June Catch-ups and July Party!

Much has happened since my last post in June...but I want to go in order on updates - so you'll just have to wait with bated breath...unless you are my friend on Facebook - and then you know everything already!!

A couple random picutes...
Like this - showing how my kids likely break arms...

And this one - Justin had to cut down our Ash tree (which makes me VERY VERY sad) and I'm lucky that HE didn't break an arm or leg doing it. I really don't like our yard now without the tree :(

And we were excited in June to see Andrea, Lucy and Jack when the visited from Chicago for Sarah's graduation party!! As all these kids get older and busier, we don't get to see them nearly as much as we used to.

 (Sarah, Ella, Alison, Lucy, Abbi and Zoe)

Since last post when Silas broke his arm - he adjusted pretty well to that and on July 3rd got a half-arm, waterproof cast.  It worked out great because we had the whole Juenger family coming for Mason's graduation and birthday party.  I was adamant that we got the waterproof cast on before the cousins' arrival so that Silas could swim and have fun with them - so happy that it worked out!
This is Hudson and Silas at COSI - being way too cool...

We had Juengers from all over the U.S. start rolling in the last week of June - from Arizona, Nevada, Rhode Island, New York and from around the corner.  It was such a fantastic time to see all the cousins have fun and play until they were so exhausted that they couldn't see straight!
All the kids (except Mason) at COSI.  What a cute bunch!!

 

(James, Molly, Ella, Silas, Myles, Hudson, Trent, Will and Jefferson)

We ended up with Cousins in a Box upon the arrival of the NV Juenger Bennetts...this kept them busy  for quite a long time!

 

The James' were crazy and invited us ALL over for their July 4th party...I tried to warn them!

A great time was had by all - especially the kids who got to swim all day and then see the fireworks.

We had a super fantastic (with some bouts of downpour) on July 6th for Mason's graduation and 18th Birthday party!  It was wonderful to see some great friends and old neighbors come by to visit.

LOOK at those boys down in front...could the be any more related?!?
It was a wonderful visit and I wish we could do it so much more often!!
Love to see them enjoying each other!

We got to go to the Star Liner - one of Grandpa J's favorites!!

 (Mason and Molly)

(Baby Jeff and Ella)

And since the NV Juengers/Bennetts left OHIO...they have added to the ranks!  Carolynn Olivia was born on July  26th.  She is SOOO cute!!

It's been such a fun (and exhausting!) summer so far.  We just got back from our OBX trip on Saturday, so that needs to be blogged next. But wow, feeling so blessed to spend time with the family this summer!!

Ella's Y Birthday Party!!

My baby girl is 9! 

 

On Sunday we celebrated Ella's birthday with a party at the YMCA. I am generally a VERY bad birthday party planner so this year I tried hard to plan it early and do something fun besides a sleepover or party at home.  She chose the Y and it was a good choice!

On Saturday (her actual birthday) we went shopping and got her a couple new swim suits. I love the one she decided to wear to her party.  She looked super cute in it (and I also love that she "doesn't like bikini's" - she's still my little girl :)

Some of her friends in the pool during the first hour of the party, and Silas
who got to enjoy the party too!

 The 2nd hour of the party was wall climbing. All the kids did great.
There were a couple of them that decided it wasn't exactly their thing, so they just watched.
Ella did a great job. She is definitely part monkey. 

 

I was impressed that Silas tried and got almost to the top too. 

The wall looks SO tall to me in this picture below. This was
Ella's 2nd time climbing up.

We were SO thrilled with her birthday cake.
I have a neighbor that has a cake business and (knowing how much
Ella love fancy cakes) I asked her to do one.
This was the result!!
Ella was ecstatic when she saw it :)

 Even the top ribbon was edible, which the kids all tried..

And of course, Ella got some very fun and cool presents.
One of the girls got her a dippin dots maker. That should be
fun and messy to try!

I think that this will go down as a party that she'll remember for a long time.
I know I will...

 LOVE her hat that matches the cake!  :)


Happy 9 Miss Boo!  We love you!!

Blah

I haven't felt up to posting lately because I've been feeling really icky the last few weeks. I've been in bed by 9 or 9:30 much of the past week, making it hard to find much time to post.
Most likely my blah-ness is gallbladder related but we're still in the midst of testing.

So, some quick updates and a few pictures.
JOB - Justin's job hunting is going well. In addition to the "regular" search, he's taken steps to start his own business, and as long as I don't think about the scary stuff like health insurance and the fact that we'd both be self-employed, I'm very excited about it. He had his first job on Monday doing some work for a past customer and has some other bids out for jobs as well. Keep your fingers crossed!

Kids- They are all doing great. Tuesday night was Ella's curriculum night at the school. We love her teacher. Ella comes off of the bus everyday spelling the words they are learning and telling us all she did that day.
The same evening was Mason's Washington DC planning trip. He goes in October. I remember having a great time when I went in the 8th grade. He's been warned that if he misbehaves and gets sent home from the trip, he has to repay the trip $$ back to us!
Silas is still working on his potty training. He seems to do a much better job at Kelly's than here.

Ella had a great soccer game on Saturday. It's so much fun watching the girls play.



Soccer was followed up with a great birthday party for our friends Gavin and Evelyn

Silas was in heaven getting to eat pizza and then CAKE! He is the biggest junk-food-junkie ever!

I am looking forward to the weekend. I want to get my fall/Halloween decorating started. I can't believe it's already that time of year again! Time to start my Christmas shopping too!

The Weekend Marathon

We have survived the weekend marathon - unpacking (kind of), the 4 Saturday parties, more unpacking and the Clippers game this evening. Justin and I are beyond exhausted, the kids are wiped out and will hopefully get back on schedule this week. School starts on Tuesday for Mason and Wednesday (I think) for Ella.

A weekend overview:

Saturday morning Silas decided he was still on vacation and took his oatmeal and juice out on the deck to eat (in his pj's of course).

This is how the sunflower looked upon our return. We did miss the peak bloom but it's still cool looking.
Today Justin and I both went into the garden and picked. We ended up with 6 HUGE cucumbers and 2 massive salad bowls full of Cherry tomatoes. YUM!
Ella and Jaden at their cousin Aliyah's 2nd birthday party (party #1 of the day) - they are the best of friends!

We then rushed over to party #2 - Kelly's 6th birthday party. Great fun!

Party #3 was a pool party for Abbi and Alli - they have a January birthday and decided it's be fun to celebrate it (as well as going back to school) with an end of summer pool party. (Thanks Beth for the picture!)
Birthday party #4 was great fun - we helped Sam celebrate his 1st birthday!! As you can tell, he had a great time!

We ended the weekend with a Sunday evening Clipper's baseball game. We lost but it was a great game with loads of stadium junk food (hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream...yum!)And now I am going to bed early, before I turn into a pumpkin. Looking around at the house and at the week ahead, I've got that stressed out feeling that only a good night's sleep can repair!