I love the smell of sunscreen! Not so much because of
how it smells, but more for what it stands for: Summer. Sunshine. Days spent outdoors. Fun! And I love the benefits of sunscreen, too, although I think I appreciate those much more now that I am older than I ever did growing up.
It used to be cool to fry your skin in the sun to sport the best tan. Guess lots of us are not thinking it is so cool now that the sun spots have started popping out and the wrinkles are making their premature presence on our faces. But I have gotten away from myself. I really do love the smell of sunscreen, as well as all of the other classic smells of summer.
We have kicked off our summer by investing in a pool. Nothing fancy, just an Intex 18' above-ground pool. It seems like a good starter pool, and it is a good way to see if we get enough use out of it to invest in a nicer one. So far we have been swimming every day, so I guess we are on our way to bigger and better things in our future! The kids have loved it, especially Coulby, who is learning to swim with the help of a life vest. And what a great life vest! It is the perfect way for Coulby to be able to swim on his own without all of the safety risks. Now that does not mean I do not get in the pool with him. Of course I do. But it has really been great because he can stay afloat on his own and learn the basics of using his arms and feet to swim. Caroline has her own life vest as well, but is not quite as confident as her big brother, and mostly likes for me to hold her and walk around the perimeter of the pool with her.
Making the decision to buy the pool was tough because I was very nervous about having a pool with all of the risks it would pose to the kids. We really thought about it before we took the plunge (ha.). We invested in chain locks for all of the doors in the house so that there would be absolutely no way for Coulby or Caroline to slip outside to the pool unattended. It has been an easy adjustment to get used to all of the locks, although I do feel like we are living in some sort of compound. Now my nightly routine consists of locking the bolts and locking the chains x 4!
So the pool has been the highlight of the summer so far, but we have so much to look forward to! I do not know how the time has slipped away so quickly already, but the 4th of July is almost here, and that is always one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. It is such a classic summertime celebration, full of patriotism, good food and, most importantly, friends and family. I will be attending a family reunion at the end of July in Nashville, which will also be Caroline's first road trip. Right after that is our long anticipated beach vacation! And I guess after that the summer is basically over. Boo. We will be doing a lot of other little things here and there (like zoo trips, aquarium trips, lake trips, and get-togethers with friends). I just love the limitless possibilities of summer!
On another note, Coulby had a Hopkins appointment last Friday and we got to see our dear friends the Mooney's while we were there! Coulby and Corrigan had the hard job of enduring blood draws, but it was nice to share an appointment day. Both boys grew and pleased their geneticist and dietitian, which is always the goal! Coulby's ammonia was great at 26, although his amino acids revealed numbers that were a little too high, so we have set him back on track by decreasing his protein by the slightest bit. Coulby seems to be doing well, and overall, he had a great appointment. The high amino acids mean nothing more than a growth spurt that has come to an end, so nothing to worry about. It seems that the sun and swimming has agreed with him!
I hope you are all having a fantastic summer and getting into lots of fun! And don't forget the sunscreen! Oh that sweet smell!
Independence Day is always one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. Because it is the ultimate American holiday and a great reason to party with friends and family. We have a tradition around here to serve ribs on the 4th of July, and this year was no exception. Richard's famous ribs are much anticipated and never disappoint. There were lots of sides to make your mouth water: homemade potato salad, pasta and green bean salad with fresh herbs, homemade rolls that mom has perfected and could sell worldwide, cole slaw...hungry yet? We had quite the holiday feast! And I got to put the flowers from my gardens to good use by creating a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers, topped off with an American flag.
While we did not have a fireworks show of our own, we watched other's shows from our front porch, and I captured a few decent (but not great) shots. Fireworks: the classic ode to freedom. The loud booms and bangs that result in beautiful colors in the sky and never fail to produce oohs and aahs from onlookers. I do not know how many times I have seen fireworks in my lifetime, and I never tire of them. What is the fascination? The kids enjoyed them this year, too. Coulby used to be terrified of fireworks! Even last year he was watching them from behind the safety of the windows. A year changes lots of things, and I guess he is a little bit taller, a little bit older, and a little bit braver!
The kids were so excited about "lots of people" coming over on the 4th, but we really had a quiet holiday. I guess because the 4th fell on a Saturday this year, many people planned their own celebrations. We had mostly family and a few friends come over, and it was actually nice to spend the day together without a huge crowd. We did miss our friends the Mooney's though. They were supposed to be here, but Corrigan ended up being hospitalized as a result of metabolic-related issues, and therefore did not make it. That was the only damper on our holiday. Poor little C was on my mind most of that evening. Maybe next year! He is doing much better now, but keep him and his family in your prayers! 
As you can see, Coulby had a blast on the 4th and was so happy to wear his motorcycle shirt. My mother-in-law gave that to him so he had something with red, white and blue to wear, and he absolutely LOVES it because of the motorcycle. All boy for sure. Caroline got to wear cute pom pom hair ties in her pigtails...Gymboree has the cutest little hair things for girls! 
I hope you all had a as great a 4th as we did, filled with lots of good food and company! Did anyone get some photos of fireworks? I would love to see them! 
