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Phoebe really is such a good dog. She’s tiny but unlike most little dogs get isn’t nippy and she’s really great with kids. Don’t believe me? Here she is with my two year old nephew Jordan.

Jordan: “Come here Phoebe! Cuddle me!”

Squishy puppy! Her face is kind of says ::sigh:: really?!

Joel said he thought Jordan was trying to perform the Vulcan mind meld on her. We do call him Jordie after all. Don’t worry, I made sure he didn’t actually put his fingers in her eyes.

This was the last picture I took. She was ready to get down but there was no growling or lip curling. She was totally resigned to the cuddles and pulling.

Seriously I don’t know how I ended up with such a great dog. There are a lot of things I’m worried about when I think about having my own kids. Whether or not Phoebe will get along with the babies however, isn’t one of them.

I love that sweet little girl.

My sister turned 20 the other day so today we had her over for a mini birthday celebration. We hung out together and cooked (!) while the boys took advantage of the indoor basketball court. I actually had such a great time cooking. Normally it’s pretty boring for me which is why I don’t do it as often as I should. Between all the chatting and laughing we didn’t have time to feel bored at all. Guess I need to work on getting a sister wife to move in with us.

The domesticating was followed by a quicker than planned dip in the pool. We would have stayed longer but it was too cold for us girls to jump in so we were getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. I guess that’s what we get for being wussy about the cold, huh? The boy had an absolute blast though.

Anthony didn’t like actually swimming. However, he inched his way along the entire circumference of the pool and thought it was the best thing ever. Silly buddy.

Be still my heart. Seriously, this picture makes me swoon. He’s going to be an amazing daddy someday. For now, he’s the world’s best uncle.

After we tired the boys out and donated at least a pint of blood to the local mosquito population we headed back inside for dessert. A traditional birthday celebration would have cake but my family rarely does anything the normal way. Naomi requested my fruit pizza. Who am I to say no? Especially when it’s to something so delicious.

Beautiful birthday girl and the birthday pizza.

Naomi with her men. I think the boys were kind of cheesed out by this point. They just wanted to nom on the pizza.Who can blame them?

It wasn’t anything fancy but it was full of lots of laugh and love. Being part of a huge family is the best because it never goes too long before there’s another birthday to celebrate. Any excuse to get together and eat yummy food? I’ll take it.

One of my very favorite summer activities is going to the county fair. I guess I’m a Hoosier girl at heart. I was born there after all.

Anyway, since we have season tickets to Six Flags we didn’t care to do any rides this year. We planned to go last Sunday but Joel wasn’t feeling well. Since it was the second to last day most of the animals had already gone home (or been sold for burgers). We did get to see llamas though.

That meant that this year, it was all about the fried goodness. Joel and I have pretty healthy diets normally. At the fair? All that goes out the window. Joel was super excited to try fried Oreos (video here) for the first time. I was all about getting the classic elephant ear.

Love my family, love my dog, love my life. It was a good, good day.

Today we went to the fair out in Indiana. Joel’s putting together a video for me that I’ll post later. For tonight I’ll just leave you with this teaser.

Anthony couldn’t have been more excited to hold the python. Afterward he kept telling people “I got to pet the snake. I was very brave.”

I know that someday soon I need to write about my time in The Netherlands as an au pair. I mean, I did but that was my very first blog and honestly not that great. You probably don’t want to sort through the ramblings and broken pictures. I will write about it soon, really. Not today though.

For now, all you need to know is I was an au pair for my Dutch family and I love them. What caused me to think about going to The Netherlands was the World Cup game, but what convinced me was the idea of seeing my family again. I arrived Saturday morning (thankfully very well rested because of my first class seat) and had all day to visit with them. It was fantastic.

This is my sweet Caroline. She has a bit of a flair for the dramatic…

and an obsession with my iPhone. As you can see, Timo thinks it’s pretty nifty as well.

Lekker ijs.

If you’ve never had a stroopwafel, I’m sorry. So delicious. In ice cream? Even better.

Timo, Morten and Caroline. I can’t believe how big they’ve all gotten. They were only 1, 3, and 5 when I first met them. Now they’re 7, 9 and 11. Ah!

While strolling around Rotterdam we came across these flower arrangements.

I told you the Dutch grew fond of vuvuzelas.

That evening we headed over to my second favorite Dutch family’s home. There I got to make homemade sushi for the first time. Despite being very labor intensive it was fun and allowed for some nice conversation.

It was also quite yummy.

Sisters, Ineke and Thea.

What a little ham. I actually traveled to Romania when Thea and her family were living there to help her out with her other kids when Abel was born. He’s five now. Eesh!

I can’t even express how much this family means to me or how amazing they are. As stressful as the trips back and forth to the airport were, I really was lucky to get some extra time with them. It ended up being almost a week which was really a big treat.

With all the visiting I did, plus the stories, video clips and pictures from the game, my time in Holland will have to be broken into parts. Look for part two tomorrow!