Weekend Update

Hello, friends.

We are at the very last days of summer break, and while we are ready, logistically, to return to the regular routine, we are very much not ready to give up our time of fun. We have been squeezing the last bits of fun out of summer over these last couple of weeks and have completed some home projects, too. As far as the trio go, we have completed every item on our summer to do list and are feeling productive. The only exception is an item we postponed about a week into summer... we had planned to convert the playroom into a bedroom for William George (freeing up his room for the girls to have their own rooms), but we quickly realized the playroom was going to be in big demand this summer so we decided to hold off on that project until fall.

However, we did change things up downstairs by changing out some rooms. I would go into detail, but it's a little confusing. We also haven't quite finished (a set of chairs are pending delivery... we need to paint a room... and we need to re-do artwork) so before/after photos would be incomplete. We are just happy to have broken through the inertia to make some much needed changes/updates. Skip was also a trooper and completed a few more projects in the yard. I wish I could say it was something exciting like installing a pool, but we had some erosion that needed to be remedied, i.e., no pool.

Those projects cover the last couple of weeks of blog absence. As for the weekend, we got in some final visits with the grandparents before school resumes. My mom spent the night Friday, and we grilled and had a good time. As mentioned in years past, I LOVE the Olympics, which may be a surprise since I am not exactly known for my athleticism. After dinner we watched the opening ceremony and the parade of athletes. By early Saturday morning, Lauren had made Team USA flags for us all to wave while cheering on the athletes, and George emulated the athletes' entrance by grabbing his iTouch and walking through the house waving his flag while filming. We had a repeat dinner with my mom and continued watching the games.

On Sunday the girls served as acolytes, and they served during a communion service - an experience that was new for them. Although they were very nervous, they did great and did not drop the trays of juice. After church they visited with Skip's parents, while Skip and I had lunch and ran some errands.  Afterward, I was again positioned in front of the television to watch the women's gymnastics team perform.

Today the duo had consultations with an orthodontist. Grace presented very nervous and concerned, whereas Lauren was eager and excited. They are recommending that Grace have four teeth pulled (possibly five) and then be rechecked in eight months. Sometimes our anxiety is proven to be completely justified. She was successfully distracted by getting a hair cut (these were loooong overdue, especially for George) and grabbing lunch.

As for us now, you can find us on our sofa, cheering for the USA and waving our custom flags.