Let's Catch Up, Shall we?

Oh, man-- I got really behind on posting updates this last month.  So, here's a run down of what has been keeping us so busy (caution- this is going to be a long post):

Basement Painting

Hideous stairwell before

One of the first things on our home improvement list was to paint the interior of the house, even though it had been recently painted when we bought it.  The color was a hideous orangish-peachish-yellowish disaster and was in EVERY room on EVERY floor. It took us about 6 months to decide on a color for the main floor/upstairs and to hire a painter.  Because the bid for painting the basement seemed excessive ($800 plus materials) we decided not to do it at the same time as the rest of the house.  Well, folks, on Memorial Day Weekend I decided that I couldn't stand the color any longer and put myself to work.  With the exception of the stairwell, it was pretty easy.

Moonshine grey in all its glory!  I still plan to add some new pillow cases and artwork, but it's already 1,000,000% better with fresh paint.

It was also very time consuming.  Counting prep work, clean up, and painting time I would say that I put in about 40 hours of work-- nearly all of it at night while Brandon was studying and the kids were in bed.  I took one week off because I came down with the worst cold of my life, so the whole project ended up taking a month to finish.  It was so worth it, though!  I love, love, love the new color-- moonshine grey (by Benjamin Moore).  It looks so fresh and modern and really compliments the floors, cabinets, and trim work.  I painted the entire living space, kitchenette, and both bedrooms the same color.  I left the bathroom alone, because I have big plans for it but haven't gotten any paint samples yet...  And the best part is that I only spent about $200 on paint and supplies.

Swim Lessons

Little Miss had swim lessons early on this summer.  She has always loved the water, but has gotten noticeably better at swimming this year.  She has great form and loves to jump right in.  Sometimes she forgets to use "big scoop arms" and settles for "little scoop arms" but all in time... We're really proud of our little mermaid.

Wyatt's First Trip to the Dentist

I have to say I was nervous about Wyatt's first dental visit, but he sure wasn't.  I scheduled his appointment to take place right after Ruby's so that he could watch his big sister get her teeth inspected and cleaned first.  It worked!  He was a brave little toaster and happily let the dentist and hygienist check his out his teeth.  I think it helps that they are great with kids, have a video screen in the ceiling, and awesome treasure box!  Hopefully he stays this great for the dentist--I might have bitten mine when I was a kiddo (and she might have also been my aunt-- but no confessions here!)

Overnight Visitor

Baby Peityn (our niece) came to stay with us for 4 days and 4 nights while her parents were in Mexico on vacation.  Both Brandon and I were nervous about caring for a 4 year old, 2 year old, and 8 month old; especially since it coincided with the worst cold known to man, but it ended up working out well.  (That's not to say that we weren't exhausted).

Where do I put the groceries?

Our kiddos love their little cousin and had lots of fun with her.  I have to say that she is quite possibly the world's easiest baby-- Casey and Marta sure are lucky!  She is a little gem.

With that said, I'm pretty sure Wyatt is not ready to be a middle child.  He had a lot of parking lot melt downs because I couldn't carry him and was constantly worried about Baby Pei taking his pirate toys.

Totally violating our "no touching" policy.

 I am not ready for 3 carseats and total exhaustion, so while Peityn is welcome to come play and visit for a few hours at a time this Mommy is not quite ready to bake another baby yet.

Father's Day

Totally candid-- nap buddies.

Ruby and Wyatt are so blessed to have such a wonderful daddy.  Brandon is really hands on.  He loves to play with them and always plans fun family outings.  The first thing he does when he gets home from work or school is play with them and he almost always helps me with the bedtime routine before he retires to the basement to study.  So, we wanted to do something special for him on Father's Day.  We ordered him a double-wide hammock for the backyard, which ended up being backordered until July 19 (which we found out about just a few days before Father's Day).  To make up for it, we made him cards and bought him some of his favorite treats just so that he'd still have some presents to open.

