Where did summer go?

puppet show on Grammies patio

some kiddos were pretty happy to have Uncle Cody on the floor

all the Goodan grandbabies= Grammie Heaven

Ellie(pink)and Addy did so great with their young cousins!

beside themselves excited when Papa Bob got home!

Addy Jo quite the little leader and so inquisitive!

making faces at the kiddos



Lala, a friend and Auntie Jean watch the parade for the star

My sis in law Tobin, looking great!

Littles in the parade with the Dance Syndicate

Papa Mark sportin a Bobs Auto Mart hat and watching some boys

Pizza party with the cousins



Ellie Kay the soft spoken organizer;)

Well somehow the summer shot away from us. I'm amazed at how busy we were and we really didn't go anywhere. We did have amazing visitors and have had a great time spending time:)
The Cody Goodans joined us for fair week and it was great fun to watch the the cousins play together even with a pretty big age gap. Ellie and Addy had great patience with Autumn and Dom and even shared Grammie time. I'm sure Grammie is still recovering from four little ones demanding her undivided attention! My sister in law Tobin looks amazing and is her super sweet self. It was really great to see them! I think Dana enjoyed the time he had with his big brother too.
Our most recent summer guests came from Indiana. Anita is a cousin or second cousin of Dana's. I'm not going to go into the details on that one since I tried to follow along and got lost that Papa Bob is actually her cousin but she is Dana's age. Anyway, she and her husband Steve joined us for a meal and we had a chance to visit and hang out in the yard. They are a very easy going couple and I felt like I had known them forever. I love meeting people like that.

Last weekend my cousin Blade got married! I am so proud of him and how far he has come. His bride was gorgeous! It was a great day! I also ran my first 5k that morning. I have no idea what I was thinking when I finally let a friend twist my arm into the challenge but I said yes and Dana paid the entry fee. I ran one night about a week before the event and was pooped!!! I came stumbling into the yard and told Autumn to hose me down. Dana asked if I was alright, I must have looked awful! I asked a friend the next day to help me get ready for a 5k and to let me know what I should be doing. Her response was a lot of running. I didn't do any of it. I did some of my regular work outs and told Dana once "don't ride me about working out", he laughed at me and said "I'm not going to, but you are running in the race because it's already paid for". Ha! So I took that as get in gear because your doing it no matter what. Lala and Papa came to town so that we could all go to Blades wedding together and we ate good food and laughed good laughs and after a little scare for a neighbor that fainted (she is okay now!) we said our good nights. This night Dominic decided there would be no sleep, race the next day or not he was not cooperating. Around 3a.m Dana took him into the living room so I could try to rest. I got up a couple hours later, looked at the dreary sky, put on my t-shirt with my jazzy number and out the door I went.Before I left my mother gave me a big hug and did a juju prayer thing. While I was driving to the race she text "como agrie" or something like that, it means "run like the wind". She used to say that to me in highschool when I ran cross country. I love to run in the rain. At least I did 14 YEARS AGO!!! I had a bit of a drive to either freak myself out or just blow off some nerves. I just acted like this was completely normal. That I always just get up and go run. When I got to the event I saw the "real"racers. Some people flew in from out of state just for this race. Thank God they were doing the longer ones so I could hang out in my own world with out watching their backs disappear the first mile. I met a couple really great people just as nervous as me and then it just became a great day to be in the woods. I put in my earphones and off we went in a downpour. 48mins and some seconds later I came across the finish line. I was scoping the parking site out to see if I recognized any cars. I was about to start crying just because I made it and I knew if I saw anyone related to me I would be bawling and then they would have to carry me across the finish line! I held the lump in my throat at bay and ran across with a few people saying good job great run and go get some water. It was still pouring rain and the timers looked miserable. I was actually glad that Dana did not bring the kids out in the weather but in my gut I was a little sad I didn't have a cheer section. I got over it, grabbed my things and hopped in the car. I had to get home get presentable and get to my cousins wedding!!! I walked up to our door and there stood our two precious babes with a sign that said "way to go Momma!" and my mother, dad and Dana standing waiting for me with hugs and congrats. I get emotional just thinking about it now. They may not have been there physically but even running I could feel their thoughts and prayers. For those of you that do 5ks in your sleep, kudos, for me this was a pretty big deal:)
We all readied ourselves and headed to the wedding. It was a great ceremony, they walked out as a married couple to "welcome to the jungle"! At the reception Blade and his mother, my Aunt Raquel started the mother son dance to some slow song I don't recall. Then. BAM!!! Shake your groove thing" is bursting through the speakers and my Aunt is shaking her bootie in front of EVERYONE!!!! Lala gave a clap and a YEEHAW LETS GO!!! and on the dance floor I went with Autumn in my arms and my mother leading the way. It was amazing!!! I haven't  seen smiles like that on the sisters in a long time and it was so much fun to see and to participate! We drove home pooped and happy:)
I also won the 5k. At least for the women:)

So, today I sit here waiting for Autumn to wake up while Dom watches a show and tries to wake up. He is becoming quite the awesome little man! We are putting citrus blend and lavender essential oils on him and the change is dramatic. He is more loving, more calm and I feel like he is more confident. I will just be thankful to God whatever it is that is working:)
Autumn will begin dance again in September and hopefully I will get to try another 5k during the chokecherry festival. Should be fun!:)
Our little family is always on the go even when it's just to the back yard. These Little people keep Dana and I on our toes and laughing always. Today is a great day:)