Currently

Getting dirty and sweaty working on our current home improvement project of the front and side patios.  Sledgehammering pillars and concrete (mostly B, but I did some smashing too!)  The rain has slowed our progress slightly, but its so exciting to see it all come together - even if slower than we want.

Polishing Greyson's first ever trophy from his teeball season.  And by polishing, I mean Grey is polishing it - hahaha, definitely not this chick.  He was so happy and excited about getting a trophy, it was so sweet and hilarious.  oh, that boy. 

Celebrating America's birthday at a great picnic day at our cousin's house (thanks Tausha!) We even had the chance to get a picture of Mimi and every single one of her eleven grandkids!  (4 grandkids and 7 great grandkids).  It turned out to be a beautiful weather day and the kids had so much fun playing with their cousins all day.  By the end of the night, they were completely wiped out - which is always just fine with us! hah

Saying goodbye to our sweet, dear Rosie (Gigi and Pappy's dog).  Rosie took an unexpected turn for the worst last week and we learned she had Lyme's disease but it had taken a severe toll on her kidneys.  Rosie was so sweet and lovable, it broke all of our hearts.  In the car while running errands today, Gemma called up to me, "Mumma, I'm feeling sad about Rosie."  We will always miss you Rowie girl.

Tending to our two big kids who both ran fevers this week for about 24-36 hours each.  So strange, no other symptoms, but both were sort of knocked on their butt for a day or so.  Everyone is back and running at full steam again (!) so can't complain too much about that. 

Cozying up in the warmth of our outdoor fire pit that we (finally) moved up closer to the patio.  B and I sat out by the fire twice this week after the kids went to bed and it was such a nice way to wind down.  Strange how sometimes its the smallest little changes that bring the best comforts.

Reading still A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and loving it so much. Also finishing the last couple chapters of our Inspired Readers book, Make It Happen .  Can't believe we are already almost done with our first book!  The next book (a novel) will start on August 1 - so check out our facebook group page if you're interested in joining up for next month

Enjoying Shark Week, which basically means talking about sharks only slightly more often than we already talk about sharks (which is quite a bit, probably second to Bigfoot).  We had Shark Week cupcakes (a few had hidden maraschino cherries in them and if you got one of those that meant you were in a shark attack!)

Writing towards my novel which has me really excited.  They say the more you write, they more you'll write - so I'm trying to hold myself to high expectations to get some novel writing in every day even if it seems like I don't have the time.  Hello early morning writing or late night writing!

Giggling about Violet and her little personality.  She learned her first baby sign this week ("All Done") and tries so much to talk to us and get her little point across.  It's hilarious, we are all trying to guess what she is saying (usually it's "Hi Daddy!") She absolutely loves the tractor and is going through a phase that she both wants held all the time but also not held at all.  It's very frustrating and a lot of picking up only to put back down within thirty seconds.

Finishing last minute details for tomorrow's 7th Annual Beer Olympics!

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This week in interesting internet:

This article had me all kinds of choked up about how it really does feel every.single.day at the end of the night.  Did I love you enough though, darlings?  Do you know how much it is even if I don't do a great job every single day? (thanks  to Jamie, my internet guru of happiness and inspiration)

This really funny article about people who live in tiny houses.  I would love to downsize to a Small House (like >1200 sq.ft) but we aren't quite there just yet (get.rid.of.all.the.things).  This article had me laughing out loud.

This awesome visual representation of the different kinds of privilege anyone can have.  I like the way the video asked the participants afterwards what they thought and everyone was sort of shell shocked in their responses and seemed fairly somber about the whole thing.  It's hard to look at privilege - just because you have some privilege doesn't mean that your life is easy (at all), it only means you have access to something that some other people don't.  it's only important (very very important) to try to be aware of what sort of pieces of life you are blessed to have access too, lots of times for things you had no control over.

3D printing is seriously the most amazing thing ever.  welcome to the future, people.

thought-provoking and important points in this NY times article about the next culture war.