Seven for Sunday (The July edition)

1

 Guess who turns 31 on Tuesday? Me! I'm officially in the category "30 something" which is kind of odd because I always thought I'd feel older when I was older--does that make sense? No? Okay, I will explain. Recently, a family moved into our ward and I got to chatting with her on Sunday. I thought to myself that we had so much in common and we could totally relate because we were in the same stage in life. Then I realized that her oldest is about the age of my youngest, she's ten years younger than me, they are still in school, and they are renting. I was talking to myself of 8 years ago. Of course we'll still be great friends because she is awesome, but it was just funny to really sit back and think that I've been married nearly 10 years, I have 4 children, we are done with school, and we own a home. Oh, and I'm a "30 something."  :)

We celebrated my birthday with family on Saturday. We had a yummy BBQ and KayLyn made me strawberry cheesecake. The boys got me new running shoes (they're pink!) and a cute skirt and shirt. It was a really wonderful evening.

2

 Is anyone else going through the middle of the summer blahs? I've really been in a funk this past little while. Tired, grumpy, snappy--you know how it goes. It seems like all the kids do is whine and fight. I just feel so tired of being the referee/cruise director/maid/cook/everything else person. I think I'm just so tired. I haven't had a full night's uninterrupted sleep since I was pregnant (and certainly not since the 2nd trimester). I also think the fun exciting novelty of summer has worn off and now we're into the "Mom, I'm bored and hungry and it's too hot to go outside" phase. I had a good talk with Tim yesterday that really helped and then today I stayed home from church with Zachy (he's sick) and we took a long nap and then I watched some of those wonderful Mormon ads and sort of regrouped and made some goals that will hopefully help me to feel better. I especially felt like this video was what I needed right now. I love Elder Holland. (3:14 in the video seemed especially familiar).  :)

3

 Raspberries picked from my own backyard and blackberries picked from a neighbor's yard. So delicious! The raspberries are just about done, but the tomatoes are really close and I'm looking forward to biting into those. Grocery store tomatoes just can't compete. Not even close.

4

 We pulled out the high chair. He looks so tiny in it but he loves it. He really likes to be with us at the table and this helps him feel a part of mealtimes. He's been so interested in food lately that I went ahead and started giving him rice cereal. He likes it. We also got him a little sippy cup that he plays with and occasionally manages to get a drink out of. He likes gnawing on these little biscuits I found at the store, too. I just can't believe he's almost six months old and ready to be eating other foods.
Bonus points if you can spot Eli hiding in this picture.

5

 Swimming lessons! For the past two weeks we've done our annual swimming lessons with Miss Lyndsey. This was Marcus's third year and the Owen and Eli's first. Unfortunately, Eli was his usual self and each lesson was a bit of a battle to get him in the pool. He'd be all excited and then a minute or so before his class started (Marcus's class was first) he'd turn to me and say, "I don't want to swim." and I'd say, "But Eli, that's why we came. It's time for swimming lessons." and he'd say, "No." and back and forth we'd go until I just picked him up and handed him into Miss Lyndsey's arms. He'd cry for another minute or so and then have a wonderful time until the next day when we'd do it all over again. Owen on the other hand, loved it! On the last day he even jumped off the diving board twice. It was adorable watching them swim. I have a video that I'll try and put up soon so you can melt at the cuteness of watching 5 little 3-year-old boys learn to swim.

6

 We got a new road! It was noisy and sometimes inconvenient but the boys LOVED it! And now we have a smooth new "Lightning McQueen road."

7

Every summer some birds decide to build a nest in my hanging flower basket. The kids love watching the baby birds hatch and then grow. It's amazing to me how they go from eggs to full grown birds in just a matter of a month.

Happy July, everyone!