June...Best. Month. Ever!

June was the best month.  Luke was home for the whole month, and was doing so well!  As far as we were concerned, he was cancer-free and we were well on our way to a normal life again.  Ignorance can indeed be bliss.  Having our family together again, just living our life, was amazing.  Danny was back to work, Claire was out of school, the weather was beautiful...life was good! 

One of the best things about the amazing weather was the fact that we now have an awesome backyard, and awesome neighbors!  The kids spent so much time just playing with their friends outside, which I have determined may be the greatest part of summer.

Well, maybe second only to the pool at the school!  Papa worked hard and got the pool up and running for everyone.  We so appreciate all his hard work!  Since Luke is sensitive to the sun, we waited until late afternoon one day to make our inaugural trip to the pool.  It was awesome!  

The kids loved the water, and started working on their swimming skills right away.  Claire ditched her water wings, and gave the noodles a try.  

And Sophie mastered going under water!  Way to go, Sophie!

The only thing the kids love more than swimming in Grandma and Papa's pool is taking a bath in their bathtub!  And we love that we can get them cleaned up from swimming before taking them home. :)

The last weekend in June is Syracuse Heritage Days.  We went to the carnival for the first time last year, and we loved it.  We very much looked forward to going again, but between Luke and our exhaustion and the incredibly high temperature that weekend, we never made it. :(   But we did watch the fireworks!  It's easy for us, since we can just put chairs out in Grandma and Papa's back yard.  Syracuse puts on a pretty good show, and this year's Grand Finale was pretty grand!

Luke loved the fireworks!  Things like that are so amazing to him.  We forget how little he's been exposed to.  Most of his memory consists of those small hospital rooms and our homes.  No more, little man!  The world better get ready for you, Lukey! :)

June was a great month.  Little did we know that our lives would be turned upside down in July.  But I suppose we're getting used to some significant bumps in the road.  We're getting better about enjoying the present and counting our blessings.  And we definitely count June as a blessing!