What a month! And we still have a bunch of things planned to finish out the month - with Adkins still in town, our anniversary (4th), and Trystin's birthday (Happy 11!).

So what have we been so busy doing since Max's birthday? My folks, Grandma D, and my brother Gary's family all stayed at our place the weekend of the 11th so that Mike and Trevor could show at the Gelbvieh Nationals at the fairgrounds (that's a cattle show for those city folks). The calves didn't do real well, but the boys did a great job. We celebrated Trevor's (Happy 11!) and my mom's (Happy a bunch!) birthday with angel food cake, homemade whip cream, and strawberries. And of course we played a lot of cards!

The following week Jason Adkins (Curtis' best friend and best man at our wedding) arrived at last (home on leave from Bahrain). The kids were very happy to see each other. JD and Jasmine each took turns staying over. And of course the adults played a lot of cards!

Mikelle also stayed with us that week so that she could go to our church's dance camp. She had a blast and even met a new friend! Mikelle got a cd with all her songs, we got to see her practice any spare moment she had. Curtis took off work Thursday that week so we could all go to her camp "showcase" and spend an afternoon with all the kids.

The weekend of 18th was INSANE! Friday night ended with 9, yes 9, kids sleeping at our place. I was very happy Alex had been here that morning to help me prepare and my folks showed up the next day and helped clean up! Saturday was consumed by the auction at the high school. We managed to fill up the truck with lockers, shelves, carts, and other stuff for about $60! I had wanted a sewing machine, but there was NO WAY I was going to pay $100 for a used machine (can you believe all those nuts paid $100 for machines beat up by high school students?!?) Sunday we went to Adkins' homecoming picnic, and then they came to our house so Jason could play cards with my folks (of course!).

Monday I did some temp work at Principal for a few hours. It's nice being able to earn a little of my own money every once in a while :) Plus I had the most wonderful surprise when I came home - my mom had my kitchen and living room SPOTLESS, and Jack & Max were absolutely angels!

Today we went with Adkins and kids to the zoo. Yes, we just can't get enough of those red-butted monkeys. The other highlights of the day were the turtle trying to escape, the kids waddling like penguins, and the "papa giraffe" (as Jack called the tallest one).

Unfortunately we've been so busy that I hardly even had time to take pictures of our adventures, but I did get the cutest video of Max doing one of Mikelle's dance routines....

Happy 1st Birthday Max! Today was his party - nothing fancy - just cupcakes, homemade ice cream, family, and his friend Emily's family. Here are the highlights of the day:

We took the kids downtown for the Des Moines Tea Party. What a great day to remember what our country is all about - freedom! Thank you to all the soldiers presently serving and over the last 233 years who have fought to maintain our independence.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and one thought I keep coming back to is that our founding fathers were very well-read. Not necessarily well-educated (although some certainly were), but very well-read. They didn't just let others tell them what to think. They sought out knowledge. Whether you agree with my particular views or not, I encourage everyone to read and find out for yourselves. I just finished "The 5000 Year Leap" and highly recommend it. Next will be "Fountainhead" (which I've already read once, but Curtis is listening to an audio version, so I need to refresh myself so we can rehash it). And then "The Forgotten Man," "American Progressivism," "Common Sense" (Thomas Paine version), and "Common Sense" (Glenn Beck version).

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

We had 4 generations at our house the last couple days. Grandma flew in Wednesday evening (Happy Birthday Max!), and my folks came yesterday late morning. We had a good time chatting while the boys kept everyone entertained. However, I'm a little concerned that Grandma D is actually a pod person because she never stole a single drink from anyone. Very unlike her. I'll be on the lookout for other pod-like characteristics Sunday when she returns for Max's birthday party. Until then, I'll have to get scouting reports from Doug and Eva's place since my folks took her there for Independence Day festivities.

By the way, Max has a new best friend - Great Grandma D! Oh those two were quite the pair. She had him giggling, patty-caking, squealing, and having a grand ol' time. Max, the notorious momma's boy, barely even noticed when I was in the room when he had his great-grandma! I am so glad my sons are getting a chance to know her.

Curtis took his buddy from work (Curt) up in the plane yesterday afternoon. Curtis is trying to convince Curt that he needs to get a pilot's license too. Do you suppose Curtis & Curt will ever fly together in a Curtiss Jenny??