Rachel's Baby Blessing

The main reason we went to Utah- despite my extremely pregnant state- was to be at Rachel's baby blessing. Isn't she the sweetest little poof!! We were so grateful we got the chance to be there for the event. Thanks to all the family that took such good care of us while we were there in Utah- We love you ALL! It also made that week of my pregnancy pass by really fast!

Find the sun and have some FUN!

I wish we could bottle up some of this golden sunshine and send it back to our friends in WA. It feels so good to have warmth on your face when outdoors instead of wondering if you should put on a sweater. The kids played in the water outside for hours in Utah and I never heard anyone say they were cold. We'll be missing our family and the beautiful sunshine when we head back up to WA in a couple days.

Tractor Ridin'

After I take a bunch of pictures on a trip I like to go back and review them and weed out the duplicates. I almost deleted one of these photos while doing this because it looked so similar to the other, until I realized the tractor driver had changed. Uncle J gave each of the kids a turn with him mowing the lawn and of course the boys loved it. Anything with wheels and an engine seems to always be a guy-pleaser.

Hogle Zoo Trip

We haven't been to the zoo in ages, so the kids really enjoyed a trip with their cousins to Hogle Zoo. I was lovin' the spray misters they had at various points in the zoo. I felt like I could've camped out in front of one of those until I was due.

Meeting Rachel

We love to meet new cousins! And crazy pregnant ladies will travel for hours in the car to see their sweet nieces and nephews. I thought it was well worth the trip for all the fun family memories we got to make.

Lite Brite Kitty

Put a new lightbulb or battery in an old toy and your kids will "rediscover" how much they like it. I've been trying to leave out fun toys for them to play with more often this summer so I can avoid hearing the dreaded "there's nothing to do" complaint. Although I'm often tempted to say- oh, I'll give you something to do (then assign them an odious household chore).

Run Run Run!!!

All the kids and Jeremy ran the mile for the local Whaling Days race (James ran a kids dash). They did a fantastic job. Carter and Madison both finished fourth in their age categories. Madison had her best mile time ever- 7 minutes 10 seconds! My kids enjoy being speedy- they've all been training since just after they could walk.

Swim Lessons for the James Fish

James has been taking his first swimming lessons on the base with a classfull of cute girls- lucky boy! He can't completely swim on his own yet, but he's getting closer and closer. He couldn't take any lessons last summer because he had a skin problem going on and couldn't swim in public pools, so we're a bit behind in his swim skills... but he loves the water so he'll catch up eventually.

Girls Camp Adventures

Madison and I had tons of fun at girls camp this year. It was her second year going and my first year since I was 13. I got to be a cabin mom with my friend Thelesa and our cabin was the totally radical "Ninja Turtles". The theme for camp was YW- Heros in Christ and it was a great experience for the girls. The leaders put in so much effort to make camp a spiritual and fun experience for the girls and I'd say it was a huge success in both ways- at least for the wonderful girls and YCL's we had in our cabin.
I'm so glad Madison wanted me to go to camp with her- I loved it! Oh and a big big big thank you to Jill, Cori, Lisa, and Cindy who helped watch my boys while Jeremy was at work so I could go to camp with my Madison.