Family Update

Wow, it's been SO long since I've really given a full update about my family - so now you have been warned, this is a LONG post with lots of pics ;-) Oh, and I forgot to mention before, thanks to my friend Camie who got me started on the Wordless Wednesday posts, and my friend Melissa who got me started on the Friday Flashbacks - it's been a fun, easy way to post. But then I still have to do updates like this, of course! Hmmm...where to start...

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...well, we have discovered in the last couple of weeks that mosquitoes and Trysten just don't get along. No matter what I do to protect him, they find him and his body doesn't react too well. Plus the darn skeeters have been so thick since the end of August - what a nuisance they are! On Thursday, August 20th, he got bit on each leg - they swelled and pussed and scabbed and were on their way to getting infected, but with a little Peroxide they cleared right up. One week later, on Thursday, August 27th he got bit again, this time on the face. On Friday it was looking a little red, and then Saturday morning he woke up looking like this...

...so I got him into a doctor that is open on the weekends, got him on an antibiotic and it cleared right up. Then two weeks later, on yet another Thursday (yes, there is something about Thursday mosquitoes - they are the worst) he got bit on the forehead and swelled up and scabbed over again. I used Peroxide again because it was in a safe spot to do so and it cleared right up. We're just going to have to be more careful!

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As for me - I turned 28 a couple weeks ago - I can't believe I'm getting so close to 30 ;-P This year when I went to the eye doctor for the first time ever, it finally hit me that I'm not as young as I used to be. I now have to wear reading glasses - but it's been nice because I've finally been able to read again! Before I realized I needed glasses, I would start a book but then I'd get a headache or just not be able to focus, so I'd give it up.

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David has been feeling older as well - he got hit with allergies last year (his first time ever) and they were even worse this year. He gets hives, his eyes swell shut, and his throat closes up and they really take a toll on him! Hopefully it won't be as bad next year.

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Now on to the subject of TEETH! Brianna has her first loose tooth and she is SO excited! I wonder when the tooth fairy will finally get to visit her?!? So now Brailee is convinced that she has a loose tooth as well ;-) And then Trysten had his first tooth pop through last weekend. He should have a second one any day now. Kaylee has to get a minor procedure done next month - I won't even try to spell it or explain it, it's something to do with the skin that attaches her lip to her gums. I didn't even realize it was a problem until she went to a new dentist earlier this month. Apparently Brianna will need it as well, but hers can wait for a while. It's supposed to help with the gap in her teeth once it's taken care of.

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I still can't believe that September is more than halfway over - this whole year has gone by so fast and summer just flew by! We had fun swimming - the girls all took lessons this year (their first time) and my little fishies loved it! We also enjoyed our daily bike rides and walks - the girls especially loved riding to the 'Dead End' for our Ladybug Hunts...

Another favorite from this summer - picking Raspberries! We picked LOTS of berries this year but never made anything with them because they would get gobbled up too fast!

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And these pics are from just this week - to show my mom how our pumpkins have grown! She brought the girls a pumpkin plant when she came for their dance recital and this is what we have now - I never expected them to get this big! We've grown pumpkins before but they were not bigger than a basketball. Right now the biggest one is 'caged' in because David moved the jungle gym to mow the lawn one day and it didn't get moved back right away and the pumpkin and vines quickly grew through and around it! Brailee posed next to them to give an idea of how big they are.

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We finally replaced our sliding door - it's so nice to finally have a screen and a door that the kids can actually open on their own! I even had a hard time with the old one sometimes. Plus the new one is nice because it has the blinds INSIDE the door so nothing for the kids to get tangled in and no blinds to clean ;-)

Bye-bye old door!

Trysten likes the new door, and leaves adorable little smudges all over the window.

We've repainted our entire living room, but I loved the color I already had in there so I didn't change it, but David replaced all of our Base Trim. We even painted our huge shelves on both sides of our fireplace, which meant we had to move the fish tank, so it got a much needed full tank cleansing - it looks so much better! We still have some painting to finish up down the hallway, but the big, messy project is done - for this year anyway!

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The best thing about cool mornings is the hot air balloon that often flies over our house - sometimes it even lands in the field right behind our house. The girls enjoy watching it, especially in their jammies!

Well, I think that's everything - I have some more pictures to share but I'll save them for another post. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me ;-)