Recap + Roundup.

It's August already! Did July evaporate or what?

The kids and I had the best visit up north with my family last week. We stayed two nights with my folks and one with Renee and family. The thing about my sister Renee is that she brings out the crazy in me, and I like it. Sometimes I get so busy being a grownup person, wife, and mom, that I forget to let my hair down. Renee won't let me get away with that, she's cool that way. Is it just me or does she not let you leave her house without having a dance party in her living room? I love dance parties.

I had to drag three of my kids out of her house backwards, they may have left their fingernail scratches in the pavement outside Renee's house and tore up some grass. Then I had to drive around the corner and honk to get Emily away from her cousin Sydney. That was last Saturday. I think they would still be there if I had let them, except for Eva, maybe she would have come home with me without a fight.

At this shopping center that had a spray park, Renee stayed with the kids while my mom and I went over to a shoe store a few blocks away and this long chain of wet people is what we found as we exited the store.

Another day, Renee and I with the seven little people that follow us around, had a picnic on the capitol lawn, then toured the inside of the capitol, something we [exception: Sydney] had never done.

The trees outside the capitol must be at least a million years old. Renee named this picture our family tree. Sweet + very cool.

More totally awesome pictures here.

When I panic about my kids' health, I get sick to my stomach. This weekend I was a total sicko. Long story short, Wyatt was bitten in the forehead and neck by an evil bug while we were up visiting my mom. Two days after that, his face was swollen and somewhat disfigured. He looked more like Quasimodo than Wyatt there for a while with a swollen head, eye, and bridge of nose.

Wyatt was also in some pain. I called our doctor [who is awesome and answered his phone on Saturday night] who convinced me that I should wait it out with more ice, Benedryl, and hydrocortizone. So, rather than a trip to the ER, which I contemplated, I took his advice and today, I have my boy back. He looks no worse for the wear facial expansion and reduction that he endured for the last four days.

We are gearing up for our beach camping trip, should be loads of sandy fun. In a few more weeks, exactly two, it will be back to school time already. For now, just a few more super slow unstructured days ahead and I am enjoying every minute second of their fleeting loveliness.

Eva is pretending to be a mouse this morning. She just told me, "momma, whenever I make the squeak-squeak mouse sound, you should hug me." I'm off then to distribute the many hugs, she's squeaking quite a bit. I think we'll have a dance party in our living room this morning.