Summer!

The older three girls left for camp on Sunday so the house has been a bit quieter. Malia, DJ, and Levi are keeping things busy though!! I'm absolutely relishing the summer moments. The past three months of school were hard and I didn't realize how much I needed a break. We all needed a break!! So the past two days we bought fabric for Malia to learn how to sew (she's going to make pj shorts), played in the pool on our deck (I found it by the free box at a garage sale last week), jumped on the trampoline, and made s'mores in our little fire pit in our backyard.

DJ and I have been doing some schoolwork, but it's fun! He's learning to read, working on our history books, reading books about animals, and working on the book Little House in the Big Woods. I hope to do a bit of scrapbooking some evening and tonight I'm going to transplant flowers from a neighbor. I've also started working on a prayer study that I had set aside awhile ago. So thankful to feel renewed!

Alyssa's Night

She's done! Alyssa finished up her senior year and chose to have a smaller get-together instead of a ceremony. We met at yummy Asian buffet nearby and celebrated with a few friends and family. Mike Smith, one of our elders, and Kent shared thoughts from Scripture.

The girls went out on their bikes earlier in the day and picked wildflowers which Kalai arranged into beautiful bouquets. They also managed to convince me to pick up silly string which they used to "greet" Alyssa back at the house.

A 1 year old and a policeman

Levi turned 1 just a couple weeks ago. I made a carrot cake (my grandmother's recipe) with whipped cream. My decorating...a bouncy ball and candle. Levi's enthralled with Kent's bouncy ball collection and it certainly was easy!! Anyway, he gobbled it up and had no qualms about digging in! Grandpa Stacy and Grandma Carol, along with my parents, were here.

We had a big garage sale weekend around here. This was our exciting find...a policeman costume for 3 dollars. The next morning DJ called me to his room. I expected him to tell me something like, "Mom, I'm out of socks." Rather, he said, "Can I wear my policeman uniform all day?" And he did! Sorry the picture is blurry. I goofed up something on my camera that day.

Outside B'day

My mom and I have birthdays one day apart. We haven't been together for the celebration since I was 18. The night before they returned to Reno, I pulled out my blue and white stuff and silver cups from our wedding (a great find at a thrift store!). Kent is by far the better griller but sometimes I have more time, so I attempted to grill salmon. It was good but I could use a little improvement on the moisture. Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and fun to be together.

3rd Anniversary

My parents came for a visit and took care of things overnight so Kent and I could have a little get-away. We went to Stillwater, MN, a pretty little town on the banks of the St. Croix River. We stayed at the James Mulvey Inn, an old Victorian house. We had a delicious Italian dinner outdoors that evening and rode our bikes around the next day. I managed to find another blue-and-white teacup to add to my collection and Kent added a few new geo-cache finds to his ever-growing list! It was a beautiful weekend!

Little book lover

I came across Levi in our dining room with these books all around him. He had been quiet for a minute or two (uh, oh) and this is what he was up to! He also absolutely loves it when I read to him and appears to be quite broken-hearted when it's over.

Attack on my camera!

I think this one's pretty funny. It shows a bit of his "jabber." Kent comments often that he babbles in complete sentences. It really does sound like it.