, so I might have to grab my camera one of these days. They are loving lessons. However, I'm not real sure either will pass.

first day of summer vacation

Noah was just dragging a big bag of toys from the playroom to the family room.
Mom: "What are you doing?"
Noah: "We're robbing a toy store."
M: "You're robbing a toy store?"
N: "Yeah, it's midnight, and we're bad guys"
I guess I should be glad they're using their imaginations. However, it's 10:30, and on my "summer schedule" that means it's time for our morning field trip.

summer reading

On my first day of "vacation", I went straight to the library in search of ideas to help me with a defiant 6 year old. Tomorrow is Eli's last day of school, and then we start our summer schedule which consists of very little TV or DS. We'll see how long I can stick with it.

Memorial Day Weekend

This is the ONLY picture I took!! Noah had a great time at the lake. He didn't do anything for more than a few minutes at a time, but he kept himself busy all weekend. He was VERY excited when he caught a fish off the dock all by himself.
Joel enjoyed some golfing and fishing. I had fun tubing down the river and playing cards. Eli has a new fear of bugs, so after a Friday night campfire/smore, he spent most of the weekend indoors.