Blogging Vacation

Perhaps a few have noticed that I haven't been blogging nearly as much lately. It is a different summer for us this year here in our new home. There are projects to be done, a beautiful atmosphere outside, and wow, even neighbors to visit with! Of course, we had neighbors at the old house, but in 8 years of living there, we didn't really know that many of them, and most kept to themselves. The closest friends we had there moved away a few years back. The kids couldn't play out front because our street was much too busy, and after our friends moved, they didn't really have anyone to play with. On a nice afternoon here, you will see the street abuzz with a bunch of kids riding their bikes and playing in the yards. The boys have lots of new friends. We are very blessed to have been able to make this move.

The past couple of weeks have been particularly busy. The week before last, Joey and Alec spent most of the week out at my dad's. My nieces are in town and he was keeping them that week and wanted to have the boys, too. Meanwhile, we spent a lot of time outside with Lauren and Kyle and our neighbors. Last week, all 3 boys went to Branson with my mom, stepdad, and the girls. It was oppressively hot here, so the street was much quieter between the boys being gone and the heat. I decided it was a good week to do the painting in the hallway and living room that I had been wanting to do for awhile. When we moved in, everything was white, and I need COLOR! It was quiet, and with only Lauren, it was much easier to do than with the house full. I was nearly finished by the time the boys came back on Thursday.

The heat and humidity has let up here a bit and is supposed to last throughout the week, so I'm hoping it will be more comfortable to be outside again. Shaun is (amazingly) off on the 4th of July and there is supposed to be a party with some of the neighbors. We are really looking forward to that! (We should be able to see a fireworks display from our very own deck, too.) I can't really remember the last time we really celebrated on the 4th. Shaun has often had to work, which left me with the kids, and we may or may not have gone to see fireworks. And on times when he was off, there was nothing interesting going on in our neighborhood, so we'd go see fireworks and that was pretty much it.

When I was growing up, we lived on a street where everyone knew everyone. I can even still remember the names of almost every family. We had block parties, progressive dinners, went to baseball games together, did float trips...I have tons of great memories from my childhood there. It is so wonderful to have found a little of that here for my own kids. I've been wanting that for a long time. And, we've only been here for 6 months, so hopefully that will continue to grow over time.

We'll be leaving for Florida on July 15th. We're going to stay with Shaun's mom for the first time in almost 4 years. It's been too long and I look forward to relaxing in the pool and watching Lauren and Kyle at the beach for the first time. We'll all be flying down together, but Joey and Alec will be staying behind for an extra week after Shaun and I leave with Lauren and Kyle. I'm tellin' ya, those boys are having quite a summer for themselves this year!

And so my posts here will be fewer, though I will still try to post the occasional update and some pictures. Not that big of a deal, really, since I'm not all that popular anyway ;) But I guess there may be a few lingering friends and family out there who check in from time to time. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!