WOW! This last month has flown by! We have been extremely busy trying to get the house ready to move in by July 31st. I feel like the kiddos have been deprived of having summer fun as we are always headed to the store or meeting someone at the house. All the work and stress will definitely be worth it in the end. During this time, Gracie has turned 7 months and is definitely out of the infant stage. She's eating solids, sitting up, and scooting everywhere she needs/wants to go. I can't wait to show her her new nursery!

The Grothaus Gals: Gracie (December), Catarina (December), and Stella Rose (February).

We are officially home buyers! We found out today that they accepted our last offer! Somebody pinch me! We also found out that we will be getting our money back from the bank. God has been very good to us today! The boys celebrated by taking a dip in their pool. Wal-Mart had this pool for $30. I thought the boys would really enjoy it, but I thought I'd just get them a little plasic one instead. Well, I saw in the Shopper that Menard's had the same pool for $14.99! I took their add in to Wal-Mart and got it for the sale price! Yippee! The boys played in it non-stop for over an hour! After getting out, the neighbor kids wanted to come over and play. This is the first time since we've lived here, which figures since we're now moving! They had a lot of fun together! We ended the wonderful day by enjoying a walk in Carthage and some Tipp 'n Necker's at Brian and Tonja's!

Aiden is showing Gavin how to catch tad poles.

Gavin's turn!

Ok, so we're still negotiating today! I was a complete basket-case all day! We had to sign our lives away as we raised our first verbal offer and got it in writing. While on the phone with our bank trying to get a loan, Clint comes home to tell me we've had someone taking money out of our account from an ATM in New York. They had racked up $700 before the bank noticed the suspicious transactions. Clint and I had no clue since I had recently paid bills. Apparently they had somehow acquired our PIN, so the bank said we are not getting our money back. While dealing with the home, the loan, and the ATM issue I also had a bbq to plan! We had our friends, Chad and Tara, over along with their kiddos. Thanks to mom and Clint, they helped me out with the cooking as I was way behind! We had a great visit with the Campbell's and the kiddos played together very well! Let's hope for some good news in the morning!

Poor Gracie! Mommy never did get to making that strawberry-lemonade!

The boys helped mommy sweep off the deck!

Nope, not much eating going on here!

The kiddos tackling their dads!

Today turned out to be quite a day for us! We headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather! The boys spent a majority of their time fishing and playing with the hose. Gavin was bound and determined to get Gunner soaked. Gunner put up a good fight but was defeated in the end. Of course, Gavin did want the act to be reciprocated! After naps, we enjoyed a little more time outside before leaving to go look at a couple of homes. We recently found out the home we are renting will be put on the market. Due to the location and size of the back yard, we are not interested in buying it. The first home we looked at sat on 1.5 acres and was in pretty good shape inside. Clint and I were pretty sure we would be making an offer on it. We went to the second home and were hooked! The lot isn't nearly as big, but the back yard is fenced in and the home is a lot more open inside. We thought it would be perfect with a few cosmetic changes. We put in an offer and have to wait until the morning to see what happens! I'm sure I will get little shut-eye tonight!

Enjoying a little watermelon with Mimi and celebrating finding a home!

We had to make an early morning trip to Wal-Mart for a few supplies we couldn't do without. Gavin sat on the bread in the cart on the way out and smashed about 1/4 of the loaf. I made some comment about having to feed the smushed bread to the ducks. Wouldn't you know as we headed over the bridge, he remembered this and told me I went past the ducks. He was so heartbroken that I made a U-turn at the end of the bridge and went back. They had quite a group to feed today! Once we returned home, Gavin found a toad swimming in our fish pond in the back. He went and got Daddy's net and captured it. He put it in his bug box, but Daddy told him he had to put it back in the water or it would die. I gurantee the first thing he asks about tomorrow morning will be the toad!

Sometimes they get a little too close for comfort!

Gunner never throws his bread very far so they always come really close to him. YIKES!

He seems to really know what he is doing!

It almost gets away, but Gavin snatches it up with his hands!

Who knew the Bumbo would make such a great accessory!

Today was hot and rainy! The boys enjoyed their first pop-ice of the summer! Gavin got quite frustrated with his and informed me he just like popsicles instead. As we were enjoying our treat, it started to rain. I set the boys on their chairs and Gracie in the stroller so they could watch and listen to the rain from the garage. Gunner decided he was tired of sitting and ventured out into the cold rain. It even started to hail a bit one time, so I had to go out after him. He's such a funny little fella!

Gunner wants me to put the piece in his right hand back in the package!

Just before he figures out that you have to keep pushing the ice up to be able to get to it!


Wishing the rain away!

He loves Gavin's bike right now! He can't peddle, he just pushes with his feet. It looks incredibly uncomfortable to me!

This is when I had to rescue him from the hail!

It starts raining a little harder and begins to startle him!