Summer fun

Hello!

I've been busy, but not much to show for it.

We took our family trip to Yellowstone. It was awesome. There's so much to see and do; there's no way we could see it all in one trip. Guess we will need to go again in a few years, when toddler can walk more on his own.

And of course, souvenirs are awesome. I found just the right ones! A matching necklace and earrings. The design is called Sunburst, but I thought they looked more like snowflakes and similar to my Celtic knots. Yellowstone gets plenty of snow and sunshine! And they make me smile, and more anxious to make a snowflake quilt.

Pretty keepsake Christmas tree ornament, too.

Next up: we celebrated J.'s birthday late because of our trip.

I'm pretty proud of my craftiness and cake decorating. Simple chocolate cake mix, chocolate frosting, crushed Oreo cookies to make a racetrack, frosting outlines of the Start/Finish line, and a Lightning McQueen candle to win the race.

Next up, we are finally convincing the boys that riding bikes is fun and getting them to practice. Our church building's parking lot is a great place to practice.

Whee!

First fireworks that we have set off as a family. We had to do it a few days before July 4, since my husband had to be on shift. We invited my brothers-in-law and had a great time. I'm so glad my boys love playing with their uncles. Even my toddler feels safe and comfortable in the face of something loud and new, when he's being held by his uncles.

S. likes to have the noise-reduction earmuffs on. They make it easier for him to enjoy movies in the theater, loud events, loud fireworks, and even the noise in the lunchroom at school. These are earmuffs that we bought at Cabelas, rated for noise protection when practicing on a gun-range. People with autism often have hyper-sensitivity to noise, light, and other senses. Each autistic person and each family with autism, learns what helps them to cope and adapt and also enjoy participating in the world that is often overwhelming.

So far, it's been fun. And the summer isn't over yet!