At the end of July we bought a washer. Ours decided to break, and no amount of fixing was able to fix it.
Kate looked super adorable with her "glass slippers" and matching headband for church. She insisted on a picture. I was happy to oblige. Also, I was really sick and skipping church that day. I got a nasty cold that lasted for like 3 weeks. Yuck. Apparently, coughing + pregnancy = vomit.
Nate and Gray after church. They were lying the exact same way while watching a soccer game, but then moved when I went to take a picture.
That is a good look for you, Babe.
Snack time! On this particular occasion I killed two birds with one snack. We had graham cracker and cream cheese fruit pizzas, and since the kids assembled the goods themselves, it took a long time. Snack? Check. Time consuming activity? Check. Win.
Colin's letters. He was very proud and asked for a picture. Since this was the first time he had shown any interest in letters other than C-O-L-I-N, I was happy to oblige. Now he loves writing everything. Thanks two days of kindergarten!
Carn. We froze corn. I'm sure it will be appreciated in the months to come. It's still too soon for me to be excited about it though. (The corn comes from my neighbors' corn patch. I pay $20 and get 2 loooong rows of corn to care for/harvest. It's a great deal. My neighbors are great.)
Playing in the sprinklers. With PVC pipe. And some old yogurt containers.
Colin and Gray were asleep, so Kate got to have some special Kate and Mom Time. She requested having her nails painted. She's such a girl. I didn't even have any nail polish for her. I had to borrow some from my sister. This is Kate's happy face.
Gray getting all up in my grill. (Do people still say that? I'm old.)
Another trip to the splash pad! The kids still love it, but it is getting to be less and less fun for me as I get more and more large.
Felt monsters! Someday my kids will appreciate these more. I cut all the shapes out free hand, just trying to come up with something monster-y. There are tons of eyes/mouths/teeth/etc. We've played with them a couple of times. I think I have the most fun with them.
Birthday Doughnuts! I've started surprising the kids in the morning on their birthdays with doughnuts. It's not a real breakfast, but it sure is fun. After all these birthdays it starting to not be much of a surprise anymore.
Gray with his birthday balloon featuring Mouse.
My mom tied it to the back of his pants so he couldn't lose it.
I made Gray a Lego cake. It was not pleasant to frost. I guess I should have just bucked up and made some buttercream so it would look nice. But it was hot and I was tired and no one eats these cakes anyway, so Western Family crap frosting it was. Oh well. Gray knew what it was supposed to be.
I guess someone does eat the cake. (Not Hannah though.) Gray looks like he just devoured a Smurf.
The day after Gray's birthdays is our anniversary. My sister/MIL watched the kids and Nate took the day off so we could hang out together. We went to the Jordan River Temple and did a session. That's the temple where we were married 9 years ago. Then we ate lunch and went to Ikea. I know, that's everybody's dream date. It's okay to be jealous. The best part was having the kids gone overnight so we could have uninterrupted sleep. I miss that.
Beans! Our garden doth overfloweth with beans. I'm consistently getting 2 of those laundry buckets heaped over when we pick, which is twice a week. Good thing MIL Tia is around to help! I wouldn't be able to do it without her. I've lost count of how many quarts we've canned. Just trust me that it is a lot.
Colin's Lego creation. His designs are getting more and more complicated. And they can do amazing things, like shoot cannons and blast off and cure cancer and whatever. I confess I have a hard time paying attention to all the special features sometimes.
I needed a shirt to wear. Mine were dirty. I was just going out to the garden. I grabbed the first shirt from Nate's side of the closet I could find. This was it. It was not a good look for me.
Gray playing happily with one of his birthday presents. He loves his "ABC's."
I have no words.
Kate used the ABC magnets from Gray's present to spell some words on the magnadoodle. She was supposed to be lying down for Quiet Time, but it was hard to be upset with her when this is what she was doing.
My brothers in-laws had a yard sale, and his daughter Maggie came to play with us for a while. Can you even see the baby in this picture? The kids adore her. And they smother her with their love.
After a little nap she was all smiles on my bed. She pretty darn cute, even if she is a carbon copy of my brother Grant.
The boys in their birthday suits.
Another harvest. I canned tomatoes yesterday. I'm not a fan. I think from now on I'll just eat them fresh thanks.
Nate's work had a company party Saturday night. It started out a little rainy, but eventually cleared up. The kids had a great time, what with the face painting and the bouncy houses/blow up toy things. I had a less fun time what with trying to force everyone to eat something and keep track of all the shoes and listen to strangers tell me about my current pregnant condition. Nate smoked like 30 pounds of pork for the occasion, and it was a big hit.
Another Sunday afternoon dress up session. Yeah, I married that. And I would do it again.
Gray looks like a pretty little gypsy.
I really liked Gray's ensemble—viking fur cape, flouncy skirt, and pink sparkly moon boots.
Kate was a cowboy princess.
Nate was a good sport.
Colin was a super photo bomber.
Kate made a great Batman.
Flynn Rider was lying around pantsless. So I helped him out and styled him in some classy hot pink culots. Did anyone else's mother make them wear culots when they were little? The kids got really mad at me for this. Apparently it's not okay for Flynn Rider to wear pink pants. Lesson learned.
The hair behind the mask is my favorite part of this picture.
