Update: Hairdo photos!

As requested ... photos of Kelsey's curls and 'do!

Cousins Kylie and Kelsey have matching 'dos!

Cousins & ice cream

Kylie and Brendan enjoy celebratory ice cream at the Dairy King. What
a way to top off a fun championship swim meet!

So girly

Our house has been abuzz all day with talk of ponytails. If you know me, you know that I don't switch up my hair too much. In part, it's because I have this wonderfully naturally curly hair that is a huge challenge. But I also lack any creativity when it comes to hair.

Yesterday, though, I decided to put Kelsey's hair up. Her hair has really grown in as of late, so I thought it would be fun to pull the sides up into a little ponytail. Later in the day, while we were buying diapers, I shopped for girly hair accessories, too.

This has sparked quite a discussion between the boys. Brendan has asked at least four times, "But why does she have to do her hair like that? I don't get it." He's also insisted that she "doesn't look any different."

Ryan is quite fascinated by all of this. He helped pick out the hair accessories and was particularly bent out of shape today when Kelsey ditched the purple holder for a blue one, which didn't match her outfit. He likes telling Kelsey how cute she is with her hair done.

Never would I have guessed that a simple change in hairstyle would spark so much attention by ... the boys!

Summertime fun

I can hardly believe it'll be August in less than two weeks, which means four things:

1. My sweet, little Ryan will turn 4.
2. My sweet Brendan (who is not so little) will turn 7. Wow!
3. We will be in the motherland before we know it.
4. And we'll have 5 weeks of summer left before school starts.

July has been incredibly busy, but in a good way. Brendan has been attending his summer league swim team practice each morning at 9. Like last summer, I wasn't going to require he attend every practice. But I am proud to say that he has! In fact, he doesn't battle in the morning about getting ready, which is most unusual for this boy.

In addition, we are in our fourth week of swim lessons at the same pool. There's a 75-minute break between swim practice and lessons. Some days we head home, where everyone gets changed and lathered up with sunscreen. Other days we hang out at the pool and just wait. Nearly every day, we pack a lunch and stay at the pool after lessons so we can swim for an hour.

Kelsey participated in lessons for the first two-week session. Ha! "Participated" may be a slight exaggeration. She wanted to play and do her own thing. By the last day, she did actually participate, but popped out of the pool after each and every activity to tell me about it. She's quite the momma's girl these days.

Ryan is doing great in his class. He's extremely comfortable in deeper water now. His dive is looking so great! He shoots right into the water like a missile. We think he'll be ready to join the novice group on the swim team next year.

I wasn't sure Brendan would want to take lessons. In fact, he complained the first week. But after the first two-week session, he insisted on signing up for more. (In part, that's because he moved up from Level 3 to 4, then graduated to 5.) This group really focuses on stroke instruction, which is exactly what he needs. The extra practice is good!

The rest of our summer days includes playdates, bike rides and playing outside. Brendan and I just began reading "The Tales of Despereaux." Our reward when we finish -- which should be soon since Brendan is completely hooked -- will be to watch the movie. We're also finishing up "Sideways Stories from Wayside School," which was one of my childhood favorites.

This week, Brendan is attending art camp in the afternoons. I'm excited to see what he learns! We're also eagerly awaiting the arrival of cousin Kylie and Grammy. Oh my ... these girls will be on the run between numerous swim team activities this week. They'll be ready for Sunday to come, when we'll return (hopefully) to our slower pace.

Happy 4th!

4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. (This might actually surprise my family, who probably remembers sensitive little Laura sitting inside the car or house to watch fireworks. I'm not a fan of loud noises!)

I love this day because of the variety of festivities. Because it's in the middle of summer. Because we get to be patriotic and wave our flags. Mostly I love it because it's a celebration of our great country. We truly have so much to be thankful for -- elections, freedom of speech, the freedom to make choices about our life on a daily basis, clean water, a beautiful home (that far exceeds what we need to survive), the ability to pursue our dreams. What a great country!

We celebrated early this morning! Plymouth boasts its 4th of July parade as the earliest in Michigan -- a 7:30 a.m. start. Now, six years ago, our family didn't hesitate attending such an early parade. Our little guy Brendan was an early-riser as a baby. He'd be awake at 5:45 a.m., which meant we were often bored and ready to do something by 7 a.m.!

Now, life has slowed a bit. We had to set an alarm and wake all three children before 7 so we could watch the parade. The kids were a bit groggy, and Brendan protested. Yet they all enjoyed the parade -- the anticipation in wondering what's coming next, the sights and sounds, the old-fashioned cars and bikes that delight children even today. Brendan was bummed that the monster truck, a staple in this parade, was absent.

After the parade, we joined the Newman family at Panera for breakfast and shopped at the farmer's market. At the moment, I'm waiting for Kelsey to wake from her nap. Then we are off to a friend's house for a 4th of July BBQ followed shortly by a birthday party for our friend, Jackson.

Happy 4th to all and to our great country!