Baby you're a firework.

Here is a summary of our July...it's what we like to call a novela.  If I had been disciplined it would have been about 4 different posts.  As you read this book please note that I wrote the whole thing and then lost it, meaning you are reading the version I did in my second hour and a half.  And you just thought I had waned in my dedication...

We lasted one week with "free hair."  I just couldn't do it.  Evangeline is so rough these days on her hair that by the end of the day sections were flattened, she had pulled out a unicorn horn somewhere up top, and she had effectively demolished her beautiful ringlets.  Let's not forget that the humidity of the summer is probably not the best time to wear curls loose.  Needless to say, I reassessed the thinning, decided I had been overly sensitive, and braided her back up.  These are the styles she rocked the second half of the month:



We enjoyed several activities with Josiah's best friends.  We went to the zoo...


and bowling...



and perhaps coolest of all...
One of them had a birthday party featuring the "Reptile Guys."  All of the kids were introduced to various reptiles and had the opportunity to touch most of them.  I was surprised when Evangeline eagerly chanted, "Touch! Touch!" about all of them.  They showed no reservation as they touched all of the reptiles, the finale being the opportunity to help hold a huge albino python.  It was definitely fun.




Since we are on the topic of animals I will just continue with our other animal adventures of the month...

Our fish Dorothy got an upgrade in her residence.  I begrudgingly complied when it became obvious that she had outgrown her half bowl.  I suppose it was the least I could do for the 16 cent fish that keeps swimming even after her "fasts" while we are away.  She's seeking the Kingdom, clearly.  Now she has a better taste of it.


I spent the whole month trying to catch a mouse that had taken up residence under our kitchen sink.  He outsmarted all our traps, so when I found this we decided to give it a try:

I honestly didn't much care about being humane after cleaning out mouse poop from under my kitchen sink one too many times.  True confessions.  However, I was willing to try anything.  The first night I used one of the thin plastic water bottles.  The mouse just chewed right through the bottle.

Yes sir, that declares war.  The next night I used a Sprite bottle and came up victorious.  I suppose the mouse did, too, because I took him down to the local park.  He did smell strongly of peanut butter at the time of his release, so I'm not really sure if his victory was relative.


I did a small jig when we started spotting a pair of owls in the trees around our house this month.  We have had a booming chipmunk population since we moved in, and they really lose their cuteness factor once they dig up all your plant roots and dig burrows that convince you that you might fall through your front yard if you step in the wrong place.  Josiah spotted one of the owls outside our living room window at dusk and I snapped a picture.  They are really majestic, and I guess I shouldn't be surprised I haven't seen as many chipmunks in the last couple of weeks.



We went to a friend's wedding and they had a really fun photo booth.  This was how our family participated:


My mom and I indulged the growing diva in Evangeline us and painted her toenails for the first time.  She has decided she likes it quite a bit.


We took the kids to Wrightsville Beach, NC to visit cousins and the beach.  The kids soaked up the attention of their very cute 11 and 12 year old cousins.  They enjoyed being doted on 24/7 and I enjoyed the fact that it left me with hardly a thing to do for my munchkins.  Both Josiah and Evangeline loved the beach.  Josiah enjoyed playing in the waves.  Evangeline enjoyed bringing the beach home...temporarily.  She couldn't be convinced to stop her consumption of the sand.  In fact, she ate by the handfuls.  It was disgusting and hilarious, and she is still living to tell about it.  I'm sure she has quite a clean gut after all that friction.

I took the kids blueberry picking upon Josiah's request.  Anyone that knows me well knows that I am not the person to take blueberry picking.  I force everyone to pick far more blueberries and stay far longer than they wanted.  It's true.  The kids loved it for the first 20 minutes.  Then, with full bellies and empty buckets they looked at me as if they were ready to go.  I proceeded to pick 8 lbs of blueberries while they entertained themselves.

I thought we would be saving money on blueberries this month, as my children have been known to giggle as they "secretly" consume an entire pint of blueberries together in one sitting.  A few days into their gorging they lost their passion, and so I made a delicious blueberry pie and froze enough blueberries to make two more in the fall.

We had the reclaimed brick patio I dreamed of in the spring installed in our back yard.  Here are a few before and after pictures:

It was amazing how much it changed our backyard and made my flower garden look complete.  I never took a picture of the "before" of my flower garden, but you can see it (or the lack thereof) directly behind Josiah's head in March.

Here's what it looked like once it grew in all summer long:

And here is how well it is showcased with the new patio:

It's amazing to me that all of this, including the flower garden, were simply patchy grass back in March and April.  I am so thrilled with the way the patio turned out.  I look forward to using it much more once the heat passes.

Josiah spent the month focused on swimming and baseball.  He also developed a strong love affair with our iPhones.  It scares us to death.  Luckily he still has a thriving imagination and enjoys playing pirates and dressing up like superheroes when he doesn't have the pleasure of staring at a small screen.  He loves dress up and we are accustomed to going to the store with a fireman, Spiderman, or occasionally a race car driver in tow.

Evangeline spent her month learning to run and speak in sentences.  She says sentences such as "Siah (Josiah) hurt head," "Siah, bite ice cream cone please!" and "Uh oh, dropped water."  She has also been known to count to 13 and to sing the entire song of "Jesus Loves Me."  It seems like a lot for a 17 month old.  She is quite the conversationalist.  I am still surprised by the words she says.  I wonder where she learned them, such as the other day when she eagerly showed me her pocket.  I don't have any recollection of ever talking about a "pocket" with her, but she certainly knew what it was and said it clearly.  The biggest surprise came when I reprimanded her and she gravely looked back at me and replied, "Yes Sir."  How can a mother keep a straight face at that surprise?  She has used the same response to correction ever since, though she has recently learned that I am a "ma'am."

August love coming soon!