This week at our house

 Saige Grace turned into an 8 month old!  In the process, she became much more difficult to photograph!

 She loves her siblings, but has a special attachment to Mallory and Harper!  She loves to squeal at them.

 Saige has 4 teeth now, and is starting to be a little bit mobile, although she doesn't like to be put down long enough to go very far!  She does a wonderful job of hanging out at the ballpark, and she likes to play with spoons and spatulas while we are working in the concession stand!  She is such a joy! 

 And a goof!  She makes some really funny faces! 

 Cameron's mentor stopped by to let him know that because of the pretty extreme dry conditions, he should probably resume feeding the bees.  This time, however, he is not supposed to put the feeder on top of the hive, but several feet away so they can forage for it.  Apparently, if they are unable to find nectar they will rob the other hives of honey. At least that is what I understood.  He did check the hives too, and they seem to be making honey, and this year he knows what to look for!  He is pretty excited!

 This week was also the last week in the regular season for summer ball.  Preston had a nice triple at his game this week.  Jim will probably not be in agreement, but I think although we have had fun, we are all about ready for the season to end.  I know I am there!  We now have 2 weeks of tournament play and we are finished. 

 We did find a few minutes to relax this week, but they were few and far between.  Summer is definitely not a time of relaxation around here!  But I really do believe we are all having fun (for the most part). 

Colin and Cameron are playing together on a ball team, and I have to admit that it is fun to watch them.  This week, I had a few moments of anxiety as they put Colin in as pitcher and Cam as catcher.  I was afraid this would start a family brawl and rather than playing ball, Cam would storm the pitcher's mound and they would have a wrestling match!  This was anxiety for no reason, as they both played really well.  Colin pitched a couple of years ago, in one game - he proceeded to hit 4 batters in a row and stood out on the mound and laughed (because when you are Colin, EVERYTHING is funny).  This year, he is really pitching well.  He seems to have found his groove!  He has been firing strikes and not hitting batters so we are happy!   Cam has been playing quite a bit at catcher, and I must say I have never seen a kid who is willing to sacrifice his body more!  Diving into runners makes him extremely happy - momma is nervous about broken bones etc, but he sure is having fun!

We also made a second trek to the DMV this week.  Colin did not pass his written test (again) and was visibly upset with himself so I didn't complain too loudly.  At least the wait was not as long.  Madison learned that she ALREADY had a less restricted license and could drive anywhere she wants between the hours of 5 am and 9 pm.  Once she has held this for 6 months if she has no traffic violations, she has her full license.  So basically, she could have been driving herself shopping, and she was a little upset that she didn't know it!  Like we have had time for her to run shopping!  As of August 9, she is free....and freedom is sweet!  This has caused her a great deal  of joy, and Jim and I a little bit of mixed emotion.  On one hand, it is fabulous to have another driver in the family, on the other hand, letting your baby go is not easy!  The first thing she did once she realized she was no longer restricted to work, school and farm errands was take herself and Mallory to Topeka.  :)  Knot in my stomach, but she made it safely, and I know that had she not driven safely, Mallory would have been sure to let me know!!  Mallory is planning to try to drive with the DMV people when we take Colin back to try to pass his written test in a couple of weeks.  This time however, Colin promises to study from the book rather than on some ap he downloaded on his ipod!!  :)