Asli (pronounced Aas-la) is staying with us from August 15th through 24th. She is pictured with Lincoln who crawled into her lap while she was eating breakfast on Saturday. She was so touched. I had to come clean & told her that he's a "mooch" & probably wanted her food & that she didn't have to share with him if she didn't want to. It was fun to teach her a little English slang - mooch. She's going to learn a lot with this crowd :)
Greiwe's, 1/2 the David Greiwe's & the Peters for what Tiernan called "The Big Feast". Which he was so right. Katie (Brian's wife & Asli's student) & Asli both made some Turkish food (delicious!), we had sweet corn, chicken from the grill (notice the guys drooling over the grill) & lots of other stuff. It was a great afternoon - we got to swim together & then feast together. There were 8 adults & 11 kids. Chaos but great! I was thankful that everyone was so open to participating in it with us & had the ability of going with the flow. The flow of 11 kids dictated quite a bit. As T was praying before going to sleep, he said "Dear God, Thank you for the big feast. Amen." 
These were from Thursday & Friday (the 14th & 15th):
Tiernan & I found Sloan tossing Lincoln bath toys, however there was no water in the tub for him...I do need to note that the step stool Lincoln used to get into the tub, he found in my closet. Problem solving - I like it! 
My daughter, the bag lady. When she is tired she likes to rub her blanket (aka ba-be) on her cheek. Hmm... sounds vaguely familiar to my family I'm sure. Notice that in her stroller, she's taking Tigger Baby, Doggie & 2 waters for a stroll. Everyone's taken care of in case they get thirsty. Lastly, Lincoln found Sloan sitting cozily in a basket & decided to join her. From there, they sat & chatted for a good 10 minutes. Hey, I'll take it! I got some dinner prepped! 
Wednesday the 13th, we headed to Auburn for a day visit with the Heffelfinger's. For the trip up, all I heard was "Are we there yet?" "Momma, where's Auburn? Are we close?" (Mom & Dad, I'm so sorry for any of the times I've done that to you! It's no wonder someone invented the DVD player for cars... Probably a parent that drove kids around a lot.) Tiernan & Jarin took off & were joined at the hip the entire time. It was great to watch them pick up right where they left off. Of course, Lincoln wanted to run with the big dogs. He managed the ladder to the fort pretty well. Kelly & I were fairly nervous when he tried it for the 1st time. He also tried to take Jarin down. J held his own, but it still makes me laugh that Lincoln's so willing to take anyone on when wrestling. Sloan took solace in Kelly's arms when it got close to leaving time. I don't blame her. The time was too short but I'm still glad we had the time. Better to have gotten a little than none at all! 
Batman this & Batman that... Batman Batman Batman! These pictures are for Mimi & Poppa especially since they so graciously gifted the kids with their masks. I don't think they're on straight in any of the pictures! 
Oh, but it's not who you think it is.... It's Miss Dress-up Queen. Yes, Tiernan was totally preoccupied or this never would have taken place. However, since I love a good picture & knew that he wasn't looking I totally let it happen. I love the one with Lincoln talking to her. I only wish I could understand what he was saying. So... how long do you think it took for T to figure out what happened? 
Saturday the 9th, we were invited to cook-out at our friends the Greinke's. There were 10 adults & 11 kids - 8 boys & 3 girls. It was a great chance to catch up, eat lots of food, play outside & start a fire. Tiernan roasted his own marshmallow for his s'more, however was unimpressed with it. It's the marshmallow - not a fan. However, Sloan LOVED her 1st s'more (surprise surprise). As you can see Josie was looking at her like "who is this kid & why is she grunting like that?" The boys had a blast pushing the big ball around the backyard. When Lincoln wasn't running with the big dogs, he was sneaking cookies. I think I watched him shovel in 3... Hey, it's a cookout & his cheeks are just so darn cute (especially jammed full of chocolate chip cookies).
