Amundsons

Nothing quite as fun as hanging out with Eliot at the butterfly house... until we ran into a GIANT CATERPILLAR!!! Charlie was nervous because it was "gonna eat my toes" however, her brave young suitor quickly showed her there was nothing to be afraid of... as long as he was around. It was like they were in 3rd grade... studying the different insects. It was very difficult to get them to look at the camera. Too many pretty butterflies to watch... and suddenly they were 2 again Then we went over to the Old St. Louis Carousel.... and 3 rides later they were done. quite a fun day!

We spent a week in Virgina Beach with Jacob's Mom's side of the family. His Grandma turned 90 and we all celebrated together at a house right on the ocean. And by all, I mean all 23 of us. We woke up one morning and just all happen to be wearing the same thing, so figured we would take some pictures. The great grand kids. Well 2 of them and then a strange "dinosaur girl" that was walking by. After pictures were done the camera just keep clicking and caught some precious moments... slowly things starting to get a little funny... Please notice E in the bottom right corner... and then it got a little silly.... And then just plain strange... Many of these pictures were taken by Sara (Jacob's sister) and I just want to give credit. (Plus if I don't she wont share anymore with me.)

So nothing says family time like a family vacation, and family time with Jacob's side of the family is always a good time. There were lots of fun outings. Abby's new behavior management technique, which I am planning to adopt. We ate and then ate some more. The sisters (apparently eating plastic flowers....) Charlie loved E (Jodi's 3 year old). Charlie and MeMe The "shark" is actually Jacob's aunt Bodil, don't ask... she is Danish. We had a "family Olympics" with some rather nontraditional events. This was the gold medal winning sandcastle that Jacob created, we are mermaids... I know stunning. Then the Wii events began with some pretty fierce competition coming out of grandma However Julie won the Gold with her blazing bowling ball Doubles tennis... The "fear factor" event with all of the worst tasting food that Becky could find in China. There was vomit on the back porch before the night was over. After a crazy water polo match, i...

Charlie loved the beach. Her love ran about 1% because of the water and 99% for the sand... the exact opposite of myself, who would happily cover the entire coast line with an asphalt parking lot. (Yeah I said it... sorry turtles) A week later and I am still finding sand in stuff. Below is a picture of the amazing house that we stayed in while at Virginia Beach. It was incredible to have a house right there so that we could play for 20 minutes and then get out of the sun for a while until we were ready to go back. Some pictures of Charlie playing on the beach... (She thought she was hilarious.) Thank you Great Grandma for letting us celebrate your 90th birthday with you. We had an amazing time, and will remember it forever, well... Jacob and I will... Charlie wont... but not cause she didn't have a great time.

Cale turned 2 and we got to go to his birthday/pool luau. (This is Cale and his daddy, Happy Birthday Cale!!) Charlie and her daddy (obviously having a terrible time) So how many more years do you think that Charlie will find it funny when her Daddy does this at her friends birthday parties? I give it 1 more year, tops.

So for the month of July I got to experience a new category. Working Single Mom. As I menti oned in the previous post Jacob was in LA, from July 1st-August 2nd for graduate school. Leaving Charlie, and me in humid St. Louis for a full month. Everyone asked how I was doing, with few exceptions I always said that "we were fine" or "we're making it- just eating a lot of ice cream..." and I truly believed it. What is the alternative? You really don't have one when you have a hungry, tired, two year old looking at you. You have to be fine. I simply did what most good German's do when they are overwhelmed, I put my head down and didn't think about it. Even if you look at my blog postings you would think "they're fine- just eating a lot of ice cream." Then he got back... and I had a luxury I didn't have last month. Courage to process. I processed the fact that had to raise and potty train a feisty 2 year old while working 40 hou...