i would. would you?

Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. 

 ~Jean Paul Richter

It has been a very long time since I last posted about the goings on in the Weir household!  We have been "busy" enjoying the last few weeks of summer before school starts again for me and the pool closes.  We are sad to see summer end, BUT we are so grateful for the beautiful weather we "Missourians" have been experiencing recently.  At the moment I am sitting at the kitchen table while Aaron relaxes on the couch after a full work weekend, the windows are wide open, the air-conditioning is off, and Brutus is curled up on the kitchen rug.  Feeling very lucky for the two wonderful boys in my life.

Brutus has recently experienced, for the first time and many times after, the joys of the dog park.  Although New Town offers lots of green space and the lake front, we were excited to take Brutus somewhere to run free with lots of pup friends to play with.  Needless to say he LOVES it and makes a new friend or two (or three or four) every time we go.  He does get tired and on the way home likes to cozy up to the air conditioning vents.

He really is one spoiled pup.  I think being home with Mommy so much during the day makes him think he can sleep on my side of the bed.  He tends to curl up on my pillows most every night before moving to his crate.  Aaron thinks he is becoming a "Momma's boy," but I think he is just jealous I have more time with him during the day.  Around 4 o'clock every afternoon (an hour before Aaron even gets home) he starts getting antsy and excited for Daddy's return.  He may be a Momma's boy during the day, but he can't get enough of Daddy once he gets back from work.

A few weeks ago, before their vacation to California and Disneyland, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Rachel and Ally.  I believe I blogged about that visit previously, but I think these two princesses deserved some time on my blog.  After all, they did beat me in Pretty Pretty Princess and are soon going to share all their Disneyland adventures with myself and Aaron.  They are the cutest cousins around and I certainly have enjoyed all the family time I have gotten this summer with all the members of my family.

Speaking of family time, my wonderful parents invited me to attend my first Cardinal's game of the season with them and it was a blast!  We had wonderful seats in the Champions Club and the view was unbelievable.

As usual, my Mom kept score and my Dad watched intently as the Cards kicked the Astros butts!

Here's Tad's impression of my Mom during the game.

This one's for you honey:)  The Cardinals really played well and hit quite a few home runs.  I certainly had never been to a game with that many fireworks before.

Tad and I had some excellent bonding time.  The Champions Club seats included food and drink as part of the ticket price so we chowed down on quite a few hot dogs and plates of nachos.

I love my brother and I loved sharing another great game with him.  After all, it was after a game with him that Aaron and I met so it is nostalgic being at the Ball Park with him.

Mommy-Daughter picture.  My momma looks stunning:)

The love birds at their first game together in the new stadium.

My Daddy sent me these next few family photos and I really love how they turned out.  This one reminds us all of a similar picture taken in Phoenix at the Diamondback's Stadium, minus Cassie of course.

Silly!

I am definitely going to miss my handsome brother this year while he is away at school.  Despite our arguements, we have an amazing brother-sister relationship.  I am one lucky sister.

And then it was time to begin the birthday celebrations!  Trey was first with his BIG 16th birthday.  His cake was delicious (thank you Coldstone Creamery) and we were excited to hear about his driving skills.

The whole family was there, even Dawn and the boys all the way from Connecticut, and we had a wonderful time.  My parents were the only two not in attendance due to a pre-planned trip to Houston for my Dad's sister's birthday celebration.

Trey marking his golf balls for his next golf outing.

James and Curtis!  We were so excited to have you in St. Louis.  Aaron and I were especially grateful for the time they spent with Brutus.  He adored them.

My hubby and I.  We had just come from some relaxing time in the pool.  Sweet summertime. 

Sydney made some yummy brownies as a special treat for her brother.

And Cassie lit the birthday candles.

Even sweet Powder wanted in on the action.

It was a wonderful party and we enjoyed sitting at the "adult" table for the first and possibly only time in the near future.  Thanks to Tommy and Susie for the wonderful time and Happy 16th Birthday Trey!

Brutus was very sad he didn't get to attend the party.  He did enjoy the special bone he got to chew on once we got home.  Look at those chicken legs.

I attempted a from-scratch recipe for brownies the following week as a treat for my hubby.  They turned out pretty well.  I think he wasn't used to the sweetness of the melted chocolate so we took some to the neighbor boys as a back-to-school treat later in the week.

Brutus got to go on a shopping trip to Petsmart and showed off his shopping skills in the bargain bin.  He was spoiled with a few toys and treats, even though the reason we went was to find a crate pad.

Thursday during the day while Aaron was at work Charlotte Kulma came over for some babysitting time.  She had fun with Brutus.  In the picture above he is showing off his new ball.

She showed me a few new games I should have downloaded ages ago on my Iphone.  She even colored in a picture.

After lunch they chilled out together on the couch and watched Tangled.  A great movie for a beautiful princess and a scoundrel to watch together.

Brutus had lots of visitors that week, our niece Jordan even came to see him and have a sleepover.

She loves to give him kisses.  He has gotten to be a very sweet and calm pup with kids.  Just two days ago a little girl, no older than a year, fed him a cracker right out of her hand.  Whoever said boxers were stinkers didn't know our sweet boy.

Here he is helping her into her chair for breakfast.

