Catching up!

I find it amazing how time can speed up or fly by with activity. It has been hard for me to find the time and motivation necessary to post here because there has been a LOT going on. It is not that our activity level is decreasing at all, motivation and time are both on my side at this moment.

Since I last posted:
- our friends the Barto's took us out on their sailboat one evening (Sarah did great with a life jacket!),
- I had the immense pleasure of attending my friend Dani's seventh annual tea,
- John and Sonya went to the Vikings training camp,
- my friend Kerry took some family photos for us (thank you Kerry!),
- we celebrated National Night Out with our awesome neighbors ( I am serious, we have a great neighborhood!),
- my cousin Sam came over to borrow the sewing machine to hem new curtains (load the bobbin clockwise Jonda!),
- we went to John's parents for a long weekend to help with a garage sale (and came back with a few things ourselves - thank you!),
- attended Toro's big employee appreciation event,
- hung out with friends, watched the Olympics, and the many other things of life.

On top of all of that activity, I was summoned for jury duty the last two weeks. My service to the community was limited to calling in about 10 times to confirm that no jurors were needed to serve. John feels that whenever he gets called he will have to spend at least several days serving to make up for the fact that I did not have to go in at all.


Sarah is just a growing, happy girl. She loves making faces to get you to laugh, is climbing onto all of the furniture, and getting her little fingers into everything. She loves to be a help and see what is going on up there - hence the climbing. We're working on more words, none right now, but her sounds are expanding. Today's sound is 'dubba, dubba, dubba'. Her hair is growing as fast as she is. I've already trimmed over an inch off of the back. So we're sprouting off the top often with a sprout (as we call it) to keep hair out of her eyes.


I have an example of her growth for you. We left a diaper bag at the Heckathorn's at the end of July with Sarah's new sandals in it (she was outgrowing the old ones). We received the bag back Thursday and I can barely get the sandals on her feet. I have to note the sandals were a little big before because they slid around and gave her a blister. Not anymore!

As you can see in the pictures, Sarah is serious about feeding herself everything. Spoons have been very tricky with her not understanding gravity's pull on food when you hold it vertical, plus the frustration of not getting food on it when you want to. We've had corn on the cob many times and in Huron she just wanted to get it off the cob herself and couldn't get enough of it! She knows how to put those 16 teeth to work.

The pictures of Rachel and Elizabeth are from Huron as well. The neighbors cat was very friendly and loved the attention from them.

In the last couple weeks, we have also been getting prepared for the school year with supplies and received the letters this week letting us know who the girls' teachers are. Rachel is bursting with excitement to start first grade. Elizabeth is a little more laid back about it, but also ready. I know I am looking forward to the routine, and am hoping for a less crazy year. Trying to cut back on activities seems to be a revolving door, when we decide to eliminate one, a new one comes up.

Thanks for checking in! Look at us a family of five!