Hello, world! We're baaaaack!
I can't exactly use the phrase "a little behind." I think that applies to two, maybe three weeks. Not two months. Shameful, I tell you. I mean, really...twenty-some-odd years from now when I want to revisit the summer of 2013...my thoughts, the little nuances of life, the ups, the downs....I'll have nothing. Well nothing except scrolls and scrolls of pictures! So here's to that: a close-out to the July and August of The Summer of 2013.
We took a trip to Brenham, TX for the 4th of July to visit Andy and Abby and we had a blast! On the 4th we enjoyed an adorable little small town parade in Chappell Hill. Really, the cutest parade ever.
And no trip to Brenham is complete without a visit to the Bluebell Ice Cream factory. Yum, yum!
We had all ages represented- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And it was impossible to get a good shot of all 5 without at least one making a break for it!
This little man...
Little Will is just the cutest ever. He's such a pleasant, mellow little guy!
We had a great time with the Hefferlys and can't wait to go back!
When our plans to go swimming at the country club fell through, we hit the kiddie pool in the front yard. True American style.
And then shivered a bit as the sun was setting.
What 4th of July is complete without Bomb Pops?
Even if they make you look a bit like a vampire.
And of course we finished it off with a small town firework show. Such a fun little trip!
Our next adventure was a "glad we did it but never again" success story of a trip flying standby on Southwest to Lubbock. We're so, so glad we did it and were so thankful for the free tickets, but never again with little ones. If I had been keeping up with the blog, you would have heard a long tale of dramatic woeful proportions but I'll simply leave it at standby during the summer saves you nothing. Including sanity.
But we got to enjoy story time with Papa Jeep.
Wrestle-mania with Uncle P (who happened to be in town for a wedding!)
A trip to the movies with grandparents (in outfits to match the movie, no less!)
A backyard BBQ with cousins on both sides of the family
Two best buddies catching up like old times. (and Mark and I got a night to catch up with adult family and friends too!)
Backyard shenanigans (yes, I let my kid run around like that. He got bit by something and I was trying to make sure he didn't breakout too badly!)
Just being adorable, as always.
Time catching up with Krista never goes by too slowly.
And guess who loves tire swings?!?
No trip to Lubbock is complete without a visit to "Castle Park."
Swinging with his grandparents....
And checking out bunnies with buddy Jacob.
And then there was the flight home...all this made the trip well worth it! SO glad we got to visit Lubbock this summer!
So beyond our two trips, what else have we been up to??? Oh, just things like...
My cousin having the sweetest little baby girl ever who I fully intend on kidnapping...
...Mark smoking his first set of ribs, and man, were they good!....
...the annual summer trip to Chuck E Cheese...
...and don't even get me started on this. Root canal + Laura's lupus = epic fail. Horrible inflammatory response which resulted in having to have my tooth filed down so the back two don't even touch now. And to think I still have to have the crown done! Grr!.....
...but that episode was redeemed by a fun trip to see the Astros play with Pinkie and Pa and the Hefferly Clan (Andy's family)...
...We had a blast at Minute Maid Park...
...sat up in the rafters and enjoyed every minute...
...and then I got to go on a date with this little slice of heaven...to pick out school supplies and talk about life...
...and somewhere amidst the summer, my baby turned into a boy...
...and a little boy room got a massive makeover (that's still in progress- waiting on a new dresser this weakend!)...
...And these two cheesers celebrated seven years of marriage with a night out....
...and a night in--as a family tradition, we always celebrate the birth of our family (our anniversary) with a candle-light dinner for the whole clan, in hopes that we teach our boys the importance of marriage, love, and commitment. And on the fine china and with a table cloth!)...
So hopefully back to our normally scheduled routine. With school starting on Monday and a weekend getaway for Mark and me to follow, I certainly have lots to "talk" about. See you soon!
1. So. In case you haven't noticed, we're not where we usually are. We're back on the old family blog! I mentioned at the beginning of the year that I had some changes planned for my weekly blog posts. This being the biggest. It's funny how plans and views on the whole blogging thing evolve over time. Years ago, I moved my weekly journal over to my Sweetheart-n-Sunshine blog site. At the time, I was kind of planning to make that site more sewing and craft related. Like a sewing, shop owning, working-at-home mommy kind of blog. And I had been encouraged to sort of combine my mommy ramblings with my shop ramblings. Instead, it simply evolved into the weekly journal and photo album of our family. All the while, my business has continued to grow and change, and I've reached the point where I really need a site that's dedicated strictly to my shop. Etsy certainly has it's perks, but, for example, only five photos can be added to each listing. And with some items, I'm really needing more exposure than that. Sure, I think my kids are adorable, but I'm guessing that when my customers visit my blog site, they aren't expecting to only find photos of the boys! So with no further explanation needed, I've decided to move Three Thought Thursday, our family's weekly journal, back to the site where I used to post photos and descriptions of big events in our lives such as vacations and holidays. I think it will be more appropriate, easier to manage, and overall a better set up for both our family journal as well as my shop's organization and advertising. Welcome back to www.theasmussenfamily.blogspot.com!
