July

July has been...full. In June, I felt like nothing was happening yet the summer was racing by, and I look back at July and see how much has been going on and feel satisfied (even though we still haven't been camping, despite numerous attempts).I think living where there are cold winters and windy spring and fall makes summer feel so short, but definitely sweet. Here's a photo tour of July's happenings (except Annie's birthday, which deserves it's own post).

Sam went to VBS at church. Evan didn't get to go but got ice cream or some other treat every night because I felt bad about him being left behind.


Jeremy's aunts and uncles from Oregon and New York came to visit on short notice...we had a great lunch and they forever endeared themselves to the kids by giving them each a few dollars before they left. Something about an old Scottish tradition (which was explained to the boys but immediately forgotten in light of the excitement about being able to buy new BAKUGANS!!! (which I guess are "evil" but I didn't know it and am going to remain ignorant so that my boys can have cool little toys to play with)).

Jeremy's been having youth group at "The Tree Park" (which is really named Mountain View Park but everyone knows it as "The Tree Park" which is funny because as far as I know, ALL the parks in town have trees). The kids play ultimate frisbee, and if we come, Sam and Evan run around trying to get a piece of the action. Evan only knows one boy's name (Joey), so he runs around yelling "Joey! Throw it to me, Joey!" the whole time. Sorry, Joey.

Annie has been practicing standing and walking a few steps, which is a relief to me because I pretty much never let her outside because I don't want her eating grass, rocks, cat poop, etc. or getting her cute clothes dirty. Sorry, Annie.


Jeremy had knee surgery on an injury he got 7 years ago. He ended up having more damage than they originally thought and the doctor fractured his femur on purpose to get it to grow some scar tissue to help cushion his knee. The bad news was that he was told he has to keep it locked straight while walking, but the good news is that he's getting more use out of his (gulp) $1300 knee brace. (What the what?!)

We went to Tucson for 4th of July (and for Jeremy to have a change of scenery, moving from our couch to his parent's couch). The boys had a couple bouts of throwing up, ("That's odd, oh well," we thought) but managed to be happy and healthy on the actual 4th. We tried to go to a free patriotic concert but it was too crowded, so we went to the dinosaur McDonald's instead. The boys were disappointed (tears shot out of Samuel's eyes like a cartoon character) but we comforted them by promising fireworks at night (fireworks were banned in Flagstaff this year because of the fires).



Here we are waiting expectantly for the fireworks:

Here is Annie, not knowing what she was missing:

Here is Evan's surprise at pulling the string on a "popper" fire cracker:

Here's us thinking that the fireworks were lame and now we were blocked in by all the people parked behind us:

And here we are, being thankful that Gamma persevered and we waited...big fireworks!

The next day, Jeremy woke up SICK (puking and barfing and...other stuff), so we stayed an extra day. Evan puked in the night, so Gamma and I took care of that, and then of course, the next day when everyone else felt better to travel, I was the one who was sick. Because I wanted to get home (and because I'm the mom--'nuff said), I packed us up and headed out. I felt pukey and sleepy, sleepy finally won out and I drank a coffee and then guess what I left on the side of the road an hour later? Yeah, gross. And people were honking at me while I was doing it--nice. Jeremy couldn't drive, so I had to wipe my mouth and continue. Okay, enough of the TMI. The day was capped off with a trip to the pediatrician for Annie. Somehow we all survived.

July has been marked with me feeling nostalgic about the soon-coming end to morning views like this:


We went out for Jeremy's birthday. I wore a tank top for the first time in 20 years, I think (per Jeremy's request). Sam took the picture of us, and though he cut off Jeremy's head, he did include a view of the recycle trash can and the house we affectionately call "The Duct Tape House" across the street.

July has brought monsoons which cause crazy "white-ning and funder" which in turn causes Evan to pass out from fear (I said, "Here, hide under the cushions" and he was asleep in seconds).

Monsoons also cause double rainbows and flowers to grow like they're on steroids.


In July, I spent time with next year's MOPS leaders:

and enjoyed some outings, including Beaver Creek:


I planned a baby shower for a friend who then proceeded to have her baby the night before the shower, so we brought the shower to her:

and then still used the excuse to have a girls' night, because they don't come around that often!

