Summer Fun!

Whew!! Where has the summer gone?!? Seems like just last week I was getting the kids ready to be done with the school year, and here it is AUGUST! Jeepers!! This summer has been so full of fun stuff so far! Friends, fun, and renovation!! We've had a few cook outs here with friends, a few trips to the beach, and lots of time spent in the bathroom...he he he Today had to be the BEST day at the beach though. Derrick and I went down to Ray's so Bub could sleep today. The last few times I've taken Derrick swimming, he's been TERRIFIED of being in the water on his own, even with a life jacket on! Every time he's gotten better, but today he did simply wonderful! Ray's was a bit windy, enough so that there were good size waves making their way to shore. He held my hand walking into the lake, and wasn't quite sure what to do about the first few waves that rolled across his legs. As we got out further and the waves inched higher up on him, I showed him how to jump up with the waves. He tried the first few times still holding on to my hand, and then let go and went on his own! We spent TWO HOURS jumping the "wabes"! Towards the end he got brave enough to try floating on his back by himself, and dunking his face in the water by himself! These are GIANT steps for him in terms of swimming! For those who were wondering, YES, he was wearing a life jacket LOL We also tried playing with his inflatable basketball & hoop that are meant for water play, but between the waves and the wind, that proved to be quite a challenge, but LOTS of fun! I'm SO proud of my little guy for all of his hard work learning how to swim!

Derrick had a blast in early July spending a week with Neenee and Papa in Oshkosh, and now is eagerly looking forward to spending some time with Grampa Mike and Gramma Roxy at the farm this weekend. Between swimming, basketball, and going to the farm, he's been talking nonstop about one of those three topics! He misses his brothers like crazy, and he knows they're in "Norf Caroleena" (Carolina) with their "nisters" (sisters), cuz I don't think he'd grasp the idea of them having a different father than Bubba at this point in his life. Talin has proven where Bubba stands in his life though. He has a bunny at his father's house that he named Junior, after BUB'S favorite Nascar racer, and he left a message on the machine last weekend saying he was "Talin Roth-Neitge." All I could do is smile...I love the way that kid thinks sometimes! LOL While Jesse may be their father, Bub is truly Talin & Trey's dad.

The bathroom is coming along in slow, small steps. We have the majority of the walls torn out, just a small bit left behind the tub to pull out. We have the vanity bought and here, but no counter top or faucets for it yet. We have the vanity light up and working, but no mirror/medicine cabinet bought yet...even though we're pretty sure we have one picked out. We have the toilet, tub, shower fixtures, and shower wall surround picked out, though not bought yet, but we DO have the two recessed lights that are going above the tub installed and working, as well as the exhaust fan. We're going to sheetrock and paint the walls that aren't covered by the surround, and to tile the floor. We've found colors for the walls and tiles that we both like, but more than likely won't know until all of the fixtures are in what we're going with for sure. We're going to need a smaller window, but at least it will be able to be seen now, and not hidden by a shower curtain and practically useless by any standard. This week/end will hopefully see the insulation up on the ceiling, and potentially the ceiling itself up. Wouldn't that be awesome?!?

More to come when I have a sec to hop on here and write! Hope everyone is enjoing a fantastic summer!!