Summer time!

Summer is here...and we are LOVING it!!  Summer has a whole new meaning in our household since Kev went back to school.  He still has to work/study, but he has been so much more relaxed about it his schedule and has had more free time, which is amazing!  We decided early we wanted to spend the summer doing fun things as a family and just enjoy the time together.  I feel like so far we have been doing pretty well at this.  Our fun has included almost daily walks to the park, multiple zoo trips, a spontaneous trip to Michigan City, and a day at Silver Beach in Michigan with friends.  We have spent lots of time outside as well, which of course, Miss E will NEVER refuse.  I'm just amazed that it is already the end of June.  Slow down Summer!

The other day as we were hanging outside, I got to watch Elliott and Kev looking for bugs.

 And it made me so thankful Elliott (and Mason) have a Daddy that will do fun stuff (like look for bugs).

 Elliott thinks her Daddy is pretty cool.

 It also made me thankful for Elliott's free, independent spirit.  Yes, this spirit can drive me batty most days, but I really want to focus on the good on how God has made her.

As soon as we go outside, Elliott wants to do two things: 1) take her shoes off (if she even has them on) and 2) take her clothes off (because who really wears clothes in the backyard...hmmm, wait a minute...).  I fought it at first, but let's face it, we have WAY too many battles to face and I just decided this didn't have to be one of them.  And she totally loves it.  I kind of wonder what our neighbors think (all the houses are two stories so they can see into our backyard), but who cares, right?

E loves looking at flowers (we usually don't let her pick them but I thought it might be a good photo op).

Poop scooping time.  Elliott runs around pointing out all the poop in the yard.  She's a little obsessed.  She loves poop and bugs.  However she is a mixture of obsessed and irrationally fearful of bugs.  Not sure what to make of it.

Poop scooping is necessary with this guy.  I realized I hadn't posted a pic of him lately.  Good ol' Truman.

So needless to say, these are the days I appreciate being a grad student's wife, the perks of the "business."  Here's to trying to appreciate each and every moment.