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My 3 Cuties,

We're going to try the bullet point approach to what our month looked like. :) So in no particular order, this month was full of....

summer bucket list: At the beginning of the month, we made a summer bucket list together, on which we listed all of the things we hoped to do this summer. It was fun to make, and it's been fun to check things off as we've done things on the list- we've probably done at least half of the things already!

swimming lessons: Mason, you completed and passed the Drylander class at the Waynesboro pool. Your teacher was awesome, and by the second week, you suddenly got brave and put your head in and did bobs. The last day of class, you jumped off the diving board TWICE! We had fun being at the pool almost every day for two weeks. We had a little routine of eating lunch there after class and staying until naps. Elli went with Nonni a lot of the time, but she came with us some days too.

Kings Dominion: We started the month off with a day at Kings Dominion with Nonni, Poppy, and Aunt Heidi's family. Daddy was able to get off of work, so that made it extra special! Both of you boys were brave on rides and had a lot of fun. Elli, you even took a pretty good nap in the stroller! Mommy and Daddy got to ride some adult roller coasters too, which made us happy.

Marion Festival: We went up to PA for one of the weeks of the Marion Festival. As always, it was a fun, nostalgic time full of fries, burgers, ice cream, music, and a couple kiddie rides.

Mason Dates: Mase, you got a date with both Mommy and Daddy this month! With Mommy, after your first swimming lesson, we went to Chick-fil-A to get food and a milkshake. Afterwards, we went to Stuarts Draft Park to eat and then down to Stump to play on the playground. Unfortunately, half of your milkshake spilled inside the car when you tried to get it out, and that was a bit traumatic, but eventually things got better. Your date with Daddy was a trip to the dump, then to a place in Waynesboro with wood, then to Wendy's, and then to Uncle Wesley's.

Birthdays: This is the month of birthdays for our family. Within one week, there is Callista's, Rylan's, Uncle Tony's, and then Mikayah's birthday. And then Mommy and Daddy's anniversary is 6 days after Mikayah's birthday! We had a combined party for Rylan and Mikayah this year, which worked out well. We had pizza, chips, some other snacks, and then a shark cake plus dirt.

Anniversary: Speaking of our anniversary, Mommy and Daddy got free tickets to a Washington Nationals game a few days before our anniversary! We took Elli and spent half of the day in D.C. to watch the game. The Nats won, and it was fun. :)

Hull's Drive-In: On Father's Day, we took Nonni and Poppy and met the rest of our life group at Hull's Drive in to watch Cars 3. A lot of the adults played ultimate frisbee before the movie, and the kids ran around and had a lot of fun. You all did pretty well during the movie too!

Camping in the backyard: One of the things on our summer bucket list is sleeping in a tent in the backyard. It turned out perfectly that a few days after we made our list, we went to PA and Daddy had two tents up there that we were able to bring home! They were perfect for all of us to stay in the backyard one Friday night, and they even kept out the rain, which poured all night starting around 11pm (about an hour before all of you finally fell asleep). Daddy ended up in the smaller tent with you boys, which he wasn't a big fan of, and by morning he was inside the house. We brought everyone in when it started getting light out, though, so that you would sleep longer into the morning. (It worked!)

VBS: Mommy was a leader, Mason was a participant, and Rylan and Elli were in the nurseries of VBS this year. It was a great week where we learned about the M-Y-S-T-....ERY! of this world- that Jesus died for us, lives in us, and is the hope of glory. Mason you had a tough time a few of the nights with behavior, but other nights you did great. I think you had fun every night, though, being in the same group as Mikayah and Lilli.
Baby Dedication: Elli, we had baby dedication at church last Sunday, which was our way of saying that we are going to do our best to raise you in a godly way. We recognize that you're not ours to keep, and we commit you to Him. We want to be the best parents that we can be, and we want you to grow up to love Jesus and love others. Grandma and Pap were able to come down for that, and we all had lunch together at Nonni and Poppy's afterwards, so that was special.

Dentist appointments: Mason, we had another dentist appointment together, and you did awesome again. You were even more brave this time; you went first and even sat in the chair by yourself! (You did spray the hygienist in the face accidentally right at the end with the little spray hose, but she loves you, so she laughed and wasn't mad.)
Sherando Lake: We went to Sherando Lake with Nonni and Poppy and Aunt Heidi's family one day this month. Unfortunately Daddy missed it, since he was working, but y'all had a lot of fun. Mason, you went all the way out to touch the rope on the raft, you stuck your head in the water, and you walked out as far as you could go! Rylan, you don't seem scared of the water at all. Elli, you sat in the water for a while and splashed a little too.

I think that's a pretty good summary of our month. Now here are some kiddo updates.

Mason- You've been continuing to have some behavioral issues lately. Sometimes you're as sweet as can be, but then other times, you're the kid who is kicked out of the VBS classroom for being too disruptive. We're working on figuring out what's going on there. I think I've mentioned it before, but you love to make people laugh, and that sometimes (lots of times) becomes a bad thing. But on a good note, I'm so proud of how you did in swimming lessons!! Your behavior was amazing; you listened to your teacher so well and had fun with the other two kids in your class. You were super brave too! You are a great helper for me, and you're able to do so much on your own. I'm glad that you still like to cuddle with me every night and when when you're scared.

Rylan- You are still the guy that everyone thinks is adorable. You are not great at listening to Mommy and Daddy....and sometimes when you do something bad, you run around covering your bottom, because you know you should be getting a spanking. You say funny things all the time, and you ask funny questions.

Elli- You are suddenly SUPER mobile. You've been able to get around for a while, but now we have to constantly be watching out for what you're going to get, because you're so fast. You had another ear infection this month, so you went on another course of antibiotics, which hurts your bottom. I'm not sure if you're over it yet, but we go back in a couple days to check. You also got your first tooth last week! It still hasn't come in all the way, but it's sharp. Right now you're sitting on my lap as I'm typing late at night, and you're not going to sleep. I'm not sure if I can blame that on teething or what. You have also now become obsessed with food. You want to eat EVERYTHING that anyone is eating. And you're loud about it! You make loud "eehhh!!" sort of noises over and over until someone gives you something. Then you're happy. You have also started laughing loudly and easily at things. Sometimes we can get you to laugh just by laughing at nothing.