Brutus and Daddy love to ride in the car.  Here we are on our way to the dog park.

Brutus likes to ride shotgun.

But he does check on the other passengers often.

And sometimes he forgets which way is forward.

Just checking the scenery from a different angle. (SO CUTE!)

He really has gotten big and soon I think we will need a doggy seat belt for our big boy.

Brutus and Daddy.  Best buddies forever.  

I think all of that driving and playing and driving wore both of the boys out.

It was nearing time for my birthday and I was hoping for a special visit as a gift.  I finally found out, a few days before, that Julie Grisham was, in fact, coming for a visit.  We booked her train tickets and she arrived two days before my birthday.  We had a wonderful time!  She got to meet Brutus, her adopted godpuppy, and also got to see our townhouse for the first time.  

I have to say her visit was the best gift I could have received.  After the wedding it has been ages since I have spent time with her and I had truly missed her company.  She is one of those rare and wonderful friends who is never a stranger, no matter how long since your last meeting. Julie is funny, extremely intelligent, and was a wonderful roommate during my last two years at Roosevelt.  I wish we lived closer so we could have FLOAM time more often and so that on those bleary Sundays I could clean her room for her and watch Sense & Sensibility with.  Thank you to my husband for making it possible for her to come and thank you also to my wonderful friend for the gift of her visit.

We did not waste the time she was here either.  We drove Aaron to work EARLY Friday morning and then went for a tour of the Botanical Gardens.  We had lunch, went shopping, you know, the stuff gals do:)  It was so much fun and we laughed all day.

After arriving home we got all gussied up for my birthday dinner and outing.  We decided against a bunch of driving and ate at a restaurant in New Town called Padavans.  Thank goodness we chose the lazy route because it was delicious.

Julie, in true "dining" fashion, chose the Surf & Turf and a delicious Dragonberry Cocktail that tasted of Strawberry Starbust.

My hubby stuck with his gut and got a bacon cheeseburger topped with onion rings.  (I tried it, trust me, guys know what they are talking about when they say you can't go wrong with a burger.)

And I got to wear my new birthday dress from Anthropologie, a gift from my wonderful husband.

Thanks to some dramatic eye shadows and a little glitter we were ready to go to the Q, a bar and dance club downtown St. Charles.  This is a rarity for myself and Aaron so we had no idea what to expect.

Julie, up to no good as we like it, gave us a little preview.

And showed us her expression of the evening, Troll style.

But some big puppydog eyes were watching us begging us to stay home.

He was watching Julie like a hawk.

So Daddy took the initiative and started a short training session.  Brutus has mastered sit, stay, down, come, paw, and lay (a precursor to roll over.)  He is a very smart pup.

Some love from Daddy.

Working on "lay."

Overall the evening was a resounding success.  We danced our hearts out and the new neighbors, Abby & Jeff, and Aaron's new co-worker Sam came out to celebrate.  We showed our age and stayed just until midnight so we could ring in my birthday and then go to bed.  We were all tuckered out.

On my birthday, per request via myself, we went to the dog park with Brutus and he met two adult boxers and they became fast friends.

It was adorable to see him surrounded by his same breed.  They got along so well.  Brutus was overwhelmed with excitement.

They even showed him their toy, which proved to be very popular.

All tired out after a full half hour of "straight playtime," as my husband would say.  He had a wonderful time.

That evening, my actual birthday night, we went over to my parent's for pizza to celebrate family being in town and the many birthdays of the month.  We were a little late for the party, our afternoon pool time went a little long, but we didn't miss out on the food or the fun.

Penny was happy to see us.  She was glad Brutus came over to take Marley off her hands for a bit.

This was about all I saw of Brutus most of the evening.  I was chatting with Grandmama and Dawn while he was playing with Curtis, James, and Aaron.

Julie was re-united with Cassie.  They attempted to play a Quidditch board game, but were unsuccessful due to the lack of game pieces.

After the party, which ended in a blur, we came back to New Town for some down time and then went to bed.  Julie was staying two extra days so we didn't have to cram anything in.  We spent the next two days playing with Brutus and spending time at the pool.  Julie went back to Chicago without a hitch and life returned to normal.

After so many weeks of non-stop action we were ready for a "normal, quiet" week.

Even Brutus was tired.  He found a new spot in the back seat of the car to cuddle up in during one of our car trips.

But he was back to his usual self in no time.  This is what happens when your dog gets too comfortable playing with the neighbor dog's toys.  He makes a mess!

That following week we tried to rest and recover from so much business.  I got organized for school, Aaron worked a Costco roadshow for Better Life, and we spent some time with my family.  I was very sad to have Tad go back to school for his Junior year.  I will miss him very much, but we will both be busy with school so Thanksgiving should be a great reunion.

Aaron will be celebrating his 29th birthday on the 23rd, before which I may not blog, so I wanted to add a picture of his favorite type of birthday dessert.  I know that a year older is no longer a celebration of the birthday itself, but of the past year's joys and the hope for the joys of the next one.  I am grateful to the Lord for another year and for the many loves, blessings, and joys I have received and will continue to receive.

Have a wonderful week!  I know I will be soaking up every last minute before the madness of another semester of Master's classes begins.