2. January in The Woodlands is much like April or May in many other parts of The US. May through September, we're usually at the pool or holed up indoors trying to survive the heat. But right now is our spring. Seventies every day, it's the perfect time of year for long walks, time outdoors, park visits and more. I'm sure we may have one or two more cold spells before "the winter" is over, but this time of year is slowly becoming my favorite. We've been living outdoors! And with all the time outside, comes all sorts of new exciting things for the boys. If you missed it on Facebook earlier this week, our biggest development has been that both Kolbe and Rudy learned how to ride without training wheels! These guys had been cruising along on their Razors for weeks with fantastic balance. Rudy could ride at least half the length of our street without having to push off. So we were all pretty convinced that if they could balance that well on the scooters, surely they could figure out the bike, too. Sure enough, within one day, they were both riding like pros with no help. Not even that moment where they sit on the seat and start pedaling while you hold on and gradually let go. Nope. Just jumped on and rode off. It was so precious. And brought tears to my eyes at the same time. These are the same boys that I was teaching how to use the toilet just a few short years ago. And now they're riding bikes? The days are long but the years are short. And my babies seem to not be babies any longer.
3. Ok, everyone, prepare yourselves. I'm about to vent. I've been doing really well with my lupus flare ups lately. Not to gross anyone out, but I'm all but convinced that the flares are highly hormone related. As in, I noticed a very obvious cycle occurring where my flare ups happen at the same point in my female cycle each month. So I've gone out of my way to make sure that I don't over exert myself at that point each month in order to avoid the flare ups and carry on with life as normal. But alas, another lupus problem has really reared its ugly head over the past several months and has got me feeling frustrated. Even before I was diagnosed with lupus, I began developing a condition called Raynaud's Disease. The first time I remember having a problem with it was my senior year in high school when I was playing my flute in the marching band. I had an open hole flute, meaning my finger tips had to cover the holes on top of each key as I pressed it down in order to play the correct note. I noticed that if it was even slightly chilly or windy, I couldn't feel my finger tips and couldn't tell if I was covering the holes on the keys or not. Then I started to notice how my fingers would turn completely white when cold and then purple or blue and were totally numb. And as they warmed up, they would burn and tingle in the same way a limb does when it has "fallen asleep." I later found out that this was called Raynaud's Disease and is a common component of systemic lupus. I've managed to do pretty well with it through the years. Gloves, hand warmers, etc.--they help. And really, just avoiding being outdoors when it's cold is the best strategy. With really little ones, that wasn't too hard. But now that the boys are older and want to be outside all of the time, it's hard to avoid the outdoors when it's chilly. And living down in Houston makes it even trickier. The seventies are right on the borderline. While my body thinks it feels great out, my hands can't maintain a normal temperature and within seconds have lost blood flow. This has made the past few months really tough for me, and a new component of it has developed. I continue to get extremely painful blood clots in my finger tips. The blood flow to my fingers is cut off when the little capillaries constrict and then when the blood flow returns, clots often form and take about a week to break up. It is so painful. You'd never think that a teeny tiny blood clot would be much of a bother, but it feels like a big needle being stuck deep into your finger tip every time it so much as taps on any surface. Believe me; I've had steroid injections directly into my wrist joint and of course, spinals for my C-sections...it feels just about the same. The medical solution is to take a blood pressure medication to increase blood flow, but my blood pressure is already so low that this isn't an option for me. So there. That's my rant. I don't really need or want any pity, just kinda needed to let it off my chest as it's such a huge frustration for me. I'm thankful for a husband that fully understands, three little boys that do their best to help mommy when they know I have a booboo, and a God who always cares for me. Oh, that this tiny bit of suffering might get me closer to Him!
My two little blood clots from this past week. They're actually much smaller when they start out...like a tiny red pin-prick. This is the stage where they're finally breaking up and dissipating. (if that's the right word for a blood clot.) :(
Enough of that! On the the fun stuff!!!
Yes, that's my husband pushing my baby in a jogger in a skate bowl. That's how we roll, people. Never a dull moment. This was definitely the highlight of this baby's day! (And yes, I was hysterically laughing, praying for Grant's safety and adding "buy 3rd helmet" to my to do list all at the same time.)
My baby sweetheart.
My hubby sweetheart! (on a date night! Woohoo!)
Kolbe is so desperate to get outside each morning that he's resorted to doing chores without asking to expedite the process. Score.
We've moved on from our small neighborhood skate bowl and are now visiting the huge local skate park. Scares me to death, but these guys are in heaven!
This guy. As a cup drinker, he has only used cups that have straws. He has never figured out the concept of lifting a glass to take a drink. So when we are at my parents' and we forget his straw cups, someone has to give him a drink like a little birdie. Pitiful, I know. But look at that awesome, wavy hair.
