Where has the time gone?
It would be impossible to catch up on all the fun things we did over the past month, so I'll just post some of my favorite pictures and recap quickly!

Swimming days...I think Owen spends more time fooling around outside of the water than actually in it, but he has a blast, so I guess that's what counts! He loves goggles and tries to locate them whenever we get near a pool.

Lebanon Fair...balloons, freebies, chicken BBQ, time with family...what more could a kid ask for? "Papa, look! Rides" was not out of his mouth more than 5 seconds before his "softie" Papa had tickets for he and his cousins to ride.

Aves and Grandma

Owen's cousin Cortney showed cows at the fair, so she let him lead the cow around the arena. He loved it and thought he was big stuff. He was officially Cort's shadow the rest of the night!

Aves and Cortney

Feeding the goats at the fair

Aquaman

We celebrated a bunch of birthdays in the Hostetter family one evening at a pool. Owen had fun with his cousins and then had a sleepover at Papa and Grandma's house.

Note: They did have a big pool...this was the better picture :-)

We have been taking advantage of all the great summer foods...corn on the cob, tons of fresh fruit and all those other seasonal favorites! I've been making many batches of baby food and starting to get the freezer stocked with all our favorite things that will be out of season soon!

Thanks to Papa Hostetter for all the corn!

Owen got to go see his first movie in a theater this summer. The Palmyra Cinema showed FREE kids movies every Tuesday, so we went to The VeggieTales Movie in June and Owen got to pick a friend to take to Madagascar last week. They were mesmerized the whole time...except when they were dancing and singing, "I like to move it, move it!"

Love those eyes!

Aves started eating rice cereal a couple weeks ago and just this week started eating sweet potatoes. Every time she eats, she eats like it's her last meal...oh, the noises she makes! I continually crack up at the show she puts on!

Last week we went to Lake Tobias. I had not been there since elementary school and didn't remember what an amazing place it actually is...and so close! I literally could say, "Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my!" Plus they had zebras, deer, monkeys, bison, and a petting zoo that made Owen's whole week! We went on the safari ride and fed lots of animals. I did warn Ryan that the next time we saw deer while driving, it probably won't be so enthralling for Owen because he has now fed deer out of his hand.

My favorite picture of the day...typical Owen!

Owen thought it was so much fun to feed all the BIG animals...when he wasn't trying to eat the food himself. I caught him several times giving a bite to an animal, then taking one himself. Oh brother!

Friends

Smooches through the fence...with Aunt Joelle's favorite little monkey!

Feeding the sheep

This experience may have ruined hunting for Owen later on...if this didn't, Bambi will definitely put him over the edge! ( I know, poor Ryan!)

These camels were so amazing close-up...Owen was not interested in getting too close, because they were "cary". (Scary)

Buds

Yea! We're finally nearing the end of potty training! Those who said to wait it out until they are ready...amazing! It is SO TRUE! Just this week (after many weeks of Me begin interested in getting him potty trained and him not being at all interested) he all of a sudden told me that he wanted to wear his big boy underwear (that were previously too "cary" to wear because sometimes they got all wet and that is very "cary") and go on the potty. The other major help in this situation was letting him stand to pee. (This is some serious journalism at work here, I know!) Amazing the difference! He actually takes initiative himself most of the time and goes, does his business and only needs me for the Skittle he gets afterwards! So, I'm officially not buying anymore diapers! (Ok, for a second I forgot I had a 6 month old who is shockingly not potty trained yet...so I change that to not buying anymore diapers for Owen and by the way, Pull-ups do not count as diapers!) One funny story (funny since our wall is still intact) The other day while I was cooking, Owen said he had to go, so I heard him putting the little seat on the potty and figured he must have to go #2. After a few minutes I heard him grunting and groaning and thought to myself. What a good little boy! In there all by himself, like such a big boy! I have to go take a peek. When I peeked around the corner, he was doing pull-ups on the towel rack and his knees were tucked under him like a real pro! Amazingly enough, the towel bar wasn't ripped off the wall.

And last but not least, Happy Be-lated birthday to Marc. This was his cake and for those who don't know. D.C. United is a professional soccer team. (They play against David Beckham's team, the LA Galaxy, and I know all the ladies know who he is!)

That's it for now...it's taken me a week to get this done...until next time!