silver lake {hiking moose}

man moose

beetles

ham & cheese sandwiches

hiking buddies

"special missions"

mickey mouse rock

ducks

rocks

rock climbing

squirrels

squirrels trying to eat our lunch

mice

mice trying to eat our lunch

mosquitoes

mosquitoes trying to eat me

and chase

chase napping once

chase napping twice

bless him

dirty faces

dirty bums,

not diapers

trees we wished were redwoods

the most beautiful lake on the planet

mountain air

altitude dizziness

nursing chase and looking into his deep baby blues

collapsing on the couch. 

counting down to next month.

when

the

aspens

start

peaking.

{last year click here.}

i love living in utah.

 

 THE END.

{note to self: max must nap. do not skip. don't forget this.}

oatmeal & rolling over {firsts}

i fed chase his first bowl of oatmeal last night.

sean was bathing max and brennan in the tub, 

so chase and i sat in the hall next to them.

a family affair:)

there's nothing more entertaining than watching a baby take their first bites.

the look of utter confusion and amazement all at once.

especially on the first day that they roll over from their tummy to their back.

"firsts" never get old, even with the third.

don't let anyone tell you any different!

:):):):):):)

SO PROUD!

.....

what on earth did mothers feed their children before gerber instant baby oatmeal?

i'm in the market for another option...

{WWJOD--What Would Jamie Oliver Do?!}

cream of wheat and blended quick oats are on my menu for him next.

his gag reflex is top notch.

so we learned tonight:)
i'm not saying i'm not doing gerber.
i'm just saying i'm thinking about it.
have you?

wasn't he just a sleepy newborn??!!

wah!!!

sunflowers & pumpkin flowers

me in my jammies:)
{i'm 5'5" and with my arms raised up this sunflower is still a couple of feet taller.}
{that's a watermelon patch at the bottom.}

p.s. red pants during football season are only ok if you wear your BYU shirt with them.

......................

every morning i come downstairs, 

open all of my blinds, 

and walk out into the wet grass to look at how much everything has grown during the night.

{i survey baby chase the same way after he nurses in the morning.}

sometimes things literally DOUBLE in size while we sleep.

it's amazing.

then i come back into my kitchen,

and watch the bees pollinate the pumpkin flowers as i make breakfast for all of us.

the big orange pumpkin leaves only open up in the morning.

once a pumpkin has started growing, 

the flower closes up and the pumpkin fruit starts growing on the ground.

there are already over ten pumpkins growing.

and 5 watermelons.

i can't wait for the sunflowers to pop open and bend over from the weight of their seeds.

the trunks of the biggest ones are bigger than my wrist around.

and the heads at the tops always follow the sun's direction through the day.

it's just not august in our yard without big giant sunflowers against the fence.

mr. postwoman

this is what taking 3 kids 4 and under to the post office looks like.

the greeting cards didn't even see them coming.

good thing there was no line,

and a helpful postwoman who understood 

that us getting in and out meant her having a more happy day:)

cross pollination

that stuff in the middle is a really good sign.
that's what my cousin troy tells me.
we talk about our gardens at the family yard while the kids are swimming in the pool.
tonight he told me that potatoes are his favorite thing he's growing this year.
hard he says.
but his favorite.
something about having to pack it down a lot.
i think that's what he said.
no idea what that means yet.
i told him the corn was my favorite this year.
he soaked the seeds that i planted that are now growing right before your very eyes.
i don't know what all of that stuff in the middle is called.
i just know it means it's cross pollination time.
i love all of the shades of green and the seeds changing to brown.
the clusters give me the creeps.
i love my little growing stalks of corn.
the vegetable too;)
happy summer!

mars toes

sean and i watched a rover land on mars last night,

and chase found his toes.

big weekend

INDEED!

what will they be doing in space when chase is having babies of his own???

cookie germs

i made cookies for our friends that are visiting from Australia today.

when i came back from putting chase to bed i found max scooping out spoonfuls of cookie dough.

on her tippy toes.

good thing 350* heats off most germs.

woops:)

one lump or two {afternoon tea}

my grandparents sent me an old silver tea set of theirs from grandpa's working days in the airlines.

in celebration the london olympics 

AND 

chase being 4 months old we threw ourselves a tea party.

{did you know chase is 4 months old this week?}

so proud:)

i was teaching them about not pressing their tea bags when taking them out, 

just like grandma joy taught me,

{and about how we only drink certain types of tea--non caffeinated}

sugar {one lump or two},

cream {say when},

and then brennan picked up his cup and said to himself,

"pinky up!"

very gentlemanly like.

i laughed so hard in adoration,

and asked him where he heard that.

and he said,

"tinker bell."

and then went about his tea drinking business.

such a funny kid.

max was a lady the entire time

{naturally},

until she squeezed her tea bag with her fist at the end.

so glad we're not british.

b/c surely americans can get away with those types of things.

so glad she's 2.

HAHAHA!

i forget how pretty silver is.

how does one keep it clean and polished?

i know i should know this.

but i don't...

thank you grandma and grandpa tabery,

we are honored to have it in our home.

cheers!

neverland sign up's

eating tortillas on the back porch,
and painting our toes all the same color.

sign us up for neverland.

i don't want them to grow up!