The last of summer

 

 Brilliant Mommy solution to 'no-love-play-doh-at-the-table-over-carpet-in-dining-room. Jyson said, "Look Mom, it's a GMO snake!"

 We'd never read an Elephant & Piggy book before, but the kids adored these guys at the library...from a respectable distance. Even now they ask to look at this picture. Poor elephant could only sorta hobble like two inches at a time & could only keep that head on for 10-15min at a time--not my idea of an awesome summer job...

Look at the love Jyson is giving little Rhett

my little blondies take extra care in the sun

Ari would only go in any amount of water with Jaydon, 'her buddy'

She WILL keep him safe...

Pictures from the stake activity at one of the awesome splash pad/parks...this last one is from a friend who has an awesome camera...it's her model shot...

Whew, so much fun just tuckers me out...guess I'll fall asleep in my 'cave.'

Welcomed Home

The littles had to wait almost 2 hrs to see the bigs get off the plane due to a delay & when they finally saw them coming Rhett started jumping & down for joy--literally. They wouldn't let the boys out of their sight and the next morning it was joyful reunion, part II...so darling!!

 Time to get up Jaydon!

 I'll take a little cuddle, please

 And some tickle time

 Upside-down is good too

 

Prepare for the jump...

 And execute!

 Once again...

 And down!

 Calming down...

...morning story time

 For the grand finale: hide-in-seek in the puppet show curtain!

 Off to the park for some recreation with friends

 Who knew that meant a turtle would be gifted from the resident fisherman!!

 Rhett especially was intrigued by the 'tuddle'

 Homemade hook for their fishing endeavors

but it was the homemade bug net that caught the fish!

Warming in the sun...it was surprisingly quite cold!!

 Alright, time to go to the playground...


...and to the rolling hill

Sheesh oh yikes.

Warning: the following images maybe too graphic for some tenderhearted souls (mum)

 

Day 1: Kiddo fine one second, the next totally screaming...ran into the living room & she was standing by the couch crying & bleeding. She still can't give me even a clue as to what happened! And lest you think a piece is missing, it's not...just split (it was more of a lightning bolt shape up her tongue a bit). The poor gal had a rough day.

 Day 2: I knew tongues healed quickly, but this was incredibly fascinating to me!

Day 5: Seriously, just as she was almost healed a couple days later (you can see a bit of it on the end of her tongue) she fell & hit her chin on the tub & (I assume) bit down into her tongue. More blood and crying. Wow. We were both emotional. How much can one little tongue take? She was a trooper this time around though...maybe she was used to the pain?! Poor kid.

Friend Fun

What's more fun than water & paintbrushes...for them and for me--favorite clean-up ever!

 Eyes closed & swishing her hair back, for some reason I think it's so cute!

The whole goal soon became to fill up their cups in the bathroom & come dump it on the sidewalk to 'paint' the entire thing...when the bathroom floor started looking/feeling like the pavement we were done

4th of July: pictures being the main event, apparently...

"Let's get this party started!" (big, welcome change from last year in Idaho where she spent the majority of the time inside looking at fireworks from the window. Rhett was asleep :)

 Respectable, excited distance...

You know sometimes when you have adorable kiddos who are excited and don't want to take a picture, but Mom insists so you end up spending more time on the picture then on the actual event? 

Enjoy.

 Kiddos: cute   Me: peek-a-boo?

 Rhett: cute, Ari: Whaa? Me: up the nose and...why do I look like I'm hiding behind Ari again?

 Ari: cute, Rhett: bug! Me: Arrgg...I'm going to get you matey...

Kiddos: ADORABLE! (see the sword fight goin' on?) Me: Cheeeessee

 Good enough. We're all happy pointing our whatever-they-are's at the camera :)

preparation...

...assistance

 Sharing the joy--look at those faces! My kind of fireworks :)

True love: sparklers...no fear in Rhett-meister and see how you can barely see Ari's sparkler from all the waving she's doing (& do you love her jammie pants as much as I do)? Our 4th's are usually pretty low-key since we have littles and no bigs (boys are always gone for it), but this was super enjoyable. Happy Birthday America, we're so glad we live here.

p.s. The Amish are totally into fireworks, who knew?