We are bad at this!!!

So we are really bad at this whole blogging thing. Another update for you anyway. We have had a really fun and sweaty summer. In case you forgot, we live in TX now and it gets really hot here. We are blessed that there is a pool at our complex and we got to go swimming almost everyday.

So here is a brief summer recap.

June: Swimming, swimming, and more swimming. Kevin's parents, sister and grandmother all came for a visit. We went to Carlsbad Caverns and to the zoo and many other things that this late in the game I cannot remember.

We also celebrated Alexander's 1st birthday (BIG BOY!!) and my birthday. We got a webcam so that we can chat with family long distance.It is really fun and the girls LOVE using it. Also Alex started walking in June right around his 1st birthday. That was pretty exciting.

July: Swimming, swimming, and more swimming. Did I mention that my kids love to swim? To this day I can put little Alex in a lifejacket and let him go and he will float onto his back and kick and giggle for a couple of minutes. Of course, I am always standing right there but I let him do it anyway because he gets a kick out of it. Anyway, we went to the zoo many times and we even went back to Carlsbad again in July. We went househunting twice in July. (More info to follow on that.)

August: The kids and I spent the 1st half of August in Idaho visiting friends and family. We went to a family reunion for both sides of the family (one each Saturday we were there) and had a great time. I am pleased to announce that while we were in Idaho I actually felt cold. That is right folks, I know what "cold" feels like again and it was a glorious experience. I enjoyed wearing my sweatshirt and slippers in August. It was amazing and I can't wait until I feel "cold" again. It is not likely to happen anytime soon, but at least for now I am comforted by the fact that we are able to turn the air conditioner off at night and sleep comfortably. Anywho, we really enjoyed Idaho. About 2 days before we went to Idaho we were successful in our house hunt. We put an offer in on an awesome home the day before I left with the kids. To make a long story short, they eventually accepted our offer and I will never again try to buy a home long distance while on vacation. Whilst we were in Idaho Kevin was plugging away at his job and doing amazing stuff like passing probation and becoming a full-fledged employee. He called and told me that he didn't pass and I nearly had a heart attack. I didn't think it was particularly funny, but he did. (Way to go Kev, ya got me!!)

When we returned from Idaho (The kids are absolute "road warriors", the didn't even watch a movie on the way back. I drove all by myself on the way back. That's right, no other adults, just me and 3 kids for 2 days.) Maddy started school. We got back and 2 days later we went to meet the teacher and 4 days later she started Kindergarten. She is getting so big. She is at school from 8 am to 3:15 pm. We miss her being gone all day, but she loves it. And her teachers are great and she is making new friends, all positive notes about school. No fights to get her out of bed or anything (I know that at least Christy is jealous). The worst part about school is that I have to drive her and then walk her in to the cafeteria and pick her up from the cafeteria. It is time consuming. It breaks up my whole day in a bad way. Oh well, it is the price we pay for a great school and area to live in.

We also got to go camping with our ward. It was wonderful (and cold, did I mention how much I like being cold). I miss camping, we will probably try to go camping again after we move into the new house. It doesn't get very cold here so we can do that!!!

September (so far): We have just been doing our normal thing. School and chores and park and all the good things in life. Kevin went hiking with some friends twice (one day trip and one overnight). He heads to Oregon this weekend for the sealing of his sister and family (they adopted boys). I will be scrapbooking and Visiting Teaching and eating brownies for the 2 days that he is away. Then we have a weekend at home before I go on my very first ever MOMMY WEEKEND. That is right, no kids!!! I will sleep and read and sleep and read and maybe soak in the hot tub if I can haul my hind quarters out of bed. Should be great fun!! I am really excited.

Tomorrow we are getting real family pictures done. I am excited about this because Alex is a year old and there is no good excuse for not having an updated picture.

Hope that everyone is well, and (cross your fingers) we will try to at least update the pictures more often. Gotta go make dinner and do the laundry for the photo shoot!!!

Adios!!!