Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

He is here. He is handsome. He is loved.

Rhys Nelson, so great to finally meet you.

Ice Cream and Sunshine

What a busy month it's been! Brett finished up his school year teaching, which has been awesome. He's home all summer, and I only work 3 1/2 days a week, so half of our summer is basically one giant vacation. Granted, we've been doing a lot of work around the house. After almost three years, we have a yard that actually looks like a yard. Brett's been seeding and reseeding and watering and watering some more, and after a run around the city collecting enough seed and a hefty water bill, we're beginning to see results! It's funny, despite our patchy yard, we now at least have the greenest yard on the block due to all the watering and lack of rain! Ya win some, ya lose some.

We also recently bought Brett a car. The '99 Civic was on it's last leg, and we knew we needed something more reliable considering how far he usually drives each week. I, for one, hate car shopping. It sounds simple enough, and test driving cars is pretty fun, but at the end of the day, it's a giant headache. However, this experience was pretty different. It's amazing how much more pleasant the basic milestones in life are when you're going through it with your best friend. I never want to forget how blessed we are, and I pray that gratitude forever fills my heart. I don't want to take Brett or our marriage for granted... Whoa, wasn't really planning on pouring out my heart there. Forgive the sappiness. Anyway, we wound up purchasing a 2010 Focus, and we're both very happy with it!

Memorial Day weekend came and went so quickly, but we enjoyed the crap out of it. Some friends of ours went with us to Ikea in Cincinnati. Always a good time. It never ceases to amaze me, how our cart can be stuffed to the brim, and we barely break $100. That place is magical. I'll post pictures of all we purchased soon. Sunday we ended up taking Sophie to the lake with my siblings and their dogs. Six people, four dogs, and two boats later, we had ourselves a pretty great time. It was Sophie's first opportunity to swim. Now, you mom's out there reading this can laugh all you want, but because we have no kids, I tend to treat Sophie like my daughter. So, naturally, her first swim was a very special day for me :) Brett got in the water first, and I handed Sophie to him from the boat. Immediately the girl froze. She had no clue what to do. I jumped in, and Brett let go of her, and Sophie swam to me. I was so proud of her! Granted, she wasn't so much paddling as she was swatting the water out of disgust, but she was a trooper. It was pretty obvious she was happier on the boat, so I joined her up there soon after and soaked in the sun. Great weather.

We are also still impatiently waiting the arrival of my nephew, Rhys. He isn't due until Sunday the 17th, but for the sake of my sister-in-law and her aching feet, I'm praying he comes sooner. We've had so much fun preparing for him, between the baby showers and way too much shopping in H&M's baby section. The other day my sisters and I took a day to get pedicures and see the movie "What to Expect when You're Expecting." 






First of all, I can't count the number of times someone took the time to tell me, "You know that's not an educational film, right?" Umm, hello!? If they actually thought a movie with Elizabeth Banks, Chris Rock, and Cameron Diaz would be "educational," they're delusional. That being said, the movie was comical (just as the label "romantic comedy" suggests!) and we had a great time having a girls day.

Other than that, we've been busy with the typical summertime stuff. Tincaps baseball games, grilling out like nobody's business, getting in the hot tub, eating icecream, fishing, and just relaxing outside. I'm trying to soak it all in now because I know that in just a few short months, Brett will be gone all the time again with football season starting. You'd think I'd dread the fall because of how much he's gone, but I'm actually starting to look forward to it. I'm probably just crazy. Anyway, off to watch yet another basketball game (why teams need to play each other 7 times still boggles my mind!) and cuddle up with the boy! That part I like :)