Summertime

Boy, are we enjoying our summer here in the Hall house!  As usual, we are busy busy busy, trying to create a little bit of fun every day.  A few investments have really helped to make our days memorable:  swim lessons 4 mornings a week for 6 weeks, a pool pass, and a gigantic blow-up pool for our backyard.  Yes, they all involve water, but it's been ten thousand degrees here for the past few weeks, so it's been nice to spend the day keeping cool.  Most days, we go directly from pajamas to swimsuits to pajamas, with no need for real clothes in-between.  90% of my laundry is beach towels and swimsuits.  I love it!

All of this time in the water has really made little fishes out of my older boys.  My favorite part of the day is watching them learn how to swim each morning during their lesson.  Tanner is improving SO MUCH -- it just makes my heart want to burst.  He is trying hard to learn an actual freestyle stroke.  Right now he is in "alligators," but hopefully he will move on to "penguins" for the last session.  Landon is very timid during his lesson, but has no fear during free swim time.  He acts to his teacher like he's fearful of getting his hair/face wet, or scared to jump in off the side of the pool.  Once lessons are over, he'll spend an hour jumping in the pool all by himself, swimming underwater with his goggles, and following Tanner to where he can barely touch the bottom of the pool.  I keep telling him that he won't graduate from "turtles" to "alligators" if he doesn't start showing his coach what he can do.  He just looks at me and smiles his little Landon smile.  What am I gonna do with him?

We've also been enjoying several minor league baseball games watching the Kane County Cougars.  We found out the first game that we all get in free (with really great seats) for the entire season since Jon is a veteran.  So, we've been going to games almost every weekend that we've been home.  The boys LOVE the food, the fireworks after the game, and then running the bases after fireworks.  I'm not sure they realize an actual sport is being played.  They just think its a big snack bar with fireworks.

Tanner had his birthday a few weeks ago.  I can't believe how much older and more mature he's becoming!  I think 5 will be a good year for him.  He officially rides a 2-wheeler, can swing all by himself, and is working hard to master the monkey bars.  I'm constantly looking at Kellen (who is basically a clone of Tanner as a baby) and I wonder where my first baby went.  He is growing so fast.  We celebrated his birthday with a Scooby Doo party at home with friends.  I wish I had lots of pictures, but unfortunately, I was a crazy lady trying to run the party in 105 degree heat.  I think it might be the last birthday party I host at my house.  It's so much work the entire week before, and ends up being just as expensive as if we had it somewhere else.  We also had our annual beach birthday bash with the grandparents and  Uncle Eric on July 4th.  Once again, I think the temperature was over 100 degrees.  He got some really great gifts -- an iPod, some headphones, and -- drumroll, please -- a dream lite :)

Landon had a very hard time being the "birthday brother."  The conversation in our house this past month has been dominated by birthday talk.  Everytime we're in the store ... "Mom, can I have this for my birthday?"  Every disagreement involves "well, you're not invited to my birthday party."  Apparently, as of now, I am NOT invited to Landon's party, but I AM invited to Tanner's next party.  Tanner is invited to Landon's party, but Landon is NOT invited to Tanner's.  Did you get all that?  Will someone please inform Landon that he doesn't have a birthday for 9 more months? 

Kellen, oh Kellen.  He's nothing but a big chunky bundle of joy around here.  All four of us completely adore him.  He has been loving the pool, too.  As soon as I bring him into the water, I have two big brothers on me in seconds -- trying to kiss him and hug him and love on him.  They love to make him smile and laugh.   Just this week he started rolling over.  The boys are always clapping for him and cheering for him when he does it.  He's a lucky baby, isn't he?  He is still not sleeping through the night, but every once in a while he'll give me a 6 hour stretch.  I'm trying to have faith that one day he'll sleep all the way through.  We gave him his first turn in the exersaucer yesterday.  He liked it for about 2 minutes, then he was crying.  Maybe it's a little early.  We'll keep trying :)

Jon is competing in his second triathlon of the season this weekend.  We are all excited to go and cheer him on.  He has taken the summer off from school and we are so excited to have him around for bedtime several evenings each week.  He and the boys have all these little made-up games that they play together, complete with scoring and everything.  I'm a total outsider during these times, usually just listening from the kitchen as I tidy things up from dinner.

I feel like I don't really have time to do ANYTHING these days.  Literally every minute of my day is taken up caring for my boys and my house.  I can't wait to just take a shower and crawl into bed at the end of every day.  I'm trying hard not to wish this time away, but I just keep thinking -- its got to get easier than this!  Fortunately, my parents have given us several opportunities to get away without the kids this summer.  Once for Jon's first triathlon, then for a wedding trip to TN, and in a few weeks we'll get another break as we travel to Ohio for another wedding.  It is so nice to have a day or two without little people to take care of, and I know they LOVE spending time with their grandparents.  Plus, its a great feeling to really miss them and count the minutes till we see them again!  

I was actually able to get away for a long weekend just this past week.  Several of my Colorado Springs girls met in Indiana for a girls' weekend.  We had the BEST time together and I feel like we picked up right where we left off 5 years ago!  What a treat it was for me to visit with these ladies!  I was able to bring Kellen with me and he was a dream baby.  I thoroughly enjoyed my special time with just him.  I think he did, too :)

Here's a few recent pics.  Enjoy!