Another Month Bites the Dust

It's the last day of July and I thought I'd better get in one last blog post. The last one was July 6th... I've really been slacking! Here's a summary of our activities this month:

• My Dad and Pam came to visit. We played some frisbee golf, grilled, played bocce ball, saw the latest Harry Potter flick, and had an all-around great visit. Dad chose that weekend to begin an experimental diet consisting only of tubular foods.
• Isabel turned 18 months old! She is transitioning to the 18-24 months room at school.
• I just got back from a girls-only trip to Las Vegas/Zion National Park where we hiked, lounged poolside, ate, drank, ate, ate, ate, and got pedicures. Meanwhile, Kyle's parents came down from Cleveland for some quality grandparenting time with Isabel.

My goal for August: more than two blog posts!

Stars & Stripes & Swimming Pools

We had a nice, low-key 4th of July. It was a little overcast and drizzly, so we decided to take Isabel to the community center pool. She was so fashionable in her swimming ensemble.

We had a great dinner of roasted sweet corn, Trader Joe's mac 'n cheese, and kielbasa (because nothing says "America" like Polish sausage). Kyle loves manning the grill; he doesn't realize he's being tricked into cooking.

For dessert I even made something with a 4th of July theme (and by "made", I mean "plopped store-bought ingredients on top of each other").

Like all kids, Kyle and I used to love the excitement of fireworks. Now, with a child who goes to bed at 9 PM, a full hour before the local fireworks shows, we HATE fireworks. Each booming explosion caused us to cringe in fear that Isabel would wake up. She goes to sleep easily, but if she's awoken in the night, well, hell hath no fury like my Isabel. Luckily she slept through it all. Maybe next year we'll all be emotionally ready to actually watch the fireworks together.