Fourth of July

We pulled out our patriotic colors for the Sunday before the 4th.

Oh, I love those three!

Noah and Luke wanted a brothers picture in front of the temple.  Just about every day I thank Heaven that they have each other.  

Nate took the boys up to El Dorado Hills on the 3rd to watch fireworks.

Five minutes before they were leaving we were wondering why we didn't just get a babysitter for Leah so I could come too.  Our brains have been so frazzled by house stress.  Maybe one day we'll get back to some sort of clear(ish) thinking. (Fingers crossed!). It was a late night, but they all had loads of fun.

We barbecued and swam at Grandma and Grandpa's house on the fourth. 

Leah's first experience with fireworks started with a little trepidation, but she warmed up to the sparkling lights pretty quickly.

We sure wished the other four cousins were with us, but play time with any cousin is the best time!

June Bits

Leah's face kind of sums up her life right now: a mess.  Just about whatever she comes into contact with seems to somehow turn into a disaster.  Oh, it can be frustrating, and yet she is so good at balancing that destruction out with extreme cuteness.

Somehow no one had a shirt after bath time one evening, but hey, everyone got bathed and I was outnumbered 3 to 1 so I'd call that a success.

Noah had a check up with the plastic surgeon and we had to wait for WAY too long.   There were not enough snacks, latex gloves to make into hand balloons, or books to keep everyone busy.  If we've got an appointment at 9, let's ALL show up at that time, even you Dr. Wong, o.k?

I won a random contest that earned me free drinks from Chick-fil-a for the summer.  This magic cup has been refilled countless times, and I'm loving it!

 We visited Papa at the cemetery the day before Father's Day.  Something about all of this house stress has made me miss him extra.  I've felt like I needed his advice and encouragement, and I'm especially missing his big bear hugs at this frustrating time.

 And yet, I'm really grateful that Dad is where he is.  His death gives me an opportunity to teach Noah, Luke and Leah about the atonement and resurrection more often than I would otherwise.  Papa is very much alive in our conversations, which makes the distance between us a little easier to handle.

Andy was in Scotland, but Marissa came with the kids to visit her sister.  We loved having Adalyn, Lucy, and Jack over for a few hours.

As I was making cookies one day Luke jumped up and said, "Mom! Take a picture of me and share it with the world!"  So, here you go.

All on their own the boys made an art gallery of chocolate chip cookies!  Talk about making their baker mama proud.  Noah's are the top picture and Luke are the bottom left.

Berry Picking

June started and ended with berry picking.  At the beginning of the month we met up with friends in Placerville at the American River Cherry Company.  What a beautiful place!

There were cherries and friends everywhere, which made for a fun, playful morning.

Lee and Leah make a pretty cute couple.

This was our first time, but we'll definitely be back.  It was a great way to start out the summer.

Right at the end of the month we went blueberry picking in El Dorado Hills with Lindsey and her kids

This was Leah's happy place.  She ran from row to row picking and eating LOTS of blueberries.