The Last Hurrah

It feels like I spent a lot of the last week before summer cleaning out closets and getting school clothes ready.  I had to send this picture to Bryan one day so that he knew I was doing lots of stuff while he was at work and not just relaxing on the couch watching t.v.  Sometimes I feel like I just need to remind him that my day isn't always filled with awesomeness.  Cleaning up closets does not go on any awesome list.

 Another item added to the non-awesome list is shopping with three children.  This was my last shopping trip with the whole crew before school started and lets just say it was an adventure.  I'm not sure what possesses my kids to start putting each other in headlocks and pretending to be evil fairies in the checkout line but I do know that it is embarrassing to me and makes Lily cry because she can't join in on the fun.  I was sweating profusely after this trip and decided to snap a few picture to document my dilemma.  While I was doing so there were a few women laughing hysterically at my shame.  I have loved having my girls home for the summer but I will NOT miss grocery shopping with the three of them.  Not. one. bit.

 Julia just graduated to showering all on her own recently.  I'm sure you are all judging me that I should have made my almost eight year old do that long ago, but I was worried about her sufficiently washing her massively thick hair.  She is still working on the getting all of the conditioner out but is improving.  These two now are the bathers.  And what cute bathers they are.

 The sunset was out of control beautiful the other night.  It was like the great farewell to summer nights outside.

 So I decided that I would be a good mom and make sure and squeeze in a few fun things before school started.  When I asked what they wanted to do they decided on the Nature Center and the Zoo.

 The Nature Center was free and was actually really interesting.

 There were lots of little streams and trees.  It was like walking in the mountains.

 The best part were the giant trout under this bridge.  I mean like five feet giant.  It was crazy.  Julia was just running from side to side checking them out.  She came here on a field trip at the end of last year and felt like she was an expert.  If you need a guided tour, well she's your gal.

 This garden was filled with bees.  The girls weren't so into the bees.

 We then headed over to the zoo.  Now the zoo here isn't anything to write home about, especially after we had the Columbus Zoo at our fingertips most recently, but the girls really enjoyed it and that is all that matters.  We were able to do the entire thing in about an hour and a half which was perfect.  You could seriously only hit one exhibit in Columbus in that time frame.

 This random jeep was a big hit with the girls.  Forget the animals!  Let's ride in a pretend jeep!  It's fun for about five seconds and then I have that terrible job of trying to get them to get out of the jeep.  For whatever reason that almost two year old is resistant sometimes.

 This elephant would blow out mist occasionally to cool you off.

 The giraffe slide.  Obviously it's not the animals that held my kids' attention.

 They popped their heads into the ground hog exhibit.

 My favorite part was the butterfly garden.  They were everywhere.  Lily thought it was fantastic.  She got in trouble for sitting on the wall right after this picture.  Lily likes to rebel every once in a while.  I think they were worried she would squish one of the butterflies.

 On the way out of the zoo we walked through the rose garden and oh my did it smell sweet.

 And to finish off summer properly I went and grabbed this big box of fresh picked peaches at 25 cents a pound!  This here is heaven in a box.

Finishing Up Summer

Bryan had a long weekend and we decided to take full advantage.  There were a few things we wanted to do before summer was done.

We headed to the water park here and boy oh boy was it a hit.  The girls seriously had the time of their lives.  Lily was a little hesitant in all things and preferred to wander outside of the water but that was okay.  She was really happy the entire time, other than when I took her down the yellow slide a couple of times.  She did NOT like the yellow slide.

 She also doesn't like to be splashed by water.  I was really happy when she finally laid down in the water on her tummy.  It was definitely progress!

 Now Julia was a different story.  Other than the free fall she went on every single slide and was game for anything.  She tackled things that seemed scary and I was proud of her.  It was really fun going on the slides with her.  She is a lot braver than I am!

 Audrey loved the kiddie area and went on the slides over and over.  She even went on a couple of the bigger tube slides.

 Some lady in the pool offered to take a picture of al of us because "mom's never get to be in the picture."

 You can barely see the top of Bryan's head but this was our favorite slide.  It was definitely a rush.  Julia had to be in the spot of the tube that went down the hill backwards.  I tell ya.  She is brave.

 After they conquered the slide.

 It was such a perfect day.

 We also made a day trip to the mountains.  Poor Idaho is on fire right now so there is quite a bit of smoke and smog in the valley but the mountains were still so pretty, despite it being really dry right now.  It was a great morning to see a part of the country that we have never been to.

