Expiring Summer

It seems that Summer is coming to a close. It's almost the last day of July, and August will be here in two days. That means Iowa State Fair, school starting, cooler days (maybe?), and Fall coming; and all of those things I look forward to. I absolutely LOVE the Iowa State Fair - so much that I could seriously go every day and not be tired of it. Not even one little bit. I cannot wait for my first taste of corn dog, cheese curds, lemonade shake ups, gyros, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches...and you get the idea. School starts soon too. Every year I do something new with the decorations in my room so it's always something fun to look forward to as well. Plus, all the students come back refreshed and excited for school and to see their friends and I get a new bunch of bright-eyed seventh graders...so it's always a good start. On top of gearing up for Friday night football games, volleyball games, and just enjoying the good weather. I cannot wait to decorate for the Fall season...and after Fall comes my all-time favorite holiday; Christmas. I get so excited I get tears in my eyes...cannot WAIT!<3 It's also been a brutally hot summer (I think I've mowed a total of 5 times?), so looking forward to cooler temps as well. We've been somewhat busy around here. We came home from the Ozarks and had days filled with re-doing the living room/dining room, Kayden's 2nd birthday, and finding time to have fun with our friends. so I'll recap a few things as of recently: Kayden's 2nd Birthday It's hard to believe how big K is getting! She's truly becoming so fun and aside from a few terrible two incidents, she's such a sweet, sweet little girl. She's funny and so smart; I love watching her grow! We got her a monkey backpack/leash since she loves to run around, a few outfits, and an Elmo movie. She was (of course) spoiled rotten!

Elliott is also getting big and starting to smile:

This past weekend we drove to Guthrie Center to the River Ruckus to see Eric Church, Chris Cagle and Frankie Ballard. To say it was packed is an understatement. This place was INSANE. There were virtually 25,000 at a small town county fair. It was a nuthouse. It was kind of scary at times to go to the bathroom or go to find anyone because you didn't know if you could find anyone again. And there were so many people in one place that their cell phone tower went down so you couldn't use your cell phone. So had you gotten lost you couldn't get ahold of anyone! It actually gave me some anxiety. But, regardless, we had fun and the concert was good (even though we couldn't see the stage and it was hard to hear :\)

We have been re-doing the living room/dining room and I am SMITTEN with how it has turned out. I have a shelf with some frames that I want Josh to hang before I take the final "after" photos so I'll post those when finished. It's amazing what a little paint and some new curtains will do! Josh's birthday is also coming up and I have made him something homemade this year. I'm excited to give it to him and it took a lot of work and some help from Andy; I think he'll like it! I also am going to try my hand at sewing with my new sewing machine to finish it up...wish me luck! And Josh's Grandma K is doing very well after surgery - she gets to come home tomorrow! I think her hip is actually doing a lot better than expected, just need to get her wrist better. So thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. Enjoy the last few days of Summer...it will be over before we know it!