Summer Fun (and Summer "Un"Fun)

Because of my dead computer for half the summer, I am now going to attempt to post all about our crazy summer. This year, we spent the 4th of July with both sides of the family (swimming and afternoon picnicking with Bri's family, and fireworks and dinner with my family). We had a lot of fun, despite the fact that we were moving on July 5th. Here are a few photos:

The next major event to follow was Noah's birthday on August 19th. He turned 5 years old!! I can hardly believe that he is so old. I'll never forget our sweet little newborn Sicilian (an inside joke.) Here are few pics of his birthday celebrations:

And then, the great flu epidemic of 2008 hit! A few days after Noah's birthday, our family was attacked! Poor Ava had an ear infection, a yeast infection and the stomach flu. I think she cried for 4 or 5 days straight. Noah had an ear infection, pink-eye, and the stomach flu, and Andrew had both pink-eye and the stomach flu. Brian and I were both hit with stomach flu, and despite all this, Ella didn't catch a thing! There must be something to that whole "nursing your child" thing, as Ella is really the only child I nursed for very long. Anyway, this is what we all looked like for a few days:

The end of August was also the beginning of school for Andrew and Noah. Andrew attends Fox Hollow Elementary and is in Mrs. Meacham's first grade class. Mrs. Meacham is an excellent teacher and seems really upbeat and positive all the time! Andrew seems to be really enjoying school and is learning a lot! Noah began Monkey Tree Preschool with Mrs. Correa and Mrs. Hansen. I have been very impressed with them, and Noah LOVES preschool and always wants to be the first one there!

We have spent many summer days at Thanksgiving Point, and I think having a family pass there has been fabulous! The kids would be happy going to the Dinosaur Museum if we went every day, and I absolutely LOVE the gardens! Here are many pics of us at various venues around Thanksgiving Point:

We had a fun and eventful summer, and I wish the great weather would last forever, but I'm sure we'll be able to find a lot of fun things to do this winter.

One last thing I need to mention: COUSIN DAYS!!!! So, my sister Shelley and I decided to do a kid trade, which has been awesome!! Wednesdays are now cousin days! Shelley takes all the kids one Wednesday (which gives her 5 kids most of the day, as Maya and Andrew are in school), and I get a completely free day! We're talking 6 or 7 hours, my friends! Then, the following Wednesday, I take all the kids, and Shelley gets her free day. This gives us each 2 days child-free per month, to do with what we choose! It is GREAT! I'm so lucky to have both my sisters so close and have loved having my children spend a lot of time with their cousins. Summer has been pretty grand...mostly.