Um.......August? Where did you go?

                                                        TITUS' BIRTHDAY:

It was Titus' 5 yr old birthday last week. Or was it the week before? Yup. It was the week before. Oh. No. Wait. It was the week before THAT. Apparently, in my brain, it's all blending together as one giant, endless (but enjoyable) week. I really meant to relax this Summer. Funny. Micah owns his own ice cream maker, so he made the ice cream. Jarod, my little chef, made the above cake for his little brother: complete with a cherry on top, as requested by Master Titus. Below is Isaac's contribution to the cake decorating process.

                                                      I feel like I always say the same basic, sappy, sentimental type of thing, every time one of my babies turns yet another year old. You all probably grow weary of hearing me say the same exact thing 6 times a year. So this time I'll try not to say anything mushy about my baby growing up & how it's all happened so fast & how I wish he'd slow down & how it seems like only yesterday that he was a just chubby little 10 month old lard bucket who could only roll around on the floor, like a lumpy bowling ball, to get where he wanted to go. His infinite rolls of chub prevented him from up-righting his own body. He was quite the talented roller. And then, somehow, he walked. After that, he turned 5. He has grown to be surprisingly quite petite......and less likely to roll around on the floor, lest he get dirty or wet. That would be my little OCD-boy's worst nightmare. It is bittersweet, because he's such a smart, sweet, big boy now, but he used to be my "little" baby. And this week, he is STARTING KINDERGARTEN (at home of course). *Sniff. Sniff* The end. No mushy stuff. How'd I do?
Titus' nice big brothers gave him presents from their own toy boxes. We were broke that week & had to wait till payday to buy him anything. That kind of thing happens occasionally in a family this size. But he was perfectly happy with what his brothers gave him, so his birthday didn't totally stink. He very much felt and acted like he was king for the day, no matter what presents he received. He was just a happy boy the whole day long (which is highly unusual for him, as he is usually whining about someone getting water or dirt on him.....especially water). He, of course, got his "real" presents from Mommy, Daddy & Grandma later. But I think he liked them about as much as he liked the presents from his brothers.

ABOUT DANNY:

 Last weekend (I'm pretty sure it WAS last weekend), my "adopted" son, Danny, stayed with us for the weekend. There are some things you should know about Danny. He loves Jesus. He can break dance. He likes music. He will eat 2 whole tuna sandwiches with dill pickles, because he LOVES dill pickles. He also LOVES life. He will talk your head off about Jesus' love, touch your heart & make you cry a little. Then he'll go blast some Justin Bieber for the "enjoyment" of the entire household. Eh-hem. He also blasts songs which have lyrics like "super duper cute" in them & which I know, logically, I SHOULD find highly annoying. Instead, I find myself singing along & smiling........because he brings a little extra sunshine into our home when he is here.                                                                 

He is also occasionally prone to random & spontaneous planking. 

                                                           

Random, spontaneous planking is apparently contagious.

                                                        Silly boys!

                          

                                                   ANOTHER CAMPOUT
We went camping on Thursday & Friday. Yes, it was this past Thursday and Friday. I'm sure of it. I think. It was only a one-night trip, but it was wonderful, fun & relaxing.

Isaac had fun. Really.

There was snorkeling,

                                                     T
                                                                    parting the seas,

                                                exploring & brotherly bonding,

                                         floating with no rafts & a little tushy pain from big river rocks.

                                                Happy puppies..

       ......happy boys & unhappy mussels. They found about 200 of them.
     But we had no idea what to do with them so we threw them back into the river.

                                                       Jarod made a friend.

                                                          Dirt happened.

                                                   Mushiness prevailed.

                      Went to the lake on our way home. It was deliciously calm and warm. Justin & Seth kept trying to drown each other. They looked like a couple of bears wrestling on a Grizzly Adam's episode. Not that I would know if bears ever wrestled on a Grizzly Adam's episode. Or did they just snuggle? Either way, this was their father-son way of bonding & snuggling, so it's all the same. Seth actually managed to dunk his dad once. He's now bigger and taller than Justin, which I am still in shock over daily. Daddy's still stronger and tougher, but Seth now gives him a little run for his money.






                                             A few scenic pictures of the land I love.

                              
                                        This, however, is my favorite scenery.
                                           
                                                 

                                                MONTHLY EMERGENCY ROOM VISIT:
       After all the outdoor adventures & possible dangers of drowning & such......we made it home safe & sound. Then, yesterday, THIS happened:

                                             At my friend's house, Jarod decided to use a home-made stilt (yes, the kind that clowns walk with) as a golf club & Micah decided to get in the way of his super-mighty golf swing. So, basically, Jarod (accidentally) hit Micah in the face with a 2 x 4. He felt so badly about it & wanted to accompany Micah to the ER with Justin. Micah said it just felt like a little punch and didn't hurt very much. The little tough guy! He's sore today though. I apologize if this picture grosses you out, but for me......it's par for the course. Eh-hem. Sorry.


                                               In Other News: 
 I am apparently branching out after the finality of the closing of my "baby making business", and am trying my hand at new things. I submitted my "Heather Goes to VBS" essay (which I also posted here a couple months ago) to my friend's publishing company "Freundship Press". It was accepted and will go into THIS BOOK:

                                                          

The SweetTarts have 4 gigs in the next few weeks. One gig is tomorrow at a cool diner, who is giving the band members free food and soda and $25 to share. We're in the big time now, baby!!!!! If you want details to this event you can find our SweetTarts Facebook fan page here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SweetTarts/199825853393485