Happy Summer! This is the first post I have technically typed since the summer has started.  The summer is flying by and it is hard to believe that we will be a full-fledged homeschool family in about a month (we start officially Sept. 10).  Let me tell you what we've been up to.

First, just before the summer hit, Lara lost her first tooth.  It's amazing how some seemingly small things can be SO exciting.  So naturally, we forgot to have her put the tooth under her pillow that night. ;)  I can't remember now what we snuck under her pillow; I think it was a couple of dollars (!!). 

Lara is taking a break from dance lessons this summer, but Claire has started lessons.  Lara was very jealous of Claire's dance outfit and cried a little.  Thus is life with daughters.  Claire does well in dance, with a mixture of paying attention and just prancing around in front of the mirror. 

Lara, instead, just finished swim lessons.  I am not sure how I feel about it.  They made her nervous, and she dreaded them days before going (she goes Tuesdays and Thursdays), so between Thursday afternoon and Tuesday morning, her stomach was in knots.  Despite that, her teacher always said Lara did a really good job, and is learning what she needs to.  She is now very comfortable in the water, putting her head in without a problem and letting Dustin drop her in the water.  And although Dustin thinks I am spoiling her, I promised her a big lego set as her reward for getting through the lessons.

A couple weeks ago, was VBS at church.  I led the Kindergarten class, and we all had fun.  Lara enjoyed herself.  I didn't feel Claire was ready to go with the preschool class, so I arranged childcare various days, and just Lara and I went.

We also took a mini-vacation with my family at the beginning of July.  We went to Giant City State Park.  We swam, ate, and visited some wineries in beautiful southern IL (sans kids, of course).  It was a lot of fun, but too short!

 We've had a rotten, hot summer in terms of the weather.  Our garden didn't fare too well, but we've had some things to harvest.  Claire loves to pick the cherry tomatoes. 

Also, this summer: celebrated my 31st birthday with friends, family, and paddle-boating; hit my goal weight after months of hard work; learned how to swim; saw my brother Seth off to boot camp, where he is in the most elite group of recruits under drill sergeants who were handpicked for their toughness; celebrated my youngest sister's wedding at a lovely reception in June.

It's been a good summer, with its ups and downs.  Dustin and I will be leaving in 3 weeks for our Anniversary trip to Prince Edward Island, and I am really looking forward to a break.

More later!