July flew by. Here is our monthly update:

*This first picture sums up our summer: towels, smiles, and tired children--so tired that Ezra decided to curl up in a mound of said damp towels in the kitchen to have a little rest!

*We have a tradition of decorating our bikes for the annual neighborhood 4th of July parade. It’s getting trickier now that we have four kiddos who need their apparatus blinged (word?) up.

*I love Will’s face in this image! Will offered to rub his Nana’s back (for a small fee), and it was cute how she jumped at the offer.

*Pioneer Day was so much fun! We did some shopping and then hosted a bbq. After lighting off fireworks, we decided 10:30 at night was a totally fine time to start an outdoor movie with our friends!

*I have a little angel friend. She brings me food. She brought me food when she found out our fridge had gone out during our vacation. She is such a good example to me!

*We have sunflowers growing in our yard. They are surviving in spite of Liesel! They are happy spots in my backyard.

*We were lucky enough to camp with some of our sweet friends at Capitol Reef. Fun times, beautiful scenery, no crowds, and good food! (I'm loving the heights that Eric's hair is reaching.)

*Will turned nine—not 36!--this month. I didn’t have enough single candles, so we made do with these numbers. He made my life easier by asking for a Costco cheesecake.
*We took our farewell trip down to Yorba Linda. I think this picture captures the essence of the trip of going through boxes, reminiscing about all the good times, taking it easy, and spending time together as a family. It was a touching moment when Bri found a letter Brent had written to Chelsea years and years ago. Chelsea had never seen it until this particular day years later. I think it was meant to be that way.
*Ezra loves books--especially non-fiction. Just like his mama!
*Our sweet friends invited us to their cabin. My kids did not want to leave. Could it have been the pond, the boat, the four-wheelers, the fishing, the trampoline, the cabin, the friends, and the wildlife?
*The last day of school was hard for Will. He lucked out with a FABULOUS teacher who made school enjoyable for him again.
*Swim lessons started! Evy and Ezra were in the same class. Ezra really excelled. He was able to freestyle the length of the pool with only stopping twice. He will be moving up to the next level, and Evy will repeat this level again.
*Miss Abby is my right-hand lady. She is such a great help and is turning into my personal cheerleader! I'm so thankful for her!

*Time for backyard fires and s'mores again! Will and I built this fire together. I'm sure there are many more to come.
*Liesel in on the action. . . again! I was trying to take a pic of the two brothers and caught this moment instead.
*Nana (Val) was able to visit two times this month. We feel spoiled!
*Supermoon. My friend who works in the nursery at a local hospital said it was crazy in labor and delivery that night.
*I was able to go with Abby's class to the copper mine and supervise her and three other friends. Let's just say after riding to and from the mine with those girls, it is my conclusion that the world is going to be a-okay!
*Evy's first engagement photo! Really it's a moment I captured while she was playing with her friend at Mc D's.
*We love, love our stake carnival. The last two years there have been bubbles galore, and I love watching the kids run around chasing them. As a side note, some people enjoyed watching me do the dunk tank. Ezra got me on the first ball!

Clockwise from Top Left:

*It has been warming up--finally. One warm day after it rained, the kids thoroughly enjoyed playing in the gutters. Don't judge.
*This male Northern Flicker and his chica have taken up residence in our front tree. They really need a "Do Not Disturb" sign.
*I had had it "up to here" with Liesel until Eric started taking her to puppy school. Now that she has some manners, I like to play catch with her in the backyard.
*Our cat, I mean Evy, found a nice warm puddle of sunshine to soak in.
*We've been blessed with great neighbors who like to do fun things with us like watching outdoor movies.
*Eric celebrated his 39th birthday. As a family we went to our cousin's wedding reception and spent time with extended family.
*My mom and dad's annual Easter box arrived full of goodies. We're still not sure what my mom meant when she said it was going to be something "little." Quite the opposite!

Clockwise from Top Left:

*A definite highlight this month was our trip to So Cal, and a highlight of that trip was our tradition of visiting the tide pools. We hit a perfect low tide smack in the middle of the day.
*Will has not been our most athletic child, so it's been fun watching him develop "an arm."
*March was a month full of sickness and rashes for the kids.
*Will's first Pinewood Derby was this month. He worked on his car with Eric and Bapa and was so excited for race day. He kept losing race after race. Later we found out graphite was never added to his wheels. Slight oversight.
*Abby has some darling friends and when they come over there's never a dull moment!
*These two littles of mine are making progress in the "How to Get Along" department.
*For St. Patrick's Day, the day we left for So Cal, the leprechauns painted mustaches on the kids during the night and left their marks on/in our bathroom!

What made Evy go from this:



to this?



The answer would be bubbles. I absolutely love bubbles. Not the bubbly egg kind of bubbles on the back of a Surinam toad. No, those make me want to jump out of my skin. Instead, I love the colorful spheres that hover in the air. And I love watching my kids having fun with their bubbles. They have a magical quality to them. So magical that they can make a sick little girl come alive.

I may or may not have taken 247 pictures during their bubble play. Here are many pics from the kids' inaugural bubble exploration of the year:







(above is my fave)