Summer Part 2

Our annual 4th of July bash at Uncle T's and Aunt K's was fun as usual. The parade is a fan favorite and we come home with tons and tons of candy! The kids decorated ice cream buckets again this year! 

our van is pretty full these days

The kids spent the night with Uncle T and Aunt K and had a little cousin time with a trip to the zoo and well just plain ole fun!

Our besties from up north got to spend the day with us. Jen taught me how to french braid! Wow I now feel like I can be a girl mom. Its not beautiful or perfect but i love loose braids so I kinda can't wait till Ells learns so she could braid mine!

This pretty much sums up the rest of the summer. Lots of pool, parks, playing outside, celebrating birthdays and day to day craziness...

dad learning to drive the mower

a soccer lesson before camp - that sod got replaced yuck! 

a trip to daylight donuts

missing teeth

celebrating the big 8 on the 18th

naps

birthday party with friends

The big jr. golf tournament - shadd tied for first and ells got second in the club championship - take after their daddy!

an afternoon sewing project! 

an adventure on the trail with all 5

diving for rings

 We owe the entire fun summer to this special lady - jess! Our nanny! My helper! I wouldn't have been able to do anything this summer without her! She was a huge blessing to us! She drove these guys around all over, did swimming lessons for them all, played with them, babysat, cleaned, laundry,  you name it she did it! Best idea to have help and made it so much more fun for all of us!

date day with shadd - glow golf and donuts

Date day with Ells - shopping at Target and out to Pancheros for lunch

best carwash ever

 D and I led games at vbs - we had a cute crew

celebrating z turning two

lots of olympic watching

A fun day with our friends from high school. The boys had fun chatting about the good ole glory days and playing golf. Our kids played til late that night! 

The life in Frama and Papa's hot pool

 And enjoying the pool with our cousins

 Mr M and Mr. L - they both have double initials so funny!

haircuts

Big back to school bash with some of our besties. We got lots of kiddos so we are thankful for our annual christmas party! Its much less stressful and rejuvenating 

Family bike rides - now that Sage can ride without training wheels. I'm sure my others had an entire post on this but well I gotta get caught up somehow. Took really a couple days and some balance practice and once he got it he has loved it!

And family night at the track - in true olympic fashion, right? They've actually been begging to go back!

Adventureland

We hit up Adventureland (or as mine call it Disneyland (haha) with all our cousins. Yep 11 of us with my sis and sis in law. My parents and my dad's parents. Fun yes. Crowded. Yes. Hot. Yes. A little bit much - maybe!

We tend to think anything and everything is possible so we do crazy things mostly! And then hash them out only to do it wrong again the following year! Oh well.

They had a blast! And that is all that matters!!

      
   
  

And this is how we ended the day

Laz: 1 month

So I'm so behind on the blog and since the kiddos are back in school and well right now everyone is napping I should catch us up but wow I have a ways to go.

This little dude is actually 2.5 months old as I'm typing this so I hope to remember what he was like as he turned one month! 

Well he is growing. He was back at birth weight at his 1 week appt. Whew. I weigh him often thanks to that scare with Shaddy. 

Sleep: He loves to lay on the couch - supervised and on his belly for naps - although his spit up is doing a number on my favorite spots so it didn't last long. He sleeps four hour chunks and in our room which is kind of a nursery as Z is still in the crib. He is burrito wrapped and loves the bassinet we borrowed from friends, which i finally figured out how to keep it from rocking. 

Thankfully daddy is a great sleeper and doesn't mind rocking if I need his help in the night. Feeding well he isn't quite as equipped for that! 

Eating: He is a quick eater. Bout 10 -15 minutes. He is a real big burper. And also quite spitty. I carry and shout for a burp rag quite often. He nurses every three typically.

He loves to be carried or on his belly. Other than that he really isn't too big of a fan of the swing, bouncy or the mama roo. He loves my wrap and I carry him a good chunk of the day! 

Our lives have changed drastically once again but it is worth every second of the chaos and stares (yes, people stare a lot) Some days I question what we were thinking. Why have another baby? Another child to clothe, feed, love, pour energy into, drive around, race to activities for - but I am reminded that they are a gift from the Lord. And each one is an arrow. One of my quiver full. That I am responsible for grooming and shaping with the help of the Lord to ultimately be used fully by Him for His glory!  Wow! That is worth every stare, comment or moment of pure craziness in the world!