Well, the month of August is over and it seems that Ohio took note of it. It’s as if overnight you can feel fall in the air. It’s great and we’ve really enjoyed getting out on our bikes as a family. Lydia LOVES her bike seat and Dora helmet. My tush and legs have almost gotten use to regular riding now (not quite, but close).

Quintin is more than ready for the first portion of his 3 part general exams that begin on Thursday and end somewhere in the middle to end of September. They sure know how to draw the misery on forever. But he’s been studying ALL SUMMER and I’m not worried about him passing. I’m more concerned about a full month more of stress. It will feel really great when this month is over.

If you check out our blogspot (Mel put a link over on the right side of the page) there are some updated family photos we’ve had taken. Quintin is doing a much better job of keeping up on it since he’s in front of the computer all day anyways. I’m trying to put in my two bits, but usually I just log on, enjoy his entry, and then have to run see what Lyds is up to.

Hey all juvenile/young adult book readers out there- I already asked Kim this and got some good suggestions, but I’m looking for some FAVORITES. I’m in a children’s literature book club and they want us to come with a book to recommend. I just finished “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyers and it was AWESOME. I’m waiting for the sequel but I’m #64 on the library waiting list so I’m looking for some books to keep me busy in the meantime. Right now I’m reading “Al Capone Does my Shirts” which was recommended to me by Kim who had it recommended by Eli (thanks Eli!).

Mel- I loved your idea of an all rice and bean food storage. Who wants to lug all of that flour around anyways? We actually got a good look at our 72 hr kits and food storage while we had our FHE in the basement during the tornado warning. It was a good practice for us with the sirens blaring outside to evaluate what we needed to be better prepared with. Besides realizing that we had a propane stove but no pan, we also decided that having an old pair of sneakers would help out if our flip-flops couldn’t cut it.

Lydia is a hilarious 1½ yr old. She surprises us every day with something. Yesterday she was running around the main floor yelling, “Scary dinosaur!” and giving her best growl as she chased Quintin. She loves singing and her new favorite is, “Jump, shake your booty.” I swear it only slipped out once. We just bought her Halloween costume yesterday and all I can say is, “Soooooo cute!” I think Jess will approve of this hand me down when she gets it. It’s going to be hard not having her wear it everywhere we go.

Okay, that’s probably enough for this month since there SHOULD BE A LOT OF ENTRYS (what with races in London- how did Tim do?, trips to Denmark, etc). Can’t wait to hear from you all!

Loves,

Brooke