No pictures, just updates!

Ok, I realize it's been a while since anyone has posted here... Sorry about that! But, here is all you need to know about us right now!

Activities - Well, lately, we've actually been very busy with activities for our family! Lucas just finished with the summer softball season (THANK GOD!), although not on a good note, because he left his ball glove at the park on the last game, and someone else walked off with it!

Raven took dance over the summer, but now we have a break from dance, except for yesterday. Yesterday was a free dance workshop. At the workshop, Miss Jodi (the owner) announced the opening of a new class. They now have Stars I that Raven's in and.... Stars I HIPHOP!!! YAY!!!! I'm pretty excited about that. I came home and told Lucas "Raven isn't taking a dance class this semester." He looked at me like "huh?" and said "oh yeah?", and I said "Yup, she's taking two!!!" So we'll be in dance every Monday and Wednesday nite for 30 minutes. This just gives you all more to watch during recital!

Last week was a crazy week. We had Bible School for half a day every day, which doesn't sound like much, but let me tell you, that really takes it out of the 3 year olds. Mom and I were team leaders for the 3 year old class. I'm not sure that we are entirely sane to keep signing up for that age, but it's fun. This time, we had 13 3 and 4-year olds on our biggest day. The best thing for me is that being with so many other kids that age really makes me feel great about Raven. She's definitely a leader and no one's follower!

After Bible School, we did some family stuff... Friday nite we went for a walk. We walked, pushed the stroller, and Raven peddled all the way from our house through campus and across the street to Tropical Sno and back... It took us about an hour and a half. Then, on Saturday, we didn't have anything to do, so we ate sandwiches for lunch, packed a cooler for supper, loaded up in the car, and drove about an hour and a half over to Stockton Lake to the beach. We played at the beach for a couple of hours, then ate supper on the beach, and drove home... Pretty exciting day!

Then, on Sunday, we skipped church and headed to the river, about an hour and a half in the other direction! Mom, Jerry, Lucas, the girls, and I all got into canoes, and Scott got into kayak, and we made it 8 miles down the river. It took us 6 hours, but we also had to stop quite a bit, and Lucas and I stayed way out in front a lot, so we had to stop and wait... Raven wanted to be in the canoe with Memaw and Jerry, but after they tipped her twice in the first 30 minutes or so, she was done with them. She was in our canoe crying for the next hour. Then we stopped for lunch and played. After we were done with that, we loaded back up with no crying this time. We made it down the river perfectly calmly, until the last 30 minutes... There were big rocks right where the current was dragging us, and I knew we were going to hit them, so I had my paddle in my left hand, and my right hand wrapped around an arm of each kid. The kids were both screaming, Lucas and I were trying to push away from the rocks and counter-balance at the same time... We finally got off the rocks with no spillage! Just a few hysterical tears that dried up pretty quick! Overall, it was really fun! Scott, Lucas, and I are paying for that fun now with nasty burns... Mine blistered up last nite. Lucas' is just sore!

School/Work - Pitt starts on the 20th, which is only 1.5 weeks away! That sucks! I have class from 9-12 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Lucas just an online class, and a couple others that he doesn't know yet. Raven starts back to preschool 5 mornings a week from 8-11 on September 4th.

Lucas also got a raise at work, due to Kansas raising minimum wage. Minimum wage raised 70c this July, then will raise again next July by 70c and also again 70c the July after. We were excited about his raise, until his boss announced that to account for the raise, everyone will work less hours. He's been coming home everyday at 2 or 2:30 instead of working until 4:30. It's nice that he's home more, but it also sucks that he's not able to work the 40 hours he was told at the beginning of the summer he could. He's also already been told he won't be able to work the normal 30 hours he usually does during the semester... But that does help out our daycare situation... We may be able to juggle it out between us!

Family - My grandma had heart surgery yesterday. I don't know what it's called, but it's when they put a tube through your thigh/groin area and send it up that vein into the heart and look around. They found that grandma is fine and doesn't need a real surgery, so that was good news. Raven was also sure that the doctor would find lots of love for Raven in grandma's heart and a little love for Riahna, since Riahna is smaller! And sure enough, her doctor found lots of love in grandma's heart! Pretty funny, the things she says!

And Kirk and Teresa and "the kids" are on vacation with their bikes in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, so we've been feeding their animals and watering their plants... Raven's loving it. That's because she helps feed the cats and then she holds them while Mommy feeds the horses, waters the dog, and waters all the plants! Then we load up and go down to grandma's house to feed the kitties there!

So, our life has been crazy lately, and it only gets crazier as we start school! It may be a while before we get a "real" post with pictures! But eventually, it will happen! Maybe after school starts, though!