Updates and ramblings

So we have been having a strangely busy, but sometimes mundane summer if that makes any sense.  Busy in the sense that we have had many house guests and get-togethers.  Mundane in the sense that life continues as it always does; mundane in our every day activities.  I am sure that the few people who frequent my blog are glad to be spared of the details of our day to day activities. 

So a few things:

• Liam starts school again soon!  Yay!  He does not seem too keen on returning to school, even though he always seems to have a good time when he goes.  I am doing mental cartwheels at regaining a little bit more freedom for two days a week.  Now I can finally do the luxurious things I have been denying myself, like having a cavity filled.  Double yay!
• I realized that I haven't really updated much on Liam lately.  He is just so big!  I sometimes get him out of bed in the morning and I swear he has sprouted another inch.  I FINALLY started keeping a height chart in the house.  Sort of the old school method where you mark their height with a pen against the wall.  I decided to do it against crown molding so we can take it if we ever move.  He is so sweet and mischievous all in the same breath.  He is so sweet to his sister, but then will turn around and complain that his sister has, for example, looked at his stuffed animal.
• Speaking of moving, I am not prepared to move again for like...10 years.  We just finished our one year anniversary here in our home and I grow to love it with each passing day.  We have made so many changes to make it "ours."  When I get a chance I will post some before and after pictures.  Like last night, I volunteered for a really amazing fundraiser where Frank Luntz was the speaker.  This is my third time to hear him in person and I think he is just amazing.  After I left the venue to go home, it took a total of 6 minutes to get home.  Love that! 
• Eric has forbidden me from thinking of the fall.  But I skirted around that by buying Bath and Body Works fall scented hand soaps and Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale.  I can't help it.  There is something in the air that hits me each year on or around August 15.  Compared to last summer's agonizing heat, this year has been mild.  So mild in fact, that our pool has all but been rendered useless overnight.  While it is still about 85 degrees in the water, it feels too chilly to swim.  
• Speaking of which...West Nile Virus.  Ugh.  It has been all around us.  The neighborhood and aerial spraying seem to be helping, but I still feel like I have to bathe myself in OFF before I go out walking in the evening.  We know a few people who have actually contracted the virus, which makes it all a little more unsettling.  Even with the mosquito netting around the jogging stroller, I still get anxious taking the kids out for walks around the creek.  And the days are getting shorter.  Which sort of makes me sad but excited for the coming fall. Because we have a whopping 3 inches of insulation in our attic, we have a company coming out to blow in insulation to help our mounting energy bills.
• I am going to be an aunt again! My brother and his girlfriend are expecting a baby and I found out today what they are having, but can't say quite yet.  New babies are always a blessing and I will love this baby the same way I love my current niece and nephew. 
• I am also looking to go back to work.  I am sort of casually looking which is kind of terrifying but exciting.  Being out of the workforce for even 9 months makes it hard to go back.  So please say a little prayer that things work themselves out. 

I guess that is all for now, but I will leave you with a few photos of our recent visit from Papa and Noni from Houston on their road trip to Arkansas and Kansas.