Summer Wrap Up

Since today marks the first day of fall, I thought it was appropriate to finally post some pictures of our summer. So in no particular order, this is what we've been up to:

A birthday party for the girls' cousin Gabe.

Running through fountains at splash parks.

This one has absolutely no fear of them, never has.

Day trips to the beach with friends. (You like how one friend used my huge dress to cover up her legs, too? :D)

There were 5 of us moms there this day for all these kids. No, they weren't all ours, but we still had to keep an eye out for each of them. Luckily we stayed safe and everyone had a fun time.

This girl loves the beach.

I think Sophie's in Baywatch training.

Sophie had such a fun time playing with her friends Kate and Paige. The 3 of them were really cute to watch together.

What could be a better hot summer afternoon recipe than getting wet + juice boxes?

My Mom was down a couple of times this summer and one time we got to go to the beach with her. It was so fun to watch her with all 4 grandkids jumping the waves in the ocean.

Avery got knocked down one too many times unfortunately and spent the rest of the chilly day wrapped up in a towel on my lap. But Sophie, Austin, and Gabe couldn't get enough of the water, wind or no wind, and stayed out there forever. Sophie and Austin especially loved running from the waves as they chased them.

Showering off after a swim in the pool with friends.

I never got around to posting about our 4th of July weekend, but we started it with a parade through town in our patriotic attire...

...and ended it at my Grandpa's house, swimming in the pool...

...and picking oranges from the trees with cousins.

We've also had fun at various parties, like this Cars party for a little 2-year old friend. The girls loved the pinata.

This was Avery's first time ever hitting a pinata and she wacked that thing as hard as her little 25 pounds would let her. She's definitely a fan.

We also had fun at another friends' summer party, complete with launching balloons and the taco cart for lunch. It was so so good, and the kids had a blast.

In short, we had a great summer and are glad that even though the calendar says it's over, living in Southern California says it never has to end.

Sophie's Preschool Debut

Sophie began preschool last week. I debated for a long time about what I wanted to do for it, and though I would have preferred doing a co-op with other moms, I couldn't find anyone here who wanted to do it. So we opted instead to put Sophie into a really good school right down the street a block away from us at United Methodist Preschool. Most of Sophie's friends already go there, and we've heard great things about it.

Sophie was excited to go and has been looking forward to this for several months. She couldn't wait to don her first day of school outfit and backpack and head off into this new world. It's just 3 days a week for 3 hours each day, so fortunately I still get her to myself the rest of the time.

The first day started out well with her excited about all the new things to do and play with in the room, but unfortunately it ended tearfully which left a bad taste in her mouth and has made the two days since start out poorly, too. But by the end of those two days she's been all smiles again, and I think she'll be just fine. She didn't end up in a class with anyone she knew which was part of the problem, but hopefully she'll just make some new friends really soon and love it there. Avery misses her when she's gone because they're basically attached at the hip, but I've enjoyed having some one on one time with her for the first time in her little life. Little does she know that it won't last too long with her lil' bro joining us in just 2 months, but we're just going to enjoy this time while we have it.

Girls Camp: Treasures in Heaven

I got to go to Girls Camp this summer with our Young Women for a few days. I wish I could've spent the entire week there, but I don't think that will happen until my kids are older. Thanks to generous people who watched my kids I really only ended up missing a day and a half total, so that wasn't bad. We had such a fun time.

Here are our beautiful Young Women. All but 2 of them made it up this year. They agreed that it was the best year yet, and though I can't take any credit for that, I'm so glad they felt that way.

Here are the girls with all the leaders who got to be there the night of the testimony meeting.

Me plus 2 YW plus a few of our excellent leaders. This camp is nothing like the one I went to when I was a Young Woman. We really roughed it with tents, cooking our own food, and sometimes even digging a hole in the ground for a toilet. These girls got nice cabins, all the food was prepared for them, and there were bathrooms with showers. There's even a pool! If it weren't for the campfire each evening and the hikes and such, I'd have thought we were just at the Marriott.

These 4 convinced me to climb up this slide and join them for this picture. Can I tell you how hard it is to stay there holding on to something like that for dear life when you're 5 months pregnant? I miss having ab muscles.

This was our entire stake. Yes, we're not great in numbers but we're great in spirit. It was a wonderful week and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. I was glad I got to be a small part of it, and for our amazing Young Women who made it so much fun.