Wednesday, July 1, 2009

July 2009 Update

This month has flown by…let me see if I can remember the highlights.

We moved into our new house on June 1st…thanks to many helpers!!! I was actually sitting at a swim meet with the kids while Rhett and lots of friends were moving us in. We couldn’t have done it without all their help. Thanks!!!

On June 6th I got the surprise of a lifetime. My mom showed up at my door unannounced! It was the most marvelous birthday gift I could have ever received as I was turning the big 35 the next day. She was required to take 1 week off at work, so she decided it was a perfect time to come to Texas. She called my friend Mindy a couple of weeks before and let her in on the secret…also so that she could get a ride from the airport. I had been cleaning all morning (with no shower I might add) and looked less than desirable. It took me a few seconds of bewilderment before I realized that yes, it really was her and that she had come at a perfect time. That’s when I cried. I needed a lot of help to get my house put together. We had a wonderful week with her here.

The kids and I have been spending our time at the pool for swim team practice (every morning starting at 8am). Austin continues to improve and has been enjoying competing at the swim meets. He has been on the relay teams for both the medley and freestyle relays for each meet this season as well as competing in his individual events. Now it’s on to championships next week. He loves to swim!

Logan on the other hand never quite got to the point of being able to swim in a meet…although last week he finally got the confidence he needed and now knows that he can do it. He can successfully swim ½ the length of the pool without holding onto a lane rope or the side of the pool. Yay!!! We haven’t had him try the whole length yet. His coach agreed that he made marvelous progress this year and will be rarin’ to go next season.

Carson turned 3 on June 2nd. He has been playing “dress up” a lot lately. He loves to put on Rhett or Austin’s clothes, hats AND shoes and wander around the house. One of his favorite things since Austin became a Cub Scout is to “dress up” like a scout, carry Austin’s Wolf book around, and sing songs from Pack Meetings. His favorite is “I’ve got the Cub Scout Spirit up in my head…” Most of the time he improvises on the scout kerchief and usually ends up using my dish rags. Oh, to have the mind of a 3 year old again…

Jackson is now 6 months old. He just started sitting up unsupported a few days ago and is such a joy. He loves to be held, to roll around on the floor, play in the exersaucer, or just to sit and look out the window. I sometimes sit him in the Bumbo chair in front of the patio door and he just looks and looks. I recently started him on baby cereal, veggies and fruits and he loves to devour them. He’s growing up so quick! At Christmastime there were 6 pregnant ladies in our ward. We recently got together for a luncheon and took some cute pics of the babies...see below. Jackson is at the bottom and clockwise we have Luke, Austin, Ashton, Andelyn and Aliya. I obviously didn't get the memo about naming babies with an A!

We look forward to the next couple of weeks with Rhett’s family coming to town for the Zimmerman reunion. We have lots of fun activities planned and hope the weather lets us enjoy them all. It’s been in the 100’s already with a heat index up to 110. We are in a drought and can only water 1 day per week, so the lawn is looking pretty rough. Hopefully we’ll get a break in the heat and be able to enjoy all the fun we’ll have with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Brothers and Sisters.

Hope you all have a great month.
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson