i just noticed that rowan's picture on the side of my blog here is a little outdated... he looks so different now, but i can't stand to remove that one!! i'll leave it there until his second birthday.

rowan and micah are awesome little swimmers! i really need to take some pictures and video of them swimming before the summer is over, and post them here and on facebook. i'm pretending it hasn't happened, but the huge memory chip for our digital camera has been misplaced (i'm not pointing any fingers, but rowan was the last one seen playing with the downloading component) and all i have are two really small ones that only hold about 15 pictures each. i have no idea how much memory chips cost. we may be buying a new one later this month, because we cannot find the old one. sigh...

tonight i did some reorganizing of the hallway linen closet and the medicine cabinet in the full bathroom. there was tons of stuff in the medicine cabinet that we don't use regularly, and it was taking up too much space - it's a pretty shallow cabinet. and the linen closet was not arranged in a way that made sense. so i waited until the kids were asleep tonight, and went after it. it's fun to get organized, especially in a new house. sometimes i still feel very unsettled... mainly because the kids' playroom has no storage or organization in it at all yet, because i haven't bought the stuff i want from target or IKEA, and the computer room shelves are all still mainly empty, and what is on them is just clutter that's been put there temporarily. i can't wait until those two rooms are finished, then i'll really feel like we've unpacked and moved in completely.

a couple of weeks ago we planted some pink periwinkles and some blue daze in the little flower bed by the front porch. it looks so neat and pretty! i'm so proud of our yard and our little house. i cannot wait until we have a swingset in the backyard for the kids. i'm hoping to get that by spring, so we can be out there playing and enjoying the gorgeous weather.

i have finally decided to start reading the harry potter books. it's ridiculous, i know, but i've never read a single one of them. my dad, brother, sister, and grandfather have all read them and are huge fans of the series. i just always reach for my crime dramas when i get a chance to sit down and read.

micah's cousin, sydney, is coming over to play with us tomorrow while my aunt susan attends some meetings at work. sydney's staying with susan and my uncle, tony, for a week and a half before school starts for her up in oklahoma where she lives with her mom, my cousin julie, and her dad, stephen. sydney and micah get along really well together, even though syd is 5 years older. my aunt's dropping her off at 8 AM, right as lina gets here too, so i am going to have my hands full tomorrow! i told myself i'd go to bed before midnight, so i better keep my word...