Real Life Stuff

Forrest and I just got back from our house hunting trip and we found a house we think will work for us.  But before I get to that, there are a few more things to catch up on.  Too many things!  So I'll be brief.  Or at least try.

First we have Jonas's Pinewood Derby.  Jonas and Dad worked on the car and made a really cool patriotic model, weighted with a silver dollar and a quarter.  Here's our cool track (well, not our track, but the track of the guy who goes around and does these things all over the SL Valley for a living):

And here's Jonas with his friends, celebrating at the end of the race.

And here they are posing the way their moms wanted them to pose:

Jonas's car was a solidly average performer, but he was a great sport and had a lot of fun.  That's what Pinewood Derbies are about, right?  (That and watching 38-year-old engineers get this glazed competitive look in their eyes, wandering around with a tubes of graphite clutched in their sweaty palms.)

The middle kids (you know, Jonas and Elise?) had their last few days of school to celebrate.  Here are some pictures of the revelry at field day:

More shots of Jonas and his buddies.  He's going to miss these guys!

Jonas leaping small styrofoam obstacles in a single bound!

Elise and her friend Ashlyn.

Cooling off!

Which brings us to the actual last day of school.  I make all the kids gather on the front porch for a "just off the bus" shot, much to Ethan's 8th grade mortification.  Hey, it's a tradition!!

Makes me a little sad that this will be our last last-day-of-school shot on this particular porch.  Sniff.  Both Elise and Jonas came home with good report cards and smiles on their faces.  And Elise looks particularly fetching because we crimped her hair in preparation for the 6th grade dance.  No boys and girls actually danced with each other of course, but isn't that the point of 6th grade dances?  To bop around in a sweaty clump of girlfriends and wonder what it will be like when you actually DO dance with a real boy?

We kicked off our real summer by having Tony and Cindy's kids with us for a few days over the 4th of July weekend.  Here they all are in the family room, kickin back:

We went swimming, went to a neighborhood 4th of July bash, lit fireworks (sorry, forgot to take pictures!), went to church, and hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Sweat's empty house, eating pizza and making incredible messes with Grandma's stash of glitter and stickers and glue sticks and poster paint.  (Grandma and Grandpa were at Amy's house in celebrating the advent of Carly June--more on that later).  The cousins had a great time together.  It was particularly fun since they don't have much more time to hang out in a casual cousinly way (sniff, again!).  

And then, Carly June was born!  Here she is, in all her cuteness.  I haven't met her yet (of course) and probably won't meet her for a while (I'll refrain from sniffing again, but you get the point), but here she is.  Nieces are the best.

Good job, Amy!  You keep making gorgeous kids.

And I just got a call from my real estate agent & we have a showing from 9-10 tomorrow, so I'd better get tidying.  I have lots more news on the move and the house we think we're buying, etc etc  . . .  but you're gonna have to wait.  I know; you're on pins and needles.  You hang on every word I write, yes?  And by "you," I mean my mom. :-)

Over and out, at least for today.