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July...You're Finally Here!

The month of Hell is officially over.  I survived, but barely.  All three of my projects launched successfully in the last two weeks of June, and now I can scale back my work hours to those of a normal human, and not a workaholic robot.

This has been a fantastic 4th of July weekend....we've had a (literal) blast with friends, family, and fireworks!  After I left work on time on Thursday (hooray), Ava called her little friend in the neighborhood, and I walked her over to her house for a fun playdate, complete with trampolines, and a gaggle of other 2nd grade girls.  Back at our homestead, after G went to bed, Scott and I headed over to the neighbor's house for an adult evening of drinks and a bonfire.  Someone in the 'hood was setting off those floating lanterns, so it became a game to see who could spot the next one.  It was a GREAT way to start of the long weekend!

Bringing Annie on her playdate...



The next day started off bright and early with chainsaws and augers.  It is a darn good thing no one wanted to sleep in on Friday, as our little island of houses was a noisy one.  Scott has been talking about cutting down some of the trees in our backyard, so he finally had a chance.  And the neighbors decided to take down a few of their trees, as well, so it became a party!  A total of 5 trees came down, but the hardest part was removing the stumps.  There are still a few left to remove, but after working on this project for hours on end, it was time to stop and have a beer.  Or two.  And then head over to the "new" (been here since last August) neighbors to help them with the fence they are putting up (that was the auger part of the morning...had to dig holes for the fence posts!)  I got to hang out with my neighbor, her mom, and all of the kids...and it was relaxing!

G and LP are interacting more, so it's pretty cute to see them together.  LP is only 7 months older than G, and they are going to be T-R-O-U-B-L-E!


Cooling off with freezies...


That afternoon, Ava and I headed to the pool to meet up with Emily and her family.  Without G, I was free to sit by the side of the pool, and keep a close eye on Ava in the water.  I even had a chance to finish a magazine...what??  That never happens! It was perfect weather to be outside, and to dip into the pool once in a while.

We had a nice dinner out as a family that night, although, someone must be creeping up on the terrible twos because, man, there was a massive meltdown brewing.  And food throwing.  And tears flowing.  The best part is that there was a table behind us with a girl just a bit older than G, and I heard her parents thank her for being such a good little girl.  Sigh.  Oh well.  At least he's cute!

Saturday was a day full of running errands (like 5 hours of running for me and Ava...Scott and G bailed after 3 hours...but, we did see Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey at Menards, so that was bonus.) Then another few hours in the afternoon watching Scott help with the fence, and chatting with the neighbors while the kids played in the sprinkler.  Pretty darn great.  We purchased a new fire pit yesterday, so we invited people over for s'mores and a fireworks show.  Although, some of the fireworks were duds, so it was more of a guessing game on what was going to happen when they were lit.  The "new" neighbors also came over, and Amanda and I scouted out the perfect location to watch the Apple Valley fireworks, without leaving the neighborhood, and having to fight with traffic.  Not kidding...that's what we're going to do next year.  Why fight with traffic for an hour, when we can see it perfectly in a three-minute walk from our house?!

And today is another new day...we'll be finishing up some projects, and spending more time together as a family.  I think we will all be refreshed for the new week to start tomorrow.  And I haven't looked at my work email/laptop since Thursday - and it feels GREAT! :)

A few random pics from earlier in the summer:

Having fun with the pool and sprinkler...and drinking from a shovel!




A nice little surprise I found on my car door one day...and then again the next day...


Because I've been so busy at work, I didn't have a lot of time to plan anything fun for Ava's birthday, so two co-workers surprised me with a birthday-in-a-box for Ava.  She LOVED it!!  

Although, G hated the balloon...like tears and shaking.  It stays safely tucked away in Ava's room now...




Happy Birthday, America - we've had a great time celebrating YOU!

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