Highlights from the Haskins: Where Did July Go?

I can't believe it's already August. I was looking through my pictures from July and thought I might post a few pictures.

Pie Eating Contest

Our church had a special BBQ the Sunday after the 4th of July which also included a pie eating contest. I remember entering a pie eating contest when I was in high school and actually won so I figured I might do okay in this contest. Boy, is it a wake up call when you realize you can't do the things you used to do when you were younger. My energy and enthusiasm was still the same, but my stomach was not. I didn't eat any of the food at the BBQ so that I would have enough room for the pie, but even still, the pie was just too big for me to handle. I obviously didn't win, although I gave it a valiant effort. My first mistake was in diving face-first into my pie. As a result, I got so much pie up my nose that I had a hard time breathing. My second mistake was to fill my mouth up with so much pie that I could barely swallow (a very difficult thing to do when you can't breathe through your nose or mouth because you've got so much pie stuck in all the holes ;-) All-in-all I still had fun but I'm not sure I'll enter the contest next year (maybe if it were a smaller pie, I might still try?...). I guess there are some things you have to leave to youth and realize our limitations as we grow older.

4th of July

We took Elijah over to Uncle Justin and Auntie Jessica's house for the 4th of July. They live near Central Park in Santa Clara where they do a huge firework show every year. Elijah really enjoyed all the bright colors and spectacular flashes. However, after the first 5 minutes or so, we soon realized the booming was a bit too much for tender ears and so Jerod took him back home so we wouldn't do any permanent damage. It was very sweet of Jerod to let me stay and watch the fireworks because they are one of my most favorite things about the 4th of July. Last year I was sorely disappointed when I thought I could watch the fireworks from Great America at our house, but they had set them off a day early. We tried driving to another fireworks sh

ow only to miss it entirely. I was so frustrated that I hadn't properly planned to see fireworks last year and missed everything, that I was determined to see a good show this year. My sweet husband took care of Eli so I wouldn't miss out on anything again - thank you so much Jerod.

Visit to the Preschool

We stopped by the preschool where Jerod used to work at because so many people there really love to see Elijah and catch up on how we're doing. We took Elijah around to see the different classrooms and even sat him down at one of the tables. Even though he's only 10 months old, he already looks like he's ready to start school.

Falling Asleep While Eating

These days Elijah is so active and busy all the time that he just wears his little body out. Here he just conked out at his high chair.

Celebrating Owen's Birthday

Last week we got together with my siblings and their kids (all except my youngest brother Jonathan who was at a high school summer camp) and celebrated my nephew's first birthday. It was great to be with family again but it didn't feel exactly the same without Jonathan. I also didn't realize how loud everything can get these days with three youngsters running around getting into everything. I'm looking forward to the day when they are all old enough we can just say, "Go outside and play" so that the adults can have a decent conversation. But for now, it's super fun to watch them interact and play with each other. Cole tries to flatten Owen and Elijah by laying on top of them and Elijah tries to "pat" Owen's head which ends up more like hitting because his exuberance gets the better of him. Poor Owen doesn't really retaliate and is therefore the brunt of both Cole and Elijah's bullying. Aren't boys just great?