We've had a great summer and I can hardly believe that it has already come to an end!  Every summer, I find myself in awe of how fast our time off goes by.  After school let out, we spent a week up at my sister's hanging by the pool.  Then, we headed to my Mom and Dad's for the 4th of July.  Every year, we go to the 4th of July Parade in Brandermill and then go to a baseball game there in Richmond.  This year, after the game, they let the kids go out and run the bases.  The boys had a blast doing this and I was surprised how quickly they were able to run since it was almost 10 pm by the time the game was over!  Here is a picture of them getting ready to 'round first base:

After the 4th of July, we headed back up to my sister's house to house/dog/cat sit while they were on vacation.  I was worried about the boys being bored since the girls weren't there, but they really had a blast.  By the second day, Daniel finally went into the pool with just his floaties (no ring) and this made Jacob really happy since now he had someone to play with in the pool.

Just two best friends, hanging by the pool.

I still think Jacob's favorite part of the week was taking care of the cat and dogs.  The poor boy needs a dog like you wouldn't believe, but he's not getting one!  I loved being around animals again, but it was also a reminder of how much cleaning you have to do when you have them.  Jacob will have to do with just visiting animals for now.

After we came back from my sister's, Jacob came down with what I first thought was just another case of strep throat.  Nope, it was MONO!  And let me just say: It. Was. Horrible.  He just laid around for a week and took naps.  His glands were so swollen that they had to put him on steroids because he was having trouble breathing and swallowing.  Here are a few pictures of just how swollen his neck got:

I cannot believe he found the strength to smile for this picture.  He really was quite a sad sight.

By the time we were done surviving mono, it was almost time for our week at the beach and then for school to start.  Those posts are coming soon!  I hope everyone had an amazing summer and that it didn't fly by as fast as ours did.