Remember those pictures from a year ago??  It’s amazing how things change in 12 short months!  Here is the Six Pack in a more recent picture from earlier this summer…

Wow, where is the summer going and why is it in such a hurry to get here??  I can’t believe it is already July 4th Weekend…and I can’t believe that due to the Texas droughts I am actually wondering if we’ll get to see any fireworks at all on America’s birthday!!  Even though we skipped spring and flew right into the dog days of summer – we have already hit triple digits more than 20 times – it still feels like summer just arrived and it’s almost over.  That’s right, it has been hot, hot, hot in Austin, Texas this year and the heat will not be letting up anytime soon.  All of the big area fireworks shows have been canceled, the fireworks have been pulled from the shelves at the local stores and stands, and there is a major media push to keep people from lighting up this holiday weekend.  It’s kind of a bummer, but we’ll figure out a way to make some memories in spite of the less than festive spirit!

As usual we have kept really, really busy this summer and it’s been a great one so far!  It all started with a family trip up to Denton for Casey’s parents’ annual Memorial Day Party and it hasn’t slowed down yet.  The kids did GREAT on the trip up to Denton…it was our most enjoyable, relaxing trip yet since the quints burst onto the scene and we are really excited that we seem to have turned a corner with the difficulty of family road trips.  They did not fuss much while on the road, they took good naps and slept well overnight, and they were much easier to handle at our parents’ non-baby-proofed homes.  What a welcome change from the last few trips up north!!

In the last few weeks, Casey has started taking the quints out with her individually to run errands, grocery shop, and other things like that…oh my gosh, the LOVE it!!!  It’s pretty hilarious to see how excited they get when it is their turn to go with mama to the grocery store!  As for me, I was able to sneak Britton out for a little outing to catch some indoor soccer action and we also took Jack with us one night to check out one of my remodel projects followed by a short dinner out. It’s a lot of fun to take the gang out individually and we’ve also been venturing out more as a family – to church (yes, finally!), to run quick errands, and we just got home today from our first family trip to Rudy’s Barbecue in a long, long time…it was awesome!!  The kids are so well-behaved when we go out which is great, of course, but we honestly think it is because they do not get the chance to be out as often as other kids.  Every little outing for them is a grand adventure!!! :)

Eliot has been bouncing from day camp to day camp and has more on the way.  She’s been to Vacation Bible School, gymnastics camp, and Mobile Loaves and Fishes camp…the girl is definitely spoiled!  And when she hasn’t been day-camping, she has been a little social butterfly, fluttering from play date to play date in an endless cycle of friends, fun, and summer sun.  And the fun isn’t going to stop anytime soon – she turns seven in just a couple of weeks and you know we’ve got a big day planned for our little girl!

And in between all of these activities we’ve found time to celebrate our anniversary, enjoy a fabulous father’s day, and squeeze in a whirlwind, less-than-24-hour visit from one of my Iowa cousins and her four kids…whew!!  Casey and I celebrated 12 years of marriage with a day-date thanks to a little help from our volunteer family and it was awesome!  We took the day to enjoy some of the little things that we do not get to do since the kids came along – like running errands, shopping for shoes and swimsuits together, and having lunch where we could just sit there, order food for only ourselves, not feed anyone or yell at anyone or clean anyone up or stop to change a diaper or…maybe I’ll stop now…yes, it’s the little things from our former lives that we miss the most!  The family of course made me feel extra special on Father’s Day with hand-made cards and lots of pampering, gotta love it as always!  And the visit from Deandra and her kids was short but super-sweet…thanks for making the effort, Deandra!!

Well it has been a fab summer so far for the Fab Five and the supporting cast here in the Jones house and we’re looking forward to much more summer fun over the next couple of months.  We hope that all of you are enjoying yourselves as much as we are!  Happy Fourth of July, everybody!!!

P.S.  Sadly, we still have no word from TLC on the future of “Quints By Surprise,” but we’re told that things are looking more positive than they were a few weeks ago.  We hope to send more episodes your way soon!!

God bless,

Ethan