July

 Now that it's mid-August, I'll take a moment to look back on July!  The highlight of the month was our family beach vacation.  Here are some other tidbits. 

Jack works on our house on Saturdays.  On one of those days he had the boys help him throw these boxes together for our porch.  He used walnut flooring that was leftover from a job.  A little more stylish than the plastic tubs I had in mind.  Scroll down to see the final product.

 Before we get to the boxes, here are some cute Aidan pictures!

 Aidan dries off after his bath with his new towel from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ed.  Look at that sweet smile!

 And back to the boxes....  the tall one is to hold bats and the like.  Most of the real estate is claimed by a vast arsenal of stick weapons.  The box can also serve as the drying rack for Jack's stinky running clothes.  hmmmmm

 This one holds balls

 Lauren dressing up in the mud room one morning

 When we were away on vacation, our chickens were naughty.  They got out of their coop all the time, giving our chicken sitter fits.  After our return, they calmed down a little, as if they suspected the game was up.  Even still, Jack and the kids had to spend some time each day rounding up chickens.  We have one chicken in particular, Fiester (appropriately named by Jakin), who gets out multiple times every. single. day.  I'm not sure what we're going to do about it.  Permanent coop with a fence over the top?  But at least we're getting eggs now, so that's compensates for the annoyance.  A little bit.

 The boys participated in our local soccer camp after the beach.  Corban was the MVP of his group!  yay!

 Another Aidan shot

 Sweet Lauren

 Visit from the Podszus family, Round 2.  I'm so so glad we were able to squeeze one more visit in with our friends on their way home to Kansas.  It's such a treat to see how much fun the kids have together. 

Lauren and Elsa

 Aidan and Asher

 Annie and Sophia - This relationship is special.  These girls don't just have fun together, they seem to really love each other.

 Lauren doesn't nap everyday anymore.  On this day, she just couldn't make it through without a little nap right on the couch.  And yes, she's dressed up like a pirate.  Maybe it was all of the looting and pillaging that wore her out.

Two more weeks of summer and I'm gearing up for school!