 We found a pond and walked around and also had a great view of the river.

 After the mountains we grabbed lunch and headed to the park/splash pad.

 I know it's shocking, but Julia found another rock to climb.

 And turned into a pirate.

 We finished the weekend spending lots of time in the back yard.  Bryan found a worm and tried to convince Lily to eat it until I intervened.  She had her mouth all opened ready for the worm to be dropped in.  Bryan is a tease.  Audrey took over and held the worm with no fear.  Lily was a little leery after I screamed as she was getting ready for a little after dinner snack.  Gross.

 Giving that worm a closer inspection.

 Then we finished it all off with the most delicious peaches I have ever eaten.  Seriously.  I love these summer evenings when the light is so pretty and it starts to cool down.  Absolutely love them.

The Lawn

One of my very favorite things about this house is the sun setting in my backyard every night. I took this picture after my long drive home.  It was a welcome sight for my very tired body.  Thankfully the girls are becoming such great travelers and driving isn't so hard for us.

 Our lawn went through a bit of a rough patch after our trip and Bryan works tirelessly pulling weeds and doing all else that maintaining a lawn entails.  I have been absolutely amazed at how it has turned around and how much his hard work has payed off.  The way Bryan unwinds every day after work is to spend thirty minutes giving his lawn a little tlc.  It's been very rewarding to see the fruits of his labors.  The lawn looks amazing right now.  I assure you no weed goes unpulled.

 Popsicles have been a favorite of the girls lately.

 Julia loves to grab a book and read while we sit outside in the evenings.  Nothing is better than a good book, but a good book outside while eating a popsicle.  Well that's definitely the best.

 Audrey usually gets stuck entertaining the Lily.  She is such a good big sister to her.  Lily seldom goes anywhere without yelling, "Augeeeee  c'mooooon"

 After Bryan finished work early one day we slipped over to the downtown here where they have a little river and a deli where we like to eat lunch.  While I was sitting there I was looking across the way and discovered a little splash pad I did not know existed!  Boy oh boy were the girls in heaven.

 Since we were unprepared they had to go ahead and play in their clothes.  Poor Audrey couldn't keep these pants up after they go so wet.

 This is Julia's very favorite dress.  She would wear it every single day.

 Oh the joys of summer.  It's ending so quickly.

Lando Land

A big reason for our trip was a jaunt over to Lander, WY to go and see my brother Adam's twin boys be blessed.  We haven't ever been able to see their home in Lander and we were excited to see where they lived and visit their home.  Lander is nestled near the Windriver Mountains and is such a beautiful place.  I can really see why they enjoy it there.  We were so happy to have time to visit them.

We spent Saturday evening at the Sinks.  It's where the river disappears below the mountains and reappears further down.  It was beautiful and the perfect location for dinner.

 They had a little playground.  Dylan was really sweet with Lily.

 Adam and Camille brought delicious sandwiches and salads.

 Little Jimmer.  My girls are obsessed with Carli's little guy.

 Some of the crew.

 The river was so clear and pretty.  I guess the fish are just huge.

 Geoff decided to go and find out.  Bryan tried as well and they caught a few.

 The cousins found a sweet little hide out.  This picture would not be so blurry if they could just hold still for two seconds!

 Julia saw this buffalo and made a goal then and there that she would climb it.  She was real excited when she finally got to the top with Carli's assistance and then became really concerned on how she would get down.  Bryan soon joined her and even lugged Audrey up there.  I have definitely loosened up on my nervous motherhood as the kids have gotten older.

 They have the greatest park right by Adam's house.

 And here is the adorable family we were celebrating.  those twins are just too cute.  Adam gave such beautiful blessings and we were able to sit and enjoy delicious food on their front lawn.  It was a great day and we were so glad to have made the trip.  Poor Bryan had to head right home to Idaho after this which was a near eight hour drive.  Luckily he got to drive through the Tetons and Jackson Hole so it made it a little bit better.  It was certainly worth it.  We are so glad to be close enough to finally make events like this.  Living far away gives you a much greater appreciation.

 Unfortunately we caught a bought of the stomach flu upon returning to my mom's house.  Poor Audrey was so sad.  Julia got to go and play with cousins while she laid in agony.

 Lily wasn't feeling well either.  It was a bummer way to end a trip but good thing the rest of the trip was so great.