Summer lovin' ... or something like that...

So this summer has completely flown by! And we have loved every minute of it! (well, pretty much) It really has been great fun! Here are the highlights... (WARNING: this post is super long!)

In July Dad and Lori came out for a visit. It was a whirlwind weekend trip that was tons of fun. Dad went to the Air Force Museum in Dayton while Lori and I went shopping. We all went up to Kirtland, then on to Palmyra for the Hill Cumorah pageant. The pageant was really cool until... it began to rain.

The picture with the umbrellas is outside the Kirtland temple. The other one is before the pageant started.

We got a little bit wet and the pageant was cancelled... maybe we'll make it back there some other time. The next day we explored the Sacred Grove. It was beautiful! After we arrived back in Columbus we took a little drive out to Amish country. On the way back I hit and killed a cat. I still feel guilty. Because I'm not so fond of cats James calls me a cat killer. It was an accident, I promise! Whenever a cat sits on his haunches stares at me I feel like he is saying "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya; you killed my father; prepare to die." And then I run...

Our date night in July was to a Clippers game (triple a baseball team in Columbus)... James can fall asleep anywhere! Maybe that's why Ethan is a good sleeper...

At the beginning of August James' brother Blake got married in Idaho. So, Ethan and I went out early to Salt Lake to visit Seth and Mary. This is us on BYU campus, where Ethan lost his sippy cup and his sandals a few times... It was so nice to visit with Seth and Mary. Their new little one, Finch, is so sweet! And we always love seeing Tillie.

I don't have any pictures from Blake and Heather's wedding because I was sick most of the time.... ick.... We are so happy to welcome Heather into the family and wish them both the best! We loved seeing the Holts again, even though it was brief... it is so good to be with family!

So, maybe I went a little bit overboard with the tomatoes this year... we have them coming out our ears! Ethan loves to help pick them. As soon as I brought out the camera he wanted to show me the tomatoes... he is so cute! He loved helping Daddy pick them.. we're thankful that he loves to help eat them too... we've made so much salsa and given some away and still have some rotting! Why don't I can them you ask... well, basically because we won't be here this winter (yes that's right we'll be spending the winter months in Minnesota, yikes! but that's a story for another day...). Anyway... tomatoes anyone??

Another summer favorite has been to take long walks... this one wasn't so long, but it was beautiful! Ethan scraped his knee for the very first time ever. He hardly noticed it until we got home and I put neosporin on it... then he bawled! And ever since then everything is an "ouchie" and all of his stuffed animals have ouchies... it is so funny!

Last Thursday we went out to the Millersport Corn Festival. It was definitely small town and definitely fun! Of course we ate some yummy corn slathered with a ton of butter! It was good! We also enjoyed a nutritious cuisine filled with elephant ears and donuts... mmmm...

The corn festival in James' words, "We had corn, an elephant ear, watched an old time tractor pull and even took in an electrifying clogger routine! Good times!" They were good times...

Saturday was dedicated to college football. We had great weather for the OSU vs Navy game, but the score was a little too close... Later that night we went to some friends house for the BYU vs Oklahoma game. I don't know what was more entertaining, the game or James' reaction to it. He was whooping and hollering and jumping all over the place. He is a cougar to the core! Go BYU!

Yesterday afternoon we took Ethan to a living historical farm. They farm as they would have around the 1880's. It was fun... I think Ethan loves animals... from a distance. But the guys with beards not even from a distance....

The good news about summer coming to an end is that little Joshua will be coming along soon. For sure by Halloween we'll have a new little one. We are so excited! I am beginning to feel really pregnant. James is excited to have another little bruiser around and we're not sure how much Ethan understands about what is growing in Mommy's oversized belly or as James affectionately refers to it "the big belly".