Augusto!

August was a busy month -

Sammi and her dad went to an Imagine Dragons concert...

Eli taught Skipper to nestle in the nape of his neck. Weird. They look like a two-headed monster.

I actually cleaned the house (and felt the need to document it)...

I had my annual "Ice Cream Party" for my piano students, where some earned as many as 19 scoops! It was tasty and really exciting...

Sammi and I helped feed the workers at the Meridian Temple with the young women of our ward. We had a great time and it was really funny to see people's reactions to "Hawaiin Haystacks." Apparently, that particular culinary creation is a Mormon thing. They liked it, though.

We also started school again - this time with Eli joining our ranks in the 1st grade. We switched to Harmony for our curriculum needs as well as joined their "Options Day," where the younger kids go every Friday and do their electives. Fun stuff.

This is Sammi's last year with me, so it's bittersweet. She's my pal. I will miss her face. Her cute, cute face. ( I know she reads this, so I like to send her props through the written word.)

But seriously, right?! What 13 year old looks like this?! She certainly didn't get it from me (those of you who remember my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade photos (shoot, let's be honest - and the 9th and 10th grade ones as well) can confirm this. And yes - that is all her own hair, and yes, it's naturally curly. I may have to shave it in her sleep. Make myself a weave. :)

ANYWHO, since it seems August was predominantly the "month of Sammi" we'll finish it up with our last event of August, that of prepping for her upcoming foot surgery. We got the scooter,  got the boot, practiced using them, and began to anticipate 6 weeks of fun. :)

August - The End.

July

Charlotte rung in the month of July by making friends with "worms." It wasn't until I saw these pictures that I realized they were slugs. SLUGS, people. There's a difference. Ew.

We began our 4th of July in Marsing to watch the parade

and ended it in the hospital - guess the old car fumes were too much for Eli's asthma. It wasn't too bad - strangely, visits to the ER with Eli are always rather pleasant.

And then - we went camping

Oh that hair! :) 

And now *drumroll* I am updated! Success!

June

Eli graduated from Kindergarten...

Char turned 4...


I turned 35 in style...

Henry's hair began to be truly magnificent,

and we worked on his sense of humor.

We celebrated Fathers Day...

and finished off the month in Utah, where we visited family, and (amongst other things) kept our cool,

sought out our origins,

posed at temple square,

(alot)




We visited a chocolate factory,

and cavorted with dinosaurs,

(attempting to alleviate Keith's fear of them. Note to dads: when your wife says "Jurassic Park" is too scary for your kids - listen. She knows.)

We're such good parents.

May

Here it is, August is winding down, and I'm behind again, all the way to MAY. However, I have a goal to get all caught up TODAY, and so, I shall conquer....or not. I'll try, anyway. I'll keep the narration to a minimum... (*silent cheers*)

So, let us kick back in our memories to May -

Sammi performed with Grammy and the Musettes...

My oven became possessed, got hotter and hotter,  burnt my bread, started beeping like crazy, and wouldn't turn off. Matt fixed it. But it was scary. And sad.

The kids and I went to the zoo with Eli's class on the coldest, rainiest day possible. Good times.

My mom, Bonnie, Sammi, and I ate at Miss Tami's the day before Mother's Day. It was so much fun and the food was so good!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my kids. I love our random after-church attire - we're cool like that.

Char discovered her love of chalk...

And the book Maddi wrote was published and arrived in the mail...it was awesome!

May - out! Wazam!

April

We were all still sick when April rolled around, but I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. By the middle of the month, I was on the mend. Each day I felt a little more like myself and let me tell you - it makes all the difference when momma ain't sick! The rest of the family straggled along, but they were slowly oozing their way back to life. While we awaited our full recovery, we enjoyed the month's little snacks o' life:

 We had a delightful General Conference in which I took notes ("my style"),ate cinnamon rolls and just enjoyed the weekend. Conference is a tradition that I LOVE and I love that my kids love it too. :)

Here's us watching Conference.....

and here's some of my notes that blew Sammi's mind - (I struggled with Elder Bednar...he was the hardest).

 

I decided to paint the kitchen, piano room, entry, and hallway (When I get better, I get BETTER with a vengeance). I won't post pics of all the rooms, just the kitchen. It's nothing amazing, but it sure felt nice to have things freshly painted.

Hahaha - Sammi insists on making her "ugly faces" when I'm taking photos. I've decided to just post them anyway. She has a gift, so we shall embrace it.  Hence, I made this one large. :)

Sammi also spent some time in April teaching Henry the art of "selfies." He did well.

Eli performed in his kindergarten program and was such a stud:

 

But the highlight of the month was that I finally - FINALLY - captured Henry singing "Let It Go"...something I had been trying to do for months and months. That has been our cue that Henry is awake: we hear him singing "Let It Go" and he'll bust it out in the car while we're driving. For the life of me, I couldn't ever get it on film because he'd  hear the chime of my camera and just freeze. But in the car, waiting at a red light, I got it.