Thunderstorms, Southun Style

Almost every afternoon we have a little thunderstorm with a bit of rain.  It gets even MORE humid than normal and you can often see steam rising from the ground once the rain has stopped.  It's usually super sunny in the morning, then the storms roll in and roll out quickly, giving us only a few minutes of rain and thunder, but every once in awhile we get a bigger storm.  It was 97 degrees yesterday and then last night was the biggest storm yet.  It lasted hours and hours and in fact it's still raining and lightly thundering outside.  I think it's kind of fun, although the sharp cracks of thunder made my heart beat a little faster and made me grateful I was inside!  Several sounded like very close gun shots and the lightning was crazy.  Jeremy took a couple of videos so we could remember.  Of course it's not the same as being there, but you can get a little of an idea.  These are taken from our side door that leads to the carport.  Some are with the light on, some are with it off so you get more of the effect with the lightning.  They aren't too long.  Enjoy!

More Summer Fun

We've been having a good time these last couple weeks.  It's really hot and humid, so we don't spend a lot of time outside unless we're doing something that includes water.  We bought a little kiddie pool at the beginning of the summer and it's been fun for the kids to play in.

This was one morning when they were just playing with buckets and squirt guns - not actually getting in the pool - but then Connor started just dumping water all over himself.  It didn't seem to phase him at all!

Here are some from another day last week when we went out for a bit.  We only lasted about 40 minutes before the pool water got too hot and the kids wanted to go in.

So we resumed playing in the bathtub!  That was much more enjoyable for me too since I could just sit in the air-conditioned house.

When we're not outside, we're usually inside playing legos, reading books, playing with cars, coloring, climbing on Daddy, eating, napping, etc.

 Above: my little bookworm.  Below: Love this face.  Connor's been doing this a lot lately.  Toothy smile!

Above: temple with the Angel Moroni on top. :)  Below: All of Eli's aircrafts (he does these all on his own, he loves legos)

The Rec Center has been the greatest thing ever this summer.  I don't know what we would have done without it!  Eli has now finished 3 of his 4 weeks of swim lessons and is making huge progress!  He is putting his face in the water, pushing off from the edge, and sort of jumping in.  I am so glad he's feeling more comfortable in the water and really proud of him for facing his fears.  He's a very cautious kid and is afraid to try new things, but he's done really well.  This one lifeguard is really good with him and talks through everything with him before they do it.  He's very smart and can usually be reasoned with.

 Above: Talking :) Below: Face going in!

Connor, on the other hand, is fearless.  We all go in the pool after Eli finishes his lesson and I usually end up fishing Connor out 4-5 times every time.  He thinks he can swim and just dives in and tries to be a big kid.  I'm glad he's not terrified of the water, but I have to keep a good eye on him!

Yesterday (Saturday) we all went to the pool.  It was fun to go with Jeremy (and nice to have an extra set of eyes and hands!)  He hadn't seen Eli in the water in awhile, so it was fun for Eli to show him all the stuff he'd been learning.  They also have this awesome splash pad thing right next to the pool that we all enjoyed!  Having grown up with a pool, I have REALLY loved spending this summer at the pool so much.  It's a perfect way to "enjoy" the heat.

Three more weeks until we're outta here!  Crazy...

10 weeks down, 4 to go

Time is moving quickly again!  I can hardly believe we'll be headed back to Pittsburgh in just a month.  We've now completed 2 of our 4 weeks of swimming lessons, which has made the days go by faster.  Eli is getting much more comfortable in the water and we've all been enjoying the swim time.  The new library is now open too! It is beautiful.  We've been a few times since it opened and the boys have a blast.  I snapped this picture a couple days ago when we were there.  I was so happy to see them looking at books instead of just playing with the toys right behind them.  Proud Mommy moment!

Connor probably would have been playing with the toys, but he has turned into Eli's shadow and does absolutely everything Eli does.  Eli coughs at the dinner table, Connor coughs; Eli runs down the hall, Connor takes off after him; Eli jumps up and down, Connor "jumps".  It's actually very adorable.  And luckily Eli is usually a very good boy, so I don't mind Connor copying him.

