Rose Reunion in WA

We managed to fly our whole family out to Washington for the fourth of July! James was coming with his whole family from GA so we planned our visit for the same time. The hot weather made for more downtime inside that we would have liked but overall I think it was my favorite visit to date. Maybe because my kids are getting older and a little easier each day, but it was a really lovely time.

Our first big day was the fourth. Bonnie and I participated in the fun run/walk that the South Hill Stake put on that morning. It was lovely to get some quality time with her as that time would be limited due to our kids still needing so much of our time and attention. It was fun to just have an hour to chat while we enjoyed the gorgeous morning. The Stake served a potluck breakfast after the run which everyone met us for. Then from there we drove all the way out to Fort Worden which is a good two hour drive. Not just the two hours, but we made stops along the way. We were underprepared as far as food and water goes but managed to keep our kids' blood sugar balanced enough to get through the long day. We spent time exploring the fort, then let the kids run wild on the beach. It was breezy with some big waves but the sun was beating down hard giving Justin and Jon sunburns. On our way home we hit BBQ Pete's (Jon's favorite) and stopped at Steilacoom Park for the rest of the evening. It was HOT but honestly such a good day. I loved being on the beach and the good family time at the park. We managed to watch some neighborhood fireworks before getting the kids off to bed, and then while the ensuing bangs and pops of fireworks continued that evening we watched The Sicario with Jon and Laura per Keaton's recommendation.

The next day we were originally going to do a day trip to Seattle but the group was pretty wiped out from the big day previously. We met up at a park in the morning and had a mostly low-key day. After lunch we took the kids to Tacoma to see the newest Despicable Me movie. I loved getting to to go the movies with the kids for their first time and it was fun to get movie theater snacks, but the movie was quite painful and the theater was hot. Thankfully I had a great book on my phone so I just read until it was over. We treated the kids to ice cream and headed home. Saturday was our last day and unfortunately it was supposed to be hot. Collectively the group decided to stay indoors considering we had family pictures scheduled for that night and we didn't want to set us up for failure by exhausting everyone. We mostly hung out at Jon's, played games, played video games, etc. Family pictures went really well and the kids got to finally play at the park when they were finished. We scrambled that night to get kids to bed and get packed up for our early flight the next morning. It was a whirlwind week but my kids loved being with their cousins, and about five minutes after we got home Emmett said, "Mom, can we go to Grandma's house?" as if it didn't just take us 7 hours to get home. Thankfully they will be back soon for Emmett's baptism.

Aside from our trip, I took Emmett to Idaho Falls this week just the two of us and got him a suit for his big day. It was fun to have the day just the two of us. We ate lunch where he wanted to go, and overall I tried to make it a special outing with Mom. He was a good sport as I was able to shop for some home décor and then of course, our Costco and Winco shopping. He was a great helper.

I noticed poor Beckham's toe was swollen so I took him to the clinic and sure enough they had to operate on his ingrown toenail. He didn't know what was coming so it wasn't so bad, just the obvious part at the beginning with the lidocaine shot. But once he was numb he was totally calm in my arms while the doc did all the rest of it. He has been handling the post-op really well. It was honestly nothing compared to Emmett's tongue tie release at the same age so after that trauma I feel pretty steeled to handle this kinda stuff. 

That's a basic July update for now. I'm absolutely loving summer and already getting excited to start our homeschool year this September with both kids. I hosted a homeschool mom night with whoever wanted to come and share their favorite curriculum and co-op activity ideas. I hope to get a successful, consistent group going this time around.

Sometimes I look at these boys and can't believe I made and birthed them all. They are my greatest blessing.

June Update

 A June update in mid-July? It must be a crazy summer over here!

I have to just say that right now my kids are at such a sweet spot. Beckham is SO sweet. This kid is pure joy and we are soaking up every moment with him. He gives sweet kisses, he just wants to be one of the big kids soooo badly. He tells us "I love you," at bedtime and often tells his brothers "You being bad boy!" He is everything good and wonderful you can imagine about being three.