Double snuggle

Ruby helped me make waffles before church and when we got home we  grilled up a yummy lunch-- shrimp, quinoa salad, and broccoli.  He rounded out the afternoon with a Father's Day nap and spent the evening sharing dessert and visting with his dad.  Not a bad way to celebrate such a beloved member of our fam!

MBA School
Brandon finished his first year of MBA school two weekends ago-- wahoo!  We all survived! We're so proud of him--balancing a full time job, raising a young family, and going to school is not an easy feat.  (Over achieving has always been a strength of his, though.)  Now he gets the month of July off, so we're going to enjoy some down time together and squeeze in a few little vacations.

Backyard Camping

Last year we had our first annual backyard campout.  It was a big hit with the kiddos and they had been begging to do it again, so the weekend after Brandon finished up his classes we went camping.

 This year Brandon steped up his game and bought a mini firepit so that we could roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories by the fire.  The kids LOVED it!  They played hide and go seek in the backyard, jumped on the trampoline, and went for wood/pine cone collecting ride in the wagon.

 They enjoyed the scary stories and marshmallows (more than the smores- go figure) and movie time in the tent.

Once they were ready to go to sleep I headed indoors to fold laundry and prepare my primary lesson.  About a half hour later Wyatt also came inside.

Apparently, he kept tossing and turning and asking to go "home."  Maybe next year he'll tough it out with Daddy, Ruby, and Scout instead of pooping out like Mommy. :)

Wyatt's Wounded Wing

Poor Wyatt took a spill at Michael's Craft Store.  He grabbed the side of a shopping cart, leaned backward, and pulled the cart over on himself.  It happened so quickly.  He seemed shaken up at first and upset about the cut on his arm, but other than that appeared normal.  I kept looking for swelling or bruising on his arm, since it was such a bad spill, but never saw any.  The next day he moved his arm in such a way that it caused him to shiver all over and I got worried and took him to the insta-care.  The doctor on call (a sport's medicine specialist) took an x-ray and did an exam.  He concluded that Wyatt most likely had fractured his forearm.  The x-ray wasn't conclusive, though, so he splinted it and suggested that I see him at his office in a week for a second x-ray.  Well, at the second visit he told me that the radiologist who reviewed the x-ray didn't think Wyatt had a broken arm.  The sport's medicine doctor wanted to cast it for 3 weeks anyway, to be safe.  I don't have a problem casting his arm, but I do if it isn't necessary.  The injury is healing well and hasn't slowed him down or caused him pain, so it didn't make sense to us to put him in a cast.  We got a third opinion from a radiologist and are pretty confident that it isn't broken.  Nonetheless, we're being careful and keeping it in the splint for the next week or so.

Party Prep
My sister is having a baby in October!  I'm so excited to have a new little nephew.  Her baby shower is happening later this month while we're in town for vacation, so I've been able to help out.  I've been feverishly working on party favors and am gathering supplies for cupcake mania!  It will be lots of fun.  I'm also hosting a bridal shower for my sister-in-law at the end of the month, so I've been busy planning that soirée  also.  My Martha Stewart muscle might be flexed to it's limit! lol But, it's all good.  I really love these girls and I love party details-- I just wish I had more time between the two events.

Mini Model

A family friend works for a local company that sells wholesale dress up costumes and tutus.  She asked if Ruby would be interested in doing some modeling for their upcoming advertising/packaging.  Ruby was, of course, elated to have the opportunity to play dress up for a professional photographer.

Her compensation was a $50 catalog credit, which she quickly spent on 3 different princess dress ups.  After they edit the images I should get a few digital copies, which will be fun.

She was a little shy at first, but warmed up quite quickly and showed us all that she is something of a little ham in the spotlight.  The company is trying to get Wal-Mart to pick up the costumes for Halloween; so if they do there's a chance we could see her cute face on the costume packages in the Halloween aisle.  I'll keep you posted...

And that about sums up what went down with the Linfords in June.

Snapshot of the roses from my garden this month.