Caroline started crawling last week! She really started on Sunday, the last day of the reunion, so nobody got to see it. Unless they read my blog and they can see it here, but it's not the same. She's been creeping for a few weeks, which was weird - she wasn't crawling, exactly, but when you'd set her on the floor she definitely wasn't in the same spot when you came back. Now, though, it's on, and she's gaining speed and dexterity: she crawls to the sit and spin and spins it with her hands; just yesterday she saw me go upstairs and crawled over the stairs and sat and cried. Ahhhhh, the joy :)

Estes Park Family photos

My aunt Ann moonlights as a photographer, but I'm pretty sure it should be her full-time job, she does SUCH a good job at it. Patient with the kids, patient with the parents, finds great locations that are right in your backyard that you never even knew, and (above all) gets great shots! Here are some of the family ones. Of course, my kids don't always help her out. Patrick couldn't figure out a normal smile to save his life, Eli wouldn't put down the bark without screaming bloody murder, and Caroline was flailing unless I pinned her down, so she's armless in these shots. Plus a snapshot of Elsha on the deck at the back of our cabin - it was 4 stories tall, hanging off the side of a mountain. Quite the hike to put the kids to bed each night!

drained

I love reading. LOOOOOOVE it. Sometimes it's a blessing, often it's a curse, frequently it ends in me cursing my kids because I have to take care of them instead of reading my beloved books. This week (a whopping 3 days, as it's only Wednesday) I have read two books. Two ENTIRE books - the 2nd and 3rd books of the Hunger Games series. Couldn't put them down - sometimes I had to carry around Caroline in one arm, my book in another, because they BOTH refused to be put down. While they are decently quick reads, riveting plot and straightforward language and such, there is so much physical and emotional trauma that I just feel drained. Exhausted. Could also be due in part to my eyeballs about to fall out of my head from reading so much. PLUS, I was on edge the entire time trying to figure out who Katniss would choose and the author doesn't let you know until the VERY LAST PAGE. That's just mean, and I knew no sleep would happen until I found out, so I read practically non-stop until 10:30 tonight.

So now Joe is halfway through the second book and I was sooooo badly to just discuss the books, but I can't give anything away! It's too delicious, and I got him the book on CD from the library to listen to as he drives to/from work, so who am I to ruin his morning commute by revealing all the twists and turns? As a fellow reader I couldn't do that, so now the waiting begins....

In other news, we had a great trip to Estes Park for our family reunion last week! I purposely left all books at home for the week, knowing myself a little too well. I took zero/zilch/nada pictures the entire time, so I'll save that post for when I've pirated a few photos from my family. Suffice it to say it was tons of fun and we are the best dang Karaoke singers you've ever heard.

Bruised and Battered

Poor Joe.. he can't catch much of a break when it comes to getting beat up. His cordless drill fell off the top of his car, right on his toe, and he was in flip flops. He's pretty positive it broke his toe, but there's nothing to be done for a broken toe so we didn't even get it checked out. A week later it still won't bend. Then, at work he was lifting a 9' length of cabinets (so, heavy), Joe on one side and a co-worker on the other, and he hoisted the cabinets up the end panel he was holding completely ripped off, dropping the weight of the cabinet straight down his thigh. That's not a tiny thigh, so that's not a tiny bruise. Men's legs and feet are unattractive enough without adding insult to injury... or, in Joe's case, adding injury to insult :(

Pretty girl

While chatting with a co-worker Saturday night I gave my humble opinion that baby girls, while precious and special and wonderful and beautiful because they are all of those things, are not actually pretty. They're bald and fat. Once they get a bit older and have some hair, THEN they start getting pretty. I got up the next morning and got my baby girl dressed for church and I was completely proven wrong. She looked gorgeous! Just goes to show what I know.

Funny

While changing an especially stinky diaper on Caroline, Patrick said, "ewww, that smells like gracious!"

Patrick was pretty spaced out while Joe was trying to tell him something. Joe asked, "are you alive and present?" Patrick quickly asked, "what are the presents?!?"

Happy 4th!

Holidays always call for a post, right? Joe got today off work so we enjoyed a nice, relaxed Monday with dad at home! We also enjoyed grandpa and grandma Gustavson all weekend - so much fun! Of course the kids had a great time, grandpa is way indulgent with chocolate milk and movies; and though we didn't do anything extraordinary I had a great time because having an extra pair of hands (or two) and an adult conversation feels like a big, long back-rub. Better, actually! We've gotten to the point that we see each other enough - grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins alike, that we've stopped taking pictures, and I think that's a GOOD thing! Much better than seeing everyone infrequently. So no pictures of the weekend.

Photos from the 4th, though: The afternoon was roasty-toasty so we busted out the hippy pool! Patrick dove right in and enjoyed the slide. Caroline surprised us all and splashed contentedly until we pulled her out because she was turning blue. Eli, normally into everything under the sun, avoided the pool, to the point of not even wanting his swimsuit on. Still, Joe and I dipped our feet in and it kept the rest of us cool for the afternoon. We'll miss fireworks because of the kids' bedtimes, of course, but it's been fun to explain to Patrick why today is a special day where we live and how many family members have contributed to giving us the freedoms we enjoy today. Considering how much Patrick remembers, I doubt the lesson will be lost on him. He's impressive that way. Finally, we grilled hotdogs for dinner and Caroline enjoyed a pickle. I expected her to make funny faces, but she liked it so much she ate two. She saved the funny faces for squash this morning. Happy Independance Day, and God bless America!