Work is going well for Jeremy.  He's been very busy, which is a good thing.  I'm starting to get nervous about going back to PA.  This has been a VERY chill summer.  Sure, Jeremy's been EQ President and I've taught Sunday School every week since being called (so much for being the back up teacher!), but it has been SO nice to have most evenings and the weekends to spend as a family.  Once we get back up to Pittsburgh, things are going to be CRAZY and our time with Jeremy will be minimal.  Job recruiting starts the very first week of school - in face his resume is due this weekend - and almost everyday they have companies coming to give presentations.  Then the interviews start, then the flying around the country to second-round interviews and job fairs and who knows what else.  Ahh!  Deep breaths.  I guess a boring/relaxing summer was just what we needed. :)

Anyway, we have grown to enjoy it here and I think I'll actually be a little sad to leave.  Certainly not about the cockroaches (which I've seen alive more in my house than outside!), but we'll definitely miss some things.  To conclude, here is a cute video of Connor "jumping".  He cracks me up.  At the pool, Eli and Connor take turns "jumping" in to me - although neither of them actually jump, they just kind of step off/fall; Eli's too afraid and Connor doesn't know how yet.  Anyway, so I was telling Eli at home one time to jump on the ground and I said that's how you should jump in the pool too, and then of course Connor started "jumping".  Then they started running around and getting loopy since it was bedtime...

More Eli Quotes

If we're friends on facebook, you probably saw me post these, but if not, here are two more funny Eli quotes from yesterday and today.

• Yesterday Eli accidentally knocked over his water while we were eating dinner and he said, "I'm sorry Mommy.  It's ok. Sometimes accidents don't happen."

• Then today at church I got goosebumps because it was a little chilly and so my arm hairs stuck out a bit.  He said, "Mommy, you look like a stegosaurus with all that hair."

Ha!  He kills me.  It's always fun to see what he'll say next.  Also this morning he was telling me about the Word of Wisdom and how you need to "pretect" (protect) your body and put healthy food in there and put big tummies in your body.  Well, he got 2 out of 3 anyway. :)  He's a funny one!

Lately

I am SO procrastinating doing all the things I should be doing right now, but I wanted to blog instead.  First off, we got a camera!  My wonderful generous parents got a fancy new DSLR and (no, they didn't give us that, haha) they let us have their old camera.  Hooray!  My mom told my dad that if he wanted to see pictures of his grandkids, they better let us use it.  So thank you parents. :)  We are indeed grateful.

Last week we went to Florida to visit my sister Wendy who just moved to Sarasota 3.5 weeks ago (she'd been there all of 2 weeks when we showed up!)  My parents also came so it was lots of fun!  I will blog about that later with pictures my mom sent me since I didn't take any on the trip.

But for now, I just wanted to put up a few pictures I took today.  First off, we got our first ripe tomato!  I think Eli was the most excited of all.  He kept saying that he wants to "eat it not cut up, like a plum".  So I gave him the first one, and sure enough, he ate the whole thing, just like a plum. :)  And I think he loved every bite.  We have several more that are just about ready.  They're small, but they are home-grown and vine-ripened!  Woohoo!

Next up, swimming lessons!  We started swim lessons this week and it's been nice to have somewhere to go.  They are every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a half hour, so we've already been 3 times!  Eli had been getting a lot more comfortable in the water, so I thought he would do fine, but the first lesson he literally screamed the entire time.  I felt so bad!  One thing good about a small town though, is that there were only about 7 kids there for 3 lifeguards, so he has his own personal swim teacher.  She took him the whole time and just tried to get him to calm down with her holding him (which he didn't) and she was a total saint.  She told me at the end, "Oh, I've had worse.  You should hear some of those little girls scream!"

I had a long talk with him after we got into the car and he had totally calmed down by then and just said very matter-of-fact, "I'll be happy next time".  And, sure enough, Wednesday was a completely opposite experience.  He grinned through the whole thing and never screamed once!  He's a little on the stubborn side (no idea where he gets that from!) so once he makes up his mind one way or another, he sticks to it.  Luckily, his mind has been made up to like swim lessons since then and he does almost everything the teacher asks. :)

And Connor has been surprisingly wonderful through the lessons.  I thought I would be constantly fighting him out of the pool, but he's been great!  Here he is just sitting like a big kid eating his raisins. :)  We usually all go swimming after Eli's done.  It's been a great activity!

(FYI: His legs look unusually long in this picture.  No, he has not grown that much.  It's just a weird angle).

 Go Eli!  Love his face.  This is the usual - grin, and one eye closed. :)

 Working the arms...

 That's the latest!  I'm excited to take more pictures now...