a little bit of what's in my brain...

And now it's July. I swear this year is flying by faster than ever before. Weston will be 3 years old 3 weeks from today. It's crazy. He's brilliant and vain and ornery as hell. He exasperates me 80% of the time. He has perfected the temper tantrum. (Much to my dismay.) What is it with toddlers? I'm not sure what's worse: a toddler or a teenager? I'm sure that one day, scientists will discover that human beings going through hormonal and emotional changes (toddlers and teenagers) have the same chemical imbalances and brain patterns, etc as some bipolar patients. Then again, maybe they already have and I'm just unaware. That wouldn't be anything new.

So... what have we been up to? Well, we have season passes to Adventureland in Altoona. Weston's free, so that's nice. We don't feel guilty for going for a few hours and riding the rides or just going to the water park and then leaving early. We've been 3 or 4 times, enough to pay for the passes. And Weston loves it. He loves the rides that make me sick to my stomach. He's mad that he's not tall enough for the roller coasters, but he loves the water rides. He's such a "boy."

We celebrated the June birthdays with a big family "to-do" in Cedar Rapids. Picnic, pool party with the kiddos, and a nice dinner at TJ's in CR (try it, you'll like it!) Then we followed with some family pictures outside, and they turned out great! We moved Shannon from the Southside to Ankeny on the 11th. By "we" I mean the movers she hired (thank god.) But it still took the whole family to get everything done. On the 24th, Shannon joined us for a trip to Kansas City to watch the Cubs play the Royals. The Cubs lost, but we had a great time. The Royal fans were so nice, and Kauffman Stadium was just beautiful. We sat in the outfield by the waterfalls. And I have found a new love for the Map App on my iPhone. It saved us a few times when i got turned around. And yes, I am admitting that I got lost. And that I am not a nice person when I have a back seat driver or get lost.

So... that brings us to July. We had a nice Independence Day weekend. Shannon and I visited the Des Moines Farmer's Market for the very first time. I swear, it's like a carnival for adults! So much fun. Scott and Weston and I traveled to CR to visit our friends, the Knights, back from Delaware. Enjoyable time with the kids, etc. Reaffirmed my dislike in Red Robin. Home by 6pm. Mom and Dad stayed with Shannon for the weekend. They brought dinner over and we took Weston to see the fireworks. Scott stayed home to rest. He's been putting in ridiculously long hours (like 20 hrs straight and back at work less than 6 hrs later.) for weeks. He is still recovering. Monday, Aunt Linda & Uncle David came up from CR and we all celebrated our Independence with a traditional American Summer past time: grilling and picnicking! Loads of fun and great food! this was at Shannon's new duplex in Ankeny. It's coming together so nicely for her, and she has a great back yard, nice and flat. Perfect for Weston to learn how to play golf!

That bring us to now. A relaxing weekend at home. We took Weston to Cars 2 yesterday. I love going to movies with him. He's so funny to watch. Weston didn't want to go anywhere today, so here I am, blogging, searching the net, getting ready to start dinner. We're camping in Paullina next weekend. And then Weston's birthday party is the 30th. Pool party. tons of fun!!!

Alright, it's 5pm, and i need to start dinner. I hope to be better at this. sometime soon. :)