We had so much fun with all of our friends - We are so blessed to have such great people around us to hang with. The water was a little cold due to our unusual cooler weather (high of only 82 I think yesterday - awesome!) but Aaron still had fun swimming.
The hat took a LITTLE getting used to at first - for about 5 minutes Aaron was doing everything he could to try to get it off =)
It was a lot of fun to be all together and I try to not take those times for granted. Kristin, Julie, and I were so close growing up and we always express out loud that we hope our own kids will grow up enjoying their "cousin" time together too! =) 
As young as they are, it is exciting to see that it's beginning to happen.... Noah is turning two, but he still likes to jump down on the floor with "Ah-nin" and give him a few pointers on how to crawl better. =) (Thanks for the pictures Julie!)
We had two of our college students, David and Megan, over for dinner tonight and it was an extra special time. David is off to boot camp for the Army tomorrow and after he is there for 9 weeks, he will return briefly to AZ to marry Megan, then head to Georgia for flight school. They have been an awesome part of our college ministry and we are going to miss them terribly.... David's older brother, Sean, was deployed to Iraq also this week (who incidentally is married to Megan's older sister =) ) so with all these "kids" leaving, it has made the coming Memorial Day a little more sentimental to us. It reminds me to not take the sacrifices of our soldiers and their families for granted and more importantly, to be in constant prayer for them and their safe return....
Aaron really took off with feeding himself this week and it is SO NICE! Just to put Cheerios or other little bits of food on his high chair tray so he can eat and keep himself occupied makes meal time more peaceful. He's very proud of himself and will often clap in between bites to make sure we continue to demonstrate our excitement for him....
I think Aaron is looking forward to the day when he can mow the lawn..... He always stands at the window and watches the whole time. And since the high today is supposed to be 108 degrees, I know Lee is looking forward to it. Isn't that why most people have kids anyway? To have people to hand-off those mundane chores too? =) And try to not be jealous of our huge backyard. We get lost back there all the time and it is such a pain....
Aaron really loved it and I know we are going to have a lot of fun in the pool this summer!
Side note - check out the waterfall my dad decided to whip up alongside their pool in just a few back-to-back weekends.... Yeah.... He did every lick of it by himself! I'm always amazed by the things he makes and puts together.
Since Aaron was born with a full head of hair that never fell out, haircuts have been a necessary evil for us.... I don't really enjoy doing it myself and I rarely like the outcome, but I'm too cheap (at least at this point) to take him somewhere. Anyway, Lee surprised me this morning and took him out for a "real" haircut at a barber - he said it would be part of my mother's day present. Which I thought was a pretty good idea because now I don't have to feel guilty for spending the money or fuss with doing it myself =) Anyway, they did a good job, but his bangs are so straight and even that I can't help but think about Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber...
Do you see what I mean?
She and I had a great time running and didn't do too shabby! I was able to run it in about 42 minutes and I was pleased with that time for the short amount of time that I had trained. "Coach" Lee and Katie's husband, Joel, were also there to cheer us on and support us and we had a lot of fun hanging out with them all evening.... (Aaron stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Fox for the evening) Since Lee and Joel are pastors, this is a huge sacrifice to stay out late on a Saturday night - we must be very loved! =) 
Not to over-spiritualize things, but as I was running, I was reflecting on a few things that I hadn't thought about for a long time and I was so grateful for God's faithfulness. Some of you know that after my labor and "push-time" with Aaron, I had some paralysis in my left leg to the point where I couldn't walk or stand on it. I can't tell you how scary it was for Lee and I to not have any answers for a few days as many doctors and specialists came and went running tests trying to figure out what was wrong - We had a new baby to care for and I couldn't even get up to change him or carry him. I ended up being diagnosed with a rare condition called "Bilateral Postpartum Femoral Neuropathy" (Whew - you can click on the link to read a wordy medical article on this syndrome if you are into that sort of thing =) ) Anyway, the nerves in my leg gradually healed over the next few months (mountain biking definitely helped speed up the process) and I am totally back to normal. I know that God would not be any LESS faithful had my leg never healed, but it was such a blessing to me to run on two good and strong legs last night and thank Him for that wonderful gift.
And for all of you Aaron lovers that really only read this to hear about him, I threw in a random pic for you. Incidently, we found out this week that he is mildly anemic so now he is on a daily iron supplement - which I hear can do interesting things for the digestive system, so I'm definitely thrilled to be on the receiving end of that, no pun intended.... =)
