July Part II: Everyone Needs an Uncle Paul

Later in July we had a special treat - a visit from my brother Paul and his kids Morgan, Connor and Riley. I hadn't seen them in about 3 years, and this was the first time Hannah would actually remember meeting her uncle and cousins. We missed having Paul's wife Sara for the visit. Hopefully we'll be seeing them all for Christmas this year (hint, hint!). :) Paul is closest to me in age, and though we have two older siblings, much of my childhood was spent with just him. Watching him play with the kids in the pool reminded me of being launched across the swimming pool by my brother, and I just had to smile at the full circle those adventures have made.

We'll start off with my single most favorite photo of the summer:

                                          

Pure glee. There are no other words.

This is the position Ethan usually assumes when uncles are in the pool.

This is the face Hannah inspires in most people.

Lessons in bravery . . .

Another sweet moment.

Tandem cannon balls.

 Pizza in a hammock. Can you think of a better way to spend a July afternoon?

We also celebrated the 10th and 11th birthdays of Zach and Morgan, and my sister Amy made this fabulous Harry Potter cake, complete with sorting hat, golden snitch, glasses and monster book.

Love their faces while we're singing to them. Let the embarrassed phase begin. :)

This was my gift to Zach, it's called a Loopz Game, and a really funny video advertisement can be found here. So naturally, Uncle Paul the Pianist had more fun with it than anyone. I think he did this for a solid half hour. I kind of want to post video of it too, but I've had such a hard time loading photos that it sounds like a daunting task (anyone else finding blogger slow and cumbersome with uploading photos? Tips, please?)

Those were our happy times in July. I'm on a roll, so help me stay motivated and tell me your favorite memories from this past summer!