Wow! Where has time gone? Trystin started 4th grade last week. Jack joined a "play & learn" playgroup. And Max goes for his 2 month well-baby checkup next week.

The major construction on the house is pretty much complete with the outside walls and roof complete. Now we just need to install the sliding glass door, 1 window upstairs, and the garage doors to be completely sealed. Curtis has the basic wall and plumbing for my laundry room done. The rest of construction from here on will go more slowly as we'll just be going room by room due to budget constraints. So maybe by next summer the boys will have their own rooms....

Phew! I am so exhausted from yesterday I am almost physically ill today (sorry Alex!!). Why so tired? With the help of Grandpa & Grandma Groth (thank you, thank you, thank you!), Curtis & I took the boys to Adventureland yesterday afternoon. We had a great time!

What was Trystin's favorite ride? Well, pretty much everything, but he says it was the Dragon (for those unfamiliar with Advetureland, that's the roller coaster that goes upside down). Curtis got some really entertaining pictures of him in the Fun House Mirrors on the way out the exit doors. He got to go on the Silly Silo and the Space Shot multiple times. And he even convinced Curtis to help him win a few stuff animals in the game areas.

Curtis thought we should all brave the rapids, so Trystin, Curtis, & I all waited in line about 30 minutes for the Raging River. Was the wait worth it? Nope. Trystin & I got soaked (yes, I know that's the point), but only got hit with water once. Our little raft got stuck in the river at one point. And the waterfall near the end is no longer active.

Jack was a little leary of all the rides at first. He was so scared on the Tea Cups that he just clung to me for dear life. But by the end of the day, he understood what to do and could ride the toddler rides all by himself! Such a big boy. And so tired! Several times we almost got him to take a nap there, but he would never fully give in to sleep.

What did Max think of his first trip to Adventureland? He must have thought it was "dreamy" because he slept almost the entire afternoon!

Free admission! Yep, we joined the tens of thousands of fairgoers taking advantage of free admission at the state fair today. Unfortunately, we did not get one of the free corn dogs. Supposedly they only had 8000 corn dogs, and when we got there over 10,000 people had already gotten numbers and a few thousand more people had been turned away. But we still had a good time!



I've also got pictures from yesterday when Trystin went to one of the pig farms where Uncle Gary and cousin Mike work. And I actually have evidence of Trystin working to husk corn (it was quite a task to get him to agree to!). Jack decided he likes corn on the cob, but will only eat it from the end.

I brought the boys to Newell for a few days (poor Curtis had to stay home to work). This morning Trystin rode bikes around town with his cousin Trevor and another boy around their age. Jack wanted to ride bikes as well and went running after them yelling, "Boys! Wait! Boys! Wait!"



In the afternoon, the Cunningham princes journeyed to King's Point - a water park in Storm Lake. Max hung out with Grandpa Den under a canopy and slept almost the entire time. Jack was a little overwhelmed at first, but he was loving it by the end. As usual he thought he was a big kid and loved it when we took him into areas with deeper water (holding him, of course). He even got brave enough to dip his head under water to blow bubbles a few times. Trystin LOVED the slides. Favorite of the day? The "spooky" slide - the enclosed orange slide that plays music and lights up as you go down.

Oh my! What a hot one today. Trystin's friend Chloe stayed overnight last night. I decided to swing by Ashby Park before we took her home. The water in the splash pool was nice at first, but after a few minutes it didn't feel quite as refreshing anymore. Jack tried getting out to play on the toddler equipment, but the rocks burned his feet and he wasn't ready for shoes yet (because that would mean we were going home). Max got heat rash - his poor face is all broke out. Everyone was exhausted after just 30 minutes.

Yeah! We finally have interet again. During one of the storms a couple weeks ago, an electrical surge came through the cable line and took out a bunch of equipment. Curtis (aka Mr. IT) thoroughly inspected our home network, and got to work. Unfortunately, each time he fixed or replaced something, he discovered another piece needed fixed or replaced. So with a couple trips to Mediacom and special orders from NewEgg, we are finally back in business. I never realized how much I rely on email and this blog to stay in touch with the outside world.

So....what's been happening around here? Well....

• Max is stretching out (his limbs are SOOOO long and skinny) and starting to show us his personality. He loves his daddy - smiles whenever he hears Curtis' voice. Last night Max only woke once during the night!!! It was really nice to get a 5 hour stretch of sleep instead of just 2-3 hours.
• Jack loves to dance. I'll try to add a video I captured of him - he does the funniest thing with his hips. Whenever Curtis asks him if he wants to go to the "tool store" (Lowe's), Jack runs to get his shoes. His favorite phrases are "Where'd it go?" and "Wait!"
• Happy 10th Birthday Trystin! We got a DQ ice cream cake Thursday to celebrate. He spent today watching his Ben 10 Season 3 DVD and playing Hulk & Ironman on the Wii. Tomorrow we go for pizza and bowling.
• Happy 3rd Anniversary to Curtis & me! Yes, it has really been 3 years. Curtis brought home the most beautiful flower arrangement ever for me. And I must say, he looks extrememly handsome in the new polos I bought for him. We are going to try to go out to Red Lobster one of these nights. But with 3 boys and the addition project, who knows how that will work out.
• As for the house, Curtis will probably start shingling this weekend. I'm hoping I have enough Gatorade mix to keep up with him since it's supposed to be in the 90's with high humidity. It'll be so nice to have the roof complete so we don't have to worry so much about all the rain we've had this season.
• Speaking of rain, our yard is a swamp. We've developed a low spot by the driveway that constantly oozes water. Several spots in the field cannot be mowed because we can't get the mower through the soggy ground. And about a week ago, the creek flooded for the 3rd time this summer.

For the fans of our pictures and videos, I'll get those added later this weekend. So stay tuned - I'm back on the net!