Summer Crunch Time

I always seem to keep a running blog post in my head as we go through our daily activities, but time at the computer is short and sweet these days. I've reached the "crunch time" of summer--cramming as many fun things as I can into such a short time before the calendar tells me it's time for school to start.

Aaron and Braylen were all about the go-carts, while Kaleb loved the bumper cars.

This past Sunday through Tuesday our family took a short vacation to Omaha, NE. Why Omaha? Derek had some job training to attend there, so he brought us all with him. While Daddy worked, his family played. :) We enjoyed the Omaha zoo on Monday, which is really quite a great zoo! The weather was mild and the boys behaved amazingly well. I wondered how I would do on my own, but it all turned out great. We played at The Amazing Pizza Machine on Tuesday, which I found to be PERFECT for my boys' ages. Who knew we could spend 5 hours at the zoo and 5 hours at the Pizza Machine? Toss in a fun supper with Daddy at Cheeseburgers in Paradise and lots of swimming at the hotel pool, and this was one fun trip! Even the Disney channel cooperated and played "Beethoven's Big Break" for us on Monday night. What fun to see my boys laugh and laugh at such a great movie!

Starting out our day at the zoo

The polar bear gave us quite a show!

Getting hot by the time we reached the giraffes!

Back at home on Wednesday, our puppy showed us she needed to go to the vet. While my mother-in-law did an excellent job caring for her while we were gone, Ginger somehow picked up a severe urinary tract infection. Ugh! She's probably had it for a while, and only showed signs of it yesterday. Lots of money later, she is on an antibiotic and seems to be holding her own, although she's not able to "hold it in" for very long. Ha ha ha. I'm amazed I'm able to make a joke about it today, because yesterday I was quite stressed about it. Due to my own history of severe UTI's, I've often been glad to avoid passing it on to my children by having only boys. How ironic that we'd have a female dog catch this type of infection. Figures!

Today I've baked banana bread, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. The house smells delicious! I look forward to enjoying some more family time at the lake--and we always need goodies at the lake. :) A very good friend brought me a delicious turtle mocha this morning, which lifted my spirits as I wade through everything that needs to get done today. Yes, coffee and good friends are such blessings in my life!

Last night we spent time at some friends' house teaching Braylen how to waterski. They have a house on a private lake with an amazing set-up, so we didn't want to pass up this opportunity. Braylen got up on his first try and made several laps around the lake! He even went in and out of the wake without falling! Derek and I were so happy for him! After seeing his parents waterski for years, he finally experienced it for himself. I'm such a waterbug that Derek calls me his mermaid, so I'm especially happy to see my son do so well in the water. Kaleb, bless his heart, wouldn't give it a try or even try the kneeboard. That's okay--he loved the tube! Aaron swam all over the cove, jumped on the water tramp, and tubed with Kaleb. Thanks to these great friends, we had such a fun night!

Some funnies for the week, and then it's time to go. My next post will be all about my baby turning 10 on Aug. 11th. What a crazy ride parenting is. You think it will last forever, and before you know it--poof! They grow up!

Aaron asked if he could help Daddy vacuum the vehicle. Derek set him up with the floor mats and Aaron spent lots of time vacuuming them. While trying to say "rubber mats," Aaron said, "I'm going to vacuum the mother rats!"

Ever try to explain what a bladder is to a 5 year old? I tried, and this is what happened.

Me: Ginger has an infection in her bladder.
Aaron: What's a bladder?
Me: It's kind of like a water balloon--it holds the potty until you're ready to go. Ginger's isn't working right, so she needs some medicine to fix it.
Aaron: Maybe it popped!