Summer Wrap up, part 1....

Since I am not the best at aligning photos with captions, I am doing one post for the update and one for pics.

Summer went by fast. Probably much faster than usual because of baby Cheyenne entering our family. It was a great summer though, but I am anxious to get into fall-schools back in session, beautiful colors and amazing weather. Here is a quick update on everyone and how their summer went:



Chad: Chad didn't really get much of a summer break. His work stayed busy until the day Cheyenne was born, which also happened to be the deadline for his VA project. Since then, it's been steady, but not too busy and he was able to get a ton done on the basement. I think we will be ready to call for an inspection next week. It is still so impressive to me that he was able to design, frame, and complete the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing on his own. I am excited for the next stage because some of the design elements and architectural details will be done once the drywall is hung. There's an archway, some recessed areas in the columns that will fit a vase, lamp, or pictures, there is a tray ceiling with rope lighting in the living area. I am so excited to see it all come together and decorate!!!



Kindra: My summer has been spent caring for my children and recovering from having Cheyenne. She has been an easy baby though, so I can't do too much complaining. She started to sleep through the night at around 6 weeks and can go about 10 hours right now. I didn't have an overly exciting summer, but it was such a blessing to have Cheyenne 1 day after school let out and have the whole summer break to lounge around with the kids. I am glad that school is back in session though. I really prefer a scheduled day. I keep meaning to set my alarm for 6am to get up and work out in the morning, but so far, I have hit snooze each time and missed my window of opportunity. Maybe tomorrow......



Kiley: Kiley spent her summer playing outside with her friends-riding bikes, swimming, taking walks, and just hanging out on the curb with her girlfriends. I am so glad she is able to play outside with friends so much. Those memories will be some of her fondest. She took a trip to Omaha and seemed to have a good time. Once she got back, we had to get her ready to head back to school. I heard on the news that the typical family spends $600 to get their kidS back to school items-school supplies and clothes. That's for a family, we spent that on just Kiley!!! What are we going to do when the rest go to school.....I am pretty certain that she has nearly every item in the Justice store and am absolutely certain that I hate the Justice store!! Last weekend, I took her there to get one pair of jeans, 2 shirts, a backpack and water bottle and it came to $175!!! I had some coupons for $50 off, but still-they are much too expensive. Fortunately for Kiley, she has two grandma's who love to take her shopping! She is definitely the most stylish one in her class this year and those clothes will be boxed up and handed down to Cheyenne-I don't care if they are still in style or not. :) Kiley starts dance on Sept. 3. She is taking advanced child's ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. It will keep us busy. I have been pushing her to take dance for years. I finally made her take a month long introduction course just to see if she liked it and she loved it!! Her life is all about dance now and some of her close friends go to the same dance studio. It did cost quiet a bit of money to buy ballet shoes, tap shoes, jazz shoes, leotards, hip hop gear, and the monthly cost of the classes, but again these will be some of her best memories as a kid and hopefully she can continue it in high school and even college.



Creighton: Well, Creighton has had a summer busy with "work". He is still waking up early, putting on jeans, boots, a t-shirt and a hat. He grabs a quick breakfast and heads outside where he spends most of his day building things. He is either going to be an engineer, architect, or construction worker. His mind is so organized, much like mine. He is one of the smartest kids I have ever met. He is talking tons and we are making progress with potty training. He is so stinking cute.



Cort: Sweet baby Cort. He spent most of his summer just trying to stay alive. He is the younger brother, so he gets bullied some. About 50% of the time, the boys play great together and that seems to be increasing in frequency as they both get older. Cort is cutting his 2 year molars right now and is pretty miserable. He loves to go outside, but is still a bit small for our play equipment. He has the best little personality. He is reserved and more quiet than the others, but such a free spirit. He is definitely a mama's boy and I hope it will stay that way.

Cheyenne: Cheyenne rolled over on Tuesday!! At 11 weeks. She rolls to the left, back to front. She doesn't quiet know what to do with herself once she gets on her tummy though. Sometimes, she cries, other times she just squirms around trying to get her arms out, and often she just gives up and goes to sleep! She is quite possibly the best baby!! She sleeps about 10 hours at night, rarely cries, and has such a sweet disposition. She coos and smiles a ton and lights up when Kiley comes around her. We have been so blessed with healthy, beautiful, laid-back kids that love to sleep!!!

This year has flown by, but been a great year. Next on the agenda is losing all this darn baby weight. I would love to get back down to my pre-wedding weight. I was 117 lbs and a size 2 at our wedding. However, I have 4 children now and am nearly 30 years old so I would love to keep some curves and get to a size 4-6. We have a romantic trip planned for our 5 year anniversary in 9 months. I am just going to stick to a healthy diet and exercise program. I don't want to lose to much too fast because I mostly want to tone up and get more muscle, so I have to do it the right way. Slow and steady! For every 5 lbs I lose, I can go buy myself a gift. First gift is a pair of earrings. The big gift at 25 lbs is a makeover! New makeup, new hair cut and color, and some new clothes. Hopefully, I can lose most of it by Christmas so I can feel good in our Christmas photos! Fingers crossed!!!