Catching up

Hello friends! Just checking in and catching up in the midst of a busy, busy summer. As we mentioned in the last post, we had a great trip to Iowa, followed by getting Jack into a new big boy bed. We are happy to report that he still loves his new bed, and he still sleeps like a champ. In the past month it seems like he's grown so much! We need to start keeping track and actually measuring him. He is so much more of a little boy now and less of a toddler every day. His favorite book right now is "I Love You, Stinky Face," and his favorite question seems to be, "What are you doing?" He hasn't started with the "whys" yet, but I think it's only a matter of time.
After our trip to Iowa, I got to take a trip to Chicago for work. I was there long enough to catch up with some good friends, attend a great conference, and even sneak out one afternoon for a river/lake architecture tour. The week after that was the 4th of July. With the holiday being in the middle of the week and already having taken our summer vacation, it was pretty low-key. We pulled out our recently purchased bike trailer and took it out for a spin. Jeff did a great job of pulling it behind his bike, despite having to change a flat tire and some very hot weather! We went to a local reservoir, so we were able to cool off at the end by dipping our feet in the water.

After the holiday, we've had visits from Kacie and her friend Laura, Jeff's friend Brad and his brother, and Grandma Janet and Grandpa Steve. It's been busy!! Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy got here on Thursday, for the first trip they've made since last fall. It's a long overdue trip, and we are counting our blessings that Jane is able to visit her grandbabies again. They brought Jack a batting tee, and it's quite a hit! The video below doesn't do justice to his skills--he's actually doing pretty well with it--but it was too funny not to share.

Finally, we had our family pictures taken a few weeks ago, and they turned out great! Here are a couple of our favorites.