And then it was July...

I swear, it was like I woke up this morning and June was gone. And half of July. What happened? This summer is slipping away so quickly!

Quick recap: June was a quiet month. It included a trip to Arizona for Ryan:


a Kenny Loggins concert for me, and a serious sense of "old" for both of us as we celebrated our nephew Matthew’s 16th birthday.

July has been somewhat quiet so far as well. July 4th weekend included a visit from Mom and Dad P, and since then, its just been mostly new house stuff. Well, actually, we did have some excitement in the form of a basement slowly filling with water coming from the fireplace. It was a sight to see, water from a fireplace – very yin/yang. We were lucky – there was no damage to anything and only had to throw out a few little things that got in the path of the water. Ryan did some investigating, found the cause of the flood, fixed it, and we’ve been dry ever since.

Speaking of house stuff, here’s the story on the new house: We’re very close to having the prints completed – just a few small changes left to go. We’re gathering estimates and quotes like crazy, and although it’s a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun.

Anyway, here are some pics from the past month:

Mama, Liz, Annabelle and I stumbled upon this scene in the backyard and decided it was the Lamest Parade Ever. Really cute guys, but no music. No horses or elephants either. They could have at least thrown candy!


In all seriousness, the boys were trying to tow one tractor/lawnmower with another. All went well - until the rope broke. Don't worry boys, Annabelle knows when her assistance is needed.


Last weekend, we sat down with Walter and Papa before dinner at Mama and Papa’s to go over the prints.


Note: when planning a house, it is important to:

Talk to people who have done it before.
Hire trusted sub-contractors
Be flexible.
Drink beer.


If beer isn’t available, wine will do. Right, Walter?



After dinner, Walter's daughter (and Elzbieta's sister! Shoutout to our Seattle siblings!) Danuta brought her son Tomasz over to play with Annabelle. Annabelle knows a cute boy when she sees one and wastes no time grabbing his hand.




Ok, thats it for now. I have some images of the prints that I'm going to post later this weekend, for those of you that have heard about this house but would like to see what the beast may someday look like. Stay tuned!