Wrapping up July with a bang!

With the start of August tomorrow, I'm getting that anxious feeling in my stomach.  Time to get all our summer bucket-list items crossed off because we'll be back to work and school in no time.  July was a big month for us with getting a major project accomplished: a new roof!  This has been something we've been putting off for years and after a pretty bad storm in March that left us with some missing shingles, we knew the time was now.  The boys sure enjoyed the process!  For Scott and I...it has definitely been stressful and expensive!

We figured now was a good time to also put on a new door knob and class things up a bit for the front door.  And one of our giant sunflowers bloomed!  I'm kind of loving the way our house looks right now...new roof, flowers are blooming, etc.  We'll get new gutters this week sometime and then I want a new door mat and we'll be all set!  Scott even got a new grill for the deck.

While the chaos was going on at our house with the roof, we took the kids down to the old elementary school down the road to play.  We're trying to get Evan to swing by himself and do the monkey bars, but he's not quite there yet with either.  No rush...it took Sean halfway through Young 5's to get both of those accomplished.

The boys had been asking to go to the DNR in Detroit for a few weeks now.  So, we took them this past Wednesday.  Sean had a dental appointment in the morning.  He has some issues with the enamel on his adult molars that came in a few months ago.  Three out of the four have cavities because the enamel did not develop properly when they were under his gums and left him more prone to sugar bugs.  I've been reassured it was nothing that we did or didn't do to cause this.  It was just an unfortunate circumstance that when the teeth were developing, he had a disruption like a high fever, or a steroid breathing treatment, or a multitude of other things.  He got one filling while we were there and we are watching the other two.  He may need crowns as an adult, but again, it's something we're watching and monitoring.

He was a trooper!  We were unable to get good x-rays (apparently he also has a pretty bad gag reflex), but he only required laughing gas for the cavity procedure and he was stoked to get a few prizes on our way out.

We met up with Scott and Evan, grabbed lunch out, and went on to the DNR.  Which, was great going in the afternoon since all of the field trips were on their way out when we were on our way in.  The boys loved the treehouse, as usual, and Sean spent a ton of time in the pretend kitchen playing with all the foods.  We said hello to the Detroit River and to Canada, as per tradition.  It was a really nice afternoon!

The boys have been working really hard on the summer reading program at the library and today was the last day!  They were so excited to see all of the prizes this summer since the theme was Build a Better World (all building related prizes...water bottles, inflatable hammers, water squirters in the shape of power tools).  Today's prize was a knock-off Lego set.  Woo hoo!  But, in all seriousness, Sean has read 42 books so far this summer and even though his challenge was 100, he has read a book every night except for a handful and he's getting a lot better!  I'm so proud of him!  Evan has been so supportive and a great listener and he seems to know a few words himself.  I have a feeling he's going to be a great reader next year!

They've both been busy doing workbooks and practice worksheets all summer long too.  Evan has almost completed his letter writing workbook and Sean has been journaling a bunch.  He even wrote a note back to his best friend, Corey, who wrote to him saying he missed him.  They ended up seeing each other at a birthday party on Saturday.  It was so much fun!  Swimming, a trampoline and play structure, yummy food, cupcakes, and slime as the favor.  It was a bonus too that Sean lost his tooth that morning!  What a lucky boy!

Other noteworthy moments at the end of July?  Evan loving on Bailey...he really loves that girl!  Donuts for breakfast one morning, Shark Week episodes while building with gears and just general obsessing over sharks, a night out with my friend Sarah in downtown Plymouth, fun in the bathtub after playing with stamps...all over their bodies, and getting read for camping.  We've had a great month with a few bumps in the road like a bum ankle for me that's disrupting my running, a ripped off toenail for Sean, an ear infection for Evan...and for Scott?  I think he's set after having poison ivy earlier this summer.

Tomorrow we leave to go camping for two nights out by Lake Michigan!  We are so excited.  August also brings refinished hard wood floors that Scott will be doing himself, a week in Troy at my parent's house to do all the fun things on that side of town (Legoland Discovery Center, Troy Aquatic Center, Somerset with Chick-Fil-A and the Lego and Disney stores, and maybe even Red Oaks Water Park), Ogemaw County Fair up north, a block party, and getting ready for back to work/school and Evan's birthday.

Keeping cool

Somehow it's the last full week in July already.  It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies when you're having fun!  And we are definitely enjoying our July.

It's been so hot and so humid.  We've really tried to stay cool by using our neighbor's pool or going to various local splash pads.  I will say it's been pretty amazing having neighbors who let us use their pool whenever we want.

Their daughter plays travel softball so there have been a few weekends they've gone out of town.  They asked us to do a few things for the pool and in return, it was all ours.  We've really enjoyed that!

A trip to Splash Park in Plymouth and a birthday party in Westland at another splash pad for Sean's friend, Avalynn, helped keep us cool too!

Some of our cooling off efforts have been indoors.  The boys both spent last week at camp!  Sean went to "Lego camp", otherwise known as Bricks for Kidz.  Evan was off to Safety Town.  Both boys had friends at camp with them and it was only for 3 hours in the morning, so it wasn't too intense for them.  On Monday Evan was pretty freaked out about going.  But, the following morning and the rest of the week he was all smiles.  Sean built some pretty cool sets that had motors and lights (windshield wipers, a bird flying, a lighthouse, and many more).

I'd like to say that Scott and I enjoyed our freedom for 3 hours each day last week, but unfortunately, most of the week was spent at the credit union (getting financially ready for our roof), running errands, buying a new grill, and getting some small tasks done around the house.  Although, we did enjoy breakfast out one morning and we each got to exercise two times.  I'll take it!

Thursday after camp, we decided to take the boys out to lunch and then on to the Museum of Natural History on U of M's campus.  We were completely unaware that the art fair started that day...and the museum was right around the corner from it...oops!  Luckily, we found a spot on the street and were able to salvage our outing.  The boys had a great time!  Dinosaur bones, fossils, and space - right up their alley!

We made it back to our car just in time for the rain to start and I had some sleepy boys on my hands.  They came home and decided to watch a movie.  Might as well relax while we can!

Last Sunday, we decided to take a bike ride on Hines Drive to try and enjoy some cooler temps we were having in the morning.  There was a threat of rain, but we got lucky and didn't get rained on!  Evan wanted to ride in the trailer (which was probably for the best with all the hills).  Sean did great on his bike, although going down the hills freaked him out a bit.  The park was fun and the ducks/geese were actually tame.

This weekend included haircuts, farmer's market for muffins, a trip to the library for this week's summer reading program prize, and then an overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the boys since Scott and I had a wedding in Grand Blanc.  It was a pretty busy weekend, all considering.

We're pretty exhausted from last night and my feet are so unbelievably sore, but we had a great time and it was the first time in years that we saw some of our good friends from high school/college.

This week brings a dentist appointment for Sean, a birthday party on Saturday for Sean's friend, and more outings that I haven't planned yet...maybe the Toledo Zoo again one day or the Botanical Garden in Ann Arbor.  The boys have been bugging me about going to the DNR Adventure Center, so that's a possibility too.  Ahhhh the joys of summer!