July 2015

July started out wonderfully with a trip to visit the Nelson's in St. Louis. The kids and we were missing our friends, and it was great to see them. We spent some time downtown near the arch, playing at the splash pad.

It was fun for our trip to be over the 4th of July, we got to watch the parade and the fireworks. The best part was just hanging out with these great people!

Carli was thrilled to find out she was getting a break from the eye patch!

We enjoyed harvesting from our garden.

We had a trip to the beach cut very short when this guy split his head open on the playground there. Ouch! Several staples and stitches later, he returned home with us feeling like Frankenstein. (He swears children were traumatized, I maintain it was nicely camouflaged by his hair...)

Of course, we discovered our first cases of head lice two nights before we were to make our cross-country drive to stay with family for a couple of weeks. The girls and I went the rounds with them and came out on top.

We always try to break up long road trips with some fun sights and activities. This veterans monument is on a hill overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. It was over 100 degrees this day, but it was still a welcome reprieve from the car.

We were lucky to be able to spend a week with Tom and Lori first, where Logan was able to help with their farm and we were able to spend time with Will, Chelsea and Aubrey. It was fun for the kids to check out Papa's tractor, etc.

We absolutely loved the day we spent at the beach! It seemed like the kids' natural habitat.

Next we descended upon Aunt Sherry and Uncle Sam at their motel in Idaho. *It was our tenth anniversary the day we drove there. Happy anniversary to us... Just a mere side note - carry on...*

It was so much fun floating the river! The two toddlers had a bit of a rough go of it, it again being over 100 degrees and naptime, but it was definitely worth it.

Everyone especially enjoyed the pool at the motel. I think the other guests enjoyed watching us in the pool.

Janie was a lucky duck who got to celebrate her 5th birthday with the whole Cowan clan.

To help break up the trip and to spend some extra time with cousins, we stayed a couple nights in Pullman with Ben and Rachel and fam. We sure loved having that time with them.

August 2015

August brought some good down time to hang out together and live up the last bit of summer. We took a walk around the sculpture garden.

The girls took dance classes that they loved.

This boy continues to grow up and crack us up.

And Logan found himself a pasta roller to play around with. Yummy!

June 2015

Man, this little guy is growing big right before our eyes. He is learning how to take care of himself. Mom took too long getting grapes for him, so I found him like this, after he'd taken into his own hands.

Time for a trim.

Short hair and a new hat to keep the sun off this little fair maiden. We can all be outside the same amount of time and she'll be the only red one when we're done.

Last day of school picnic with school friends. Carli enjoyed first grade but was ready for summer break. (Although, the first thing she did when she got home that day was to set up a school for Janie - schedule and all - in their room.)

Happy Father's Day song

My kind friend brought us some beautiful and aromatic flowers for our table. They made our apartment smell so good!

 And here we are again with evidence that Mom is just too slow. Good thing he's got caring big sisters who help him out now and again.

May 2015

Yep, it's May and spring has finally sprung. That's how things roll around here. But, I am more grateful than ever when it finally shows it's beautiful face.

Spring also brings some pretty nasty Midwestern storms. This hail storm started when we were playing outside at the park. Glad we made it inside quickly, those suckers hurt!

Little Man went from surfer dude shag...

to high and tight handsome.

And this is how these girls feel about their mom. ( I'll take it all as a compliment?)

One of the best part about Mother's Day has got to be talking to Elder/Uncle Kelby!

Janie loved her Pre K class this past year. It was fun when her teachers emailed pictures of her day.

And one more great thing about Spring - I found the goose nesting grounds. There's not much better than seeing a family of geese stop traffic. (And the pictures were totally worth getting kicked off the high school property by the security guard.)