Habegger Family Lake Trip

We returned late last week from a family trip to Long Beach, IN with the Habeggers. This was the boys' first trip to the beach, and they couldn't get enough. With the exception of one day, the water was still and smooth, and we had a hard time keeping Miles out of it. He enjoyed practicing his swimming skills as well as just floating around. John was content playing in the sand on the edge of the water, although he enjoyed venturing out a little deeper, too. The kids had a blast with their cousins (inter-house Facetime was a big hit!), and Josh and I loved watching the boys and their excitement over the water, sand, and cousins. The beach was great, company was great, food was great. A wonderful week!

July in photos

I found this great template online, and I loved the idea of having a collage of some of our monthly goings on. A little recap in photos:

{Driving the neighbor's 4th of July tractor float, what a lot of our mornings look like, swimming, dodging waves at the beach, a little walk at sunset, Touch-A-Truck, popsicle eating, family photo attempt, John turning 18 months, 4th of July trip to Nashville, taking a little break from running around at the park}

We just got back back from a wonderful family vacation on Lake Michigan. Photos to come shortly.

Touch-A-Truck

My boys love trucks. LOVE them. Miles has for a couple of years now and loves to rattle off every truck he sees (usually before anyone else can spot them): tractors; bobcats; trucks that haul dirt, other cars, houses; bucket trucks; and his favorite, circle trucks (our name for cement trucks because they, you know, spin in a circle). John is in on the action now and cranes his neck to find said truck.

So, today was Carmel's annual Touch-A-Truck. Miles has been looking forward to this for the last week or so, and I'll admit, his excitement was contagious. As we drove up to the high school parking lot, we could see the fire truck's extra tall ladder, a big wrecker, and the best treat of all, the circle truck. Miles was about to hyperventilate, and John was kicking his legs in his little fishy kick. Despite the high temps, the boys were both in truck heaven. We made our way to all of the important vehicles:

The helicopter (Miles also knows exactly where the helipad is and always knows when we'll be driving past)

the tractor

the bobcat

the big wrecker truck

the CIRCLE TRUCK

After we hit all the important trucks, we had lunch at our favorite, Patachou. This is a little tradition that we started a couple of years ago (with some missed friends), and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have lunch with two of my favorite guys at my favorite lunch spot. A perfect morning!

Side note: Miles' hair is out of control in the above pictures. He had a major case of bedhead that went totally uncontrolled today. But you know what, that's Miles right now. Hair is at an awkward length. It's a little cute feature about him that I'm sure will disappear as soon as Josh sees these pics. He's got the clippers at the ready!

A little promotion...

It goes without saying that I think my sister is crazy talented. She is always coming up with fun and humorous pieces whether they be on her own or commissioned. She is incorporating her illustration style into her Muttshots portrait business and wanted to include Archie in her portfolio. I think she did pretty well. Check out more of her work at www.lucierice.com or her Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LucieRicePrints.

It's been hot around here lately. Really, really hot. Which is exactly how I prefer summer to be (although a tad less humid). Anyway, we've been enjoying our summer days outside in smaller doses this week with frequent trips into the house or the pool to cool off.

I love these pictures of Miles from earlier in the week. We met some friends at the park for the final summer concert, and he had a blast climbing the rocks and running around.

His wilted face.

With his main gal, Ruby.

Miles has been immersed in swim lessons recently. It gives me a chance for some one-on-one time in the big pool with John. He's getting to like the big pool better, and he's hard to keep in one place once we get out to dry off.

Sweet summer legs, bites, bruises and all.

While Josh travelled this past week, we made a quick trip to Fort Thomas for an overnight with my parents. We made a trip to the aquarium on Wednesday morning. John wanted to swim with the fish while Miles tried to "catch" the jellyfish.

On Friday, our friends Erica and Jeff Fritsche came into town with their adorable kids. We loved catching up with them, watching our kids play, and getting together with some other HC friends.

Then we capped off the weekend with a summer cook-out with the Habeggers. Miles enjoyed playing with his cousins and riding their roller coaster.

18 Months

A little about what our 18 month old is up to these days...

John is ON.THE.GO! He loves to explore everything; to tear things apart - drawers, bookcases, you name it; Archie; chasing, playing, and wrestling with Miles; eating anything he can get his hands on; and playing in the bathroom (specifically the tub). He loves to watch for trucks on the road and in the neighborhood and must know all of their names already since he cranes his neck to see out whenever Miles names the truck he sees on the road. John is very vocal and very happy. I love to go into his room in the morning and see his happy smiling face. He is truly a joy to us!

4th of July

We spent our holiday weekend with Lucie and Kurt in Nashville while the boys stayed with Lolly and Poppy in Fort Thomas. They swam, played in the sand, met a new friend, ate lots, napped little, visited the zoo, and took in a parade. Whew. They had a blast and have been recovering since.

Josh and I got to hang out with our best buddies, ate lots, slept little, took in the U2 concert, drove a lot, and also had a blast. {Side - the U2 concert was the best show any of us had ever seen. Lu has the pictures of the stage and from the show. Very hot but we had great seats (in Vandy's football stadium) and have never seen a production like it. It gave me chills, even in the extreme heat.}

We picked up the boys on Monday and had a low key rest of our day. I think we were all to tired to do much. Miles was really into the giant tractor in the neighbor's driveway (leftover from the parade). John liked hanging out on the trailer. Then it was early to bed for all of us. We heard the fireworks going off but couldn't make it to watch them.