Colby has been trying to grow up on us! He does not want to sit in his high chair anymore and insists on sitting himself at the counter with the big kids. He's still so messy as he figures out how to properly feed himself but he's getting there! His talking has exploded as of late with his newest phrase "I don't want to!" He'll also tell you "No way!" and .... notice none of these are the sweet "I love you"s that I'm looking forward to...one day! He will tell you "please" and "thank you," ask for his "dada" which is his sleep sack that he's completely attached to. He can be found to come up to you with his thumb in his mouth and his other hand holding his sleep sack and lay his head on your shoulder: translation: put me to bed! He does this at nap time too - it's so cute.

Logan dominated in soccer this June. He scored every game and most of the time it was multiple goals. He really got after it which was so fun to see. Emmett wasn't too keen on scoring but loved when he got to play goalie. He never let a goal get past him on his turn at goalie! At other positions he could be found catching grasshoppers and encouraging his teammates to do the same - that is until his mom got after him to pay attention and get after it! We are looking forward to his 8th birthday coming up where we'll mark the milestone of him being baptized. I feel confident in what he's been taught about being baptized and hope it can be a good experience for him.

As far as what we all did in June - the biggest thing was camping at Redfish lake with our besties the Pences! I was nervous that camping might be stressful and we'd get on each other's nerves but it doesn't appear that three days and two nights was enough time to get to that point. Chelsie and Blake are exactly our cup of tea - super chill and willing to just hang out. Our kids had a great full day at the lake our second day, and Blake even helped our kids take a turn at fishing. Logan caught the ugliest fish you've ever seen but it was so exciting we didn't even care! It was a highlight of our summer so far, for sure.

We also spent some time doing a couple of day trips: silverwood preserve near Carey offered a fun hiking trail around a meandering stream we had never been to before. Another time we hit Pass Creek for a picnic and exploring. The big kids found several fossils without any of my help - they are becoming little geologists! 

I finished off June with a baby shower for Brynn over in Boise. I hung out with Mitzi for the weekend which was a fun getaway just for me. I took the kids with me to a mutual activity where we swam at Jensen's pond. The kids watched me go down the zipline but were still too little and scared to do it themselves. That was a fun night to get away with them.

Unfortunately since I'm blogging this in July I'm sure I'm missing details of our summer but that's all I can say for June. We are at a wonderful stage with our kids but it is also a LOT of work. So much so that it's tough to even find an hour to write a post about the week. One day when I look back on these posts I'll see few posts that are far between but I hope to read between the space that it was a hectic, full time full of messes and fighting but I truly feel in my guts that this is a special time for our family that I absolutely cherish.

Memorial Weekend we kicked off summer with a hike through Silverwood Preserve and came home to have the Nielsen's over for a patriotic treat and fire.

Our neighbor went crazy shooting off his automatic weapons after and incident at his house. Apparently he turned his gun on an EMT person and the whole surrounding SWAT, police, etc got involved. We watched the SWAT car pull in and order him to surrender via megaphone. The kids were ready to protect us with their toy guns.

Cheering on the brothers at their soccer games.

I showed the kids how to make a necklace just like I used to do when I was a kid.

Scoops ice cream after Pass Creek

Beckham turned THREE in June! I took these pictures the Sunday before his birthday. My goodness he is so dang cute and so much joy.

Naked boys and mud...I wonder when this will get old?

Challis Hot Springs swimming with friends.

Birthday boy opening presents.

So. many. grasshoppers.

Probably the last time he'll fall asleep on me!

Happy Father's Day to this guy! I found a fly fishing mug in Picabo that reminded me of Grandpa eating his bread and milk so I bought it and gifted it to Dad on this day. I definitely see the resemblance in our picture.

We finished off June with pavlova! Delicious!

Snuggles with this boy when I got back from Boise.

More cheering on the brothers at soccer

Jensen's pond

Colby insisting on eating at the counter with the big kids.

Redfish time! Easily the highlight of my summer so far.