June

Well, hold your breath. June is always a VERY busy month for us, and this year it was no exception.

We spent a lot of time outside this month. Grandpa bought a balance bike and Jacob has LOVED riding it. I'm impressed with how well he does and how in control he is when he zips down the sidewalk.

Emily's soccer season ended. It was kind of sad because this was the last of playing with the boys in the neighborhood. Emily will switch to an all girls team next fall which will be good, but we're sad to not be with those good friends anymore.

We had a end of year family party a few days later - dinner, a little soccer, and playing at the park. It was a great season with great times. Thanks for everything Coach Cory! Long live the Fire Cheetahs!

The kids have been taking swimming lessons with some of their best friends - Aiden & Kelsey. I'm not sure if they've loved the extra play time or the actual swimming better. Both Emily & Jacob have progressed well and love the water. Their favorite is of course the diving board.

These boys are the best of friends.

Liza was very patient sitting in her stroller or playing on the grass or steps for the 6 weeks of swimming lessons. I would think it's hard to be the youngest sometimes.

Emily also took an acting class at the Children's Theater with her good friend Mollie. She did great and we loved watching her performance at the end. 

Of course I did take a few moments to snap a few random pictures of the kids 

and all the craziness that goes on around here.

Eliza's hair is SO wild in the morning. This picture just doesn't do it justice.

Best Friends! (And don't you love those lazy summer mornings!)

The poor 3rd child. After running a bunch of errands I got home and opened the van door to find Eliza like this - passed out, lunch-on-the-run crumbs all over, and Jacob's target sticker stuck to her forehead. 

 The kids just adore my brother Chris and are so excited when he comes over to play!

I think this is the best picture ever (and possibly future blackmail). Emily wasn't thrilled to find Eliza had gotten a hold of her tiara, but I just love her chubby little body and the fact that she knew exactly where to put the tiara.

I also did a wedding this month. The bride was beautiful and chose some great colors. I love how it all turned out. It's always fun when I get to do something a little different and be creative. 

And of course it wouldn't be June without all of our annual celebrations.

1. Lagoon with Jeff's work. 

(These are actually the only pictures I got because I forgot to charge the battery and my camera died. :(

I'm happy I at least was able to get Eliza on her first ride though.) 

2. Emily's birthday! Seven years old... going on 17! 

(I love how excited Jacob is about the present he gave her. Cute kid.)

 3. Father's Day and...

4. Jeff's Birthday 

Jeff is such an amazing dad. He is so good to our kids and they really just adore him. I'm so grateful to have married the perfect person. What a blessing it is to be with him. 

We joined good friends up the canyon for dinner and roasting marshmallows one night. It was also a bit of a farewell party for our dear friends, The Price's.

The Price's move away is definitely bitter sweet. All of our kids get along so well (especially Jacob & Aiden, who after playing for 12 hours straight one day still didn't want to be separated). Jessica has also become such a dear friend and I will miss her terribly.

So obviously, it's bitter because we love them so much. And it's also sweet because... well, that's a bit of a longer story. One I'll have to share in another post. I'll just end this incredibly long post by saying 

we will miss you Talmadge, Jessica, Kelsey, Aiden & Hannah! Best of luck in the golden state!

Birthday Girl!

 Our little girl is one! I can't believe how fast the year has gone and how much she's grown! Saying that adding a third kid to our family has been hard is an understatement. But I wouldn't trade her chubby cheeks, blue eyes, and dark curls for anything. She is the light of my life!

 (Heather, thank you for working on your vacation and taking such cute pictures of Eliza!)

We celebrated Eliza's actual birthday by having a picnic lunch in the backyard and swimming in the little kiddie pool. Even though Eliza freaks out with water, Emily & Jacob enjoyed the fun and the cool down on such a hot day.

Once Jeff got home we had dinner and opened presents. I think Emily & Jacob were more excited about the little people princesses than Eliza was. Oh well, she'll grow into them and hopefully the other two will let her play with them at that point.

We wrapped up the night with a round of happy birthday and a candle in her first real treat - a strawberry shake!

The next day we had another picnic - this time at Jeff's work. Well, I guess technically it was at Wheeler Farm, but it's pretty much the same thing. It was too hot to play on the playground though. The kids tried the slide ... once. And then hung out in the little 'log' in the shade till it was time to go. 

Then that Saturday we had Eliza's party with cousins & grandparents. 

The kids (and Jeff) tried out Gma Newman's new water slide for the first time...

 ...while Eliza - still afraid of any kind of water - hung out with Grandpa on the grass. 

Maybe not the best thing to do at a party for her, but she really didn't care and everyone had been dying to play on grandma's slide since they 'got it' for Christmas. 

Then we had presents....

... and cake. 

 And of course ice cream.

 Happy Birthday Beautiful!! We love you so much and we're so grateful you're a part of our family!

The Outer Banks, NC

A long anticipated vacation finally came! We flew into North Carolina, spent the night in a hotel, and then packed up and drove the few hours to The Outer Banks for a week of relaxing on the beach with Jeff's family. 

 We arrived to find the most magnificent house one could ever want to relax in. The next 7 days were bliss! (Of course having all the family around added to the amazingness of everything). Here's the back view of our home sweet home.

 The first few hours that night were spent exploring the house, the amenities, and taking a stroll on the beach.

 Then the rest of the week was spent playing, laughing, cooking, eating, relaxing, sleeping, and just enjoying everything we could.

THE BEACH

THE POOL

THE TREASURE HUNT 

KITTY HAWK MUSEUM

 Thank you many, many times Dave & Arline for such an amazing trip!

May

 Our best friends next door. We sure are going to miss them when they move next month!!!

 Mother's Day