A bun, a monk-me and a bum.

Young Michael is full of words, but they aren't all correct. Selflishly, we hate to see the pronunciation begin to improve and relish the days he says, "Bun" for bug; "Bum" for gum; "Monk-me" for monkey; and "Bee-ah (sounds like beer)" for bear.

Elena is knee-deep in soccer this year and seems to love it so much more than she ever did before. I hope it's an ongoing trend, as it would be such a nice sport for her to continue. She also wants to do the El Dorado Theatre Academy soon, so we're keeping our eyes open for the audition date. She's busy with birthday parties and is very excited for her own. Invitations just went out and they are amazing, if I do say so myself. The party plans are almost complete and we are all looking forward to her big day.

Daddy is busy running and running...and running these days. We find him insane, but are awfully proud of the commitment. His first marathon is November 6th, but he has several other races in the coming weeks. We also just received HUGE news that he was awarded a full ride scholarship to University of Phoenix for a MBA in Energy Management (Green Technology). He competed and was chosen for this $30k opportunity. It's going to be a long road (since I need to get my Master's Degree after he does), but we're hoping we can manage it!

And lastly, Mommy got the promotion she's been waiting to receive for a very long time. Last Friday, the 'scream heard 'round the world' rang in our home and my boss/friend, Keri surprised me by assembling 'my people' at the Purple Place to celebrate. She went all out with cake, balloons, a shirt I've been coveting and a huge bar bill she never should have paid. Regardless, I was very touched and I will remember it forever. I am thrilled and scared and grateful.

What a year we've had so far with gifts like we could never have imagined. The biggest gifts, of course, remain the two young Grohs kids.