Oh, it's a WHALE of a tale!

Auggie picked up another sign over the past week or so. He's been signing "whale." He gets so excited when he signs it that it takes me and Tim a little bit to figure out what he's signing. Can you guess why he signs it so much? That's right... Finding Nemo! He's learned how to say "Nemo" so now he comes up to one of us with the DVD, signs fish and says "Nemo." I am so happy with his communication skills!

Monday, Jessica invited us down to Brenham to visit Blue Bell and to go swimming at the pool down the road. We had a great day! Laci, Ben and Auggie had fun chasing each other around. The tour around Blue Bell was very cool. I was surprised it was only $5 for adults and $3 for kids 6-14. If you love their ice cream, it's definitely something to go see. You even get a free scoop of ice cream at the end of the tour! We went to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center afterward. Auggie wanted to run around like he has in the past when we're at the pool but he had fun. He slept all the way home and then some when we got home. The aquatic center had lots of things to keep the kids entertained- slides, basketball goal, playground outside of the pool and an obstacle course over the water. We had lunch with Jessica, Ben and Laci and then we went our separate ways... That cranky period of time when it should be nap time but they're not sleeping was coming very fast! Auggie was asleep by the time we left Brenham city limits, so I had a very quiet drive home.

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First Row: Mommy, Auggie and Blue Bell the cow; Laci, Ben & Auggie
Second Row: The kids wouldn't stand still!; Ben and Laci with their ice cream
Third Row: Laci, Ben and Auggie with an old ice cream truck; Auggie wanted to ride Blue Bell
Fourth Row: (cultivated) Blue Bells planted in their flower beds; Ben, Laci and Auggie

Over the weekend, we drove up to Krum to celebrate Zoe's first birthday! I can't believe she's already one. She had a great birthday (aside from plumbing issues Jamie and Zach had to deal with). It looked like she wasn't too sure what to think about all the people and being the center of attention but she dealt with it all great! She liked her new toys and loved standing up and sitting in her Cracker Barrel rocking chair from her Gramma & Grampa and her aunts and uncles on the Rigby side.

We went to another birthday party the last weekend in July. It was for our friend's son, Cinco. He had his party at PowerSports- a gymnastics place in town. The kids had a blast playing on the balance beams, inflatable obstacle course, trampoline runway, foam pit and bouncy floors. Auggie liked crawling up the inflatable slide a lot! I didn't think he'd actually be able to get all the way up but he made it... and I had to make an incredible drive to catch him when he tried sliding down the ladder part.  Tim and I thought about having Auggie's 2nd birthday party there but figured a park would be better.

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First Row: Kids playing; Auggie and Daddy at PowerSports
Second Row: Zoe's first smash cake; Auggie hitting the piñata
Third Row: Auggie taking a break; Sliding down the slide at PowerSports
Fourth Row: Zoe and Jamie checking out a present; Zoe posing