I've gotten tired of cleaning Annie's high chair after every meal and I think I've come up with a new technique--I've named it "Floor Feeding" and am now trying to think of things to serve her at every meal that can just be put in her little snack holder.

July ended with more birthdays...here's the boys with tiger facepaint they got at their friend Zoe's birthday.

Happy end of July!

Not Perfect, But Really Really Good

We just got back from California (the kids and I; Jeremy spent the week at Summit Ministries' Adult Conference in Tenessee) where we visited my parents and sister. I looked forward to this trip so much before we left, and then I worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. We have so many special things we like to do while we are there and I worry that we won't have time for them all. Now that the trip is over, I can say that we didn't have time for them all, but I am learning that there is never enough time for all the things I think of doing. And it's really okay! Really! Every afternoon, I would find myself thinking, "Oh no! The day is going by too fast! The kids aren't happy at This Exact Moment! The trip is not living up to my too-high-expectations!" and then the grouchies would work themselves out and we would have wonderful evenings full of pleasant surprises and spontaneous special-ness that I hadn't even thought of. So, I realized, that the trip wasn't perfect, but it was really really good.

Kendra thought it was a good idea for us to ride "The Seal" in San Diego. It wasn't perfect, but it was...good.



This is Captain Darryl and First Mate Tyler. First Mate Tyler had an uncanny knack for making the smallest tidbit of information REALLY DRAMATIC AND EXCITING. "Do you see that building with the ORANGE roof? And see the one next to it THAT IS WHITE? And then next to that IS A PIER?! Well, around that is A WALKWAY!" It was a little exhausting to listen to, but sounded a little like a certain 5-year-old who has been known to say things like, "Now I am taking a bite WITH MY FORK! Now I am taking a DRINK of WATER!" Maybe we have discovered a future career for him. I was hoping for sports announcer, but First Mate of "The Seal" is also very noble.

Being with these ladies is always really, really, really good.

One of the grouchy afternoons was after the seal ride...it was too cold for the beach (and there were big purple jellyfish washing up on shore) and the boys were hungry and the timing was all off for dinner and swimming at the hotel, but somehow...

...apples in the pool seemed to revive the spirits. Then we had take-out Italian food by the jacuzzi...
...and then Evan jumped into the pool without us watching and was rescued by a stranger.

See? Not perfect, but really really good (phew!).

The boys listening to "Taps" being played from the Naval Base (Kendra told them it was the Navy's goodnight music)

We went to Legoland the next day. I was suprised about how much there was to do there...and yet somehow, the ratio of 2 adults to 2 kids and a baby didn't work out super great and waiting in line for rides became a little tricky (I recommend having one adult per child if you plan to go there any time soon).
Things had gotten a little crazy before we found "Duplo Land." I had been THAT mother who ran out of positive incentives for good behavior while waiting in line for a ride and had resorted to ignoring my children and pretending I wasn't with them. Duplo Land had a playground and a little train. Here is Evan, proud to ride the train but trying not to show it:

Here's Sam, trying to decide if he's too cool for the train:
Annie loved it all with unabashed exuberance. Perfect!


Here's a boy left on his own with Legos:

Here's another boy, building with Legos:

And, if you aren't getting the theme, a third boy with his Lego creation:


Evan loved this fountain that played music and shot water whenever he stood on one of the circles:

Another moment that lived up to my expectations.

We ate at my favorite place in Carlsbad. Nearly perfect. So good!

Another evening, we ate dinner on the tailgate of my dad's truck so the boys could have as much time riding bikes as possible. My dad seemed a little sheepish every time a neighbor drove by and smiled or waved.
We wanted to celebrate Annie's birthday, but a busy day and a concert in the park forced us to improvise and eat animal crackers dipped in frosting dipped in sprinkles. Really really good. Not so much the animal crackers, but the whole moment.

Something I've really come to look forward to is my semi-annual reunion with some old girlfriends from high school youth group. Here we were then:





Here we are now...with 12.5 kids between us. Getting everyone to cooperate for a picture was a challenge:




Nearly perfect!

(This one's completely perfect:)