September

September began with preparations for Sammi's upcoming foot surgery. Here we are going to Norco to get her scooter.


Finally, the blessed day arrived and Sammi's left foot was operated on. They removed about an inch of bone under her toe and realigned everything...and then they did something else to the other side. I can't quite remember. In a nutshell, we're making it so this girl can walk without pain (which, apparently, it requires a lot of pain to be pain-free. Go figure). Here she is, fresh from surgery:

 
Her boot was pretty hefty. After her surgery she was a little loopy and was very upset about squirrel pee. I forget why, but it made me laugh a lot. Here's her foot without the boot.



After a few days, she wasn't as groggy. For the first week she had to stay down, and after that she could get up but absolutely NO weight on the foot. 5 Weeks of crutches and scooters, baby.

On Henry's birthday, Sammi was scheduled to get her bandages changed (and we'd get our first glimpse of the wounds!!!!) so we took the birthday boy with us. He loves to go anywhere.


 

Ew. Despite the grotesque, Frankenstein-like
appearance of her foot, all was healing splendidly
and Sammi was in high spirits.


After the excitement at the foot doctor's, we then proceeded to celebrate our little buddy's second birthday!
 He got to make his own pizza.....

blow out his birthday candles (after a lot of persuading)...


and open presents! This was his favorite:


 
By the end of the month, we were ready for fall with some apple-pickin' and football watchin'!

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!