We had a great time back at Old Greenwood for the Allen reunion. We sure missed Matt & Melissa and family, but it was great seeing everyone else.
Of course we had lots of time at the pool...
The kids bonded with Tyler in the pool and the girls loved all the cute things he would say:
Joe had to leave to go back to work for a few days so I sent him this picture of Elijah and I kicking back at the pool:
I loved the evenings--hanging out and talking after good meals while the kids played on the golf course:
Emily even fell in this little stream helping Nate cross back. What a great cousin! :)
It's so beautiful there:
We went to Lake Tahoe one day and had a great time. We rented a boat and took turns going out. I sat out with the boys this year but the girls had a blast tubing behind the boat.
Nate loved digging in the sand and actually played in the water!
He loved that the waves were much calmer.
One day when Joe was back we went on a family hike around one of our favorite spots above Donner Lake. You can't beat the view:
The kids just love climbing the big rocks:
Look! It's a picture of Joe and I (and baby) for once:
There were many other highlights I didn't get pictures of including a family soccer game, a fun rafting trip down the Truckee River and a great FHE given by Emily and Hannah. We had a blast!
We've had some fun times on summer break in our new house. One day we headed down to Gizdich Ranch to pick berries. This time it was olallieberries. I'd never heard of them but they were quite good--a lot like blackberries:
Elizabeth wanted to hold up Elijah:
Grandma Marsha moved in! She's going to be living with us for awhile. Sadly, I don't have any pictures yet for some reason. Richard, his girlfriend Toni, and Jace came along to help her move. I do have pictures of cute Jace:
It took him a little bit to warm up (he didn't want to look at the camera in these pictures) but once he did he and Nate had a grand time together. They were so cute together.
We took a trip to beach so he could see the ocean.
Here they are being silly in the car:
We got to enjoy some more local wildlife:
That one is from a science and wildlife museum we checked out.
Mostly, we've been in the pool. It has sure been fun! Especially with all this hot weather. The kids are improving in their swimming. Nate still has a long way to go which worries me still but he is at least very cautious. I love to watch them out there having fun together.
I told Joe that I feel like I'm giving my kids my childhood now. I have lots of fond memories of spending all day in my bathing suit and coming up with crazy games to play in the pool.
Here's a post devoted to these two cute boys of mine. I'm still getting used to saying "the boys". I've been so used to saying "the girls" for so long that when Nate came along I would keep saying "the girls....and Nate." Now I've got two so it makes it easier. :)
Nate loves his little brother. And Elijah loves him right back. He loves to just sit and watch Nate. He can keep him entertained pretty well, which is nice when I need a few extra minutes to make dinner or whatever.
These pictures were taken at a science/wildlife museum we went to this week. I thought it was so sweet that Nate was begging to sit and hold Elijah even though we were in such a fun place with tons to do.
These boys are getting bigger every day. Elijah has had a lot of new firsts. He is now on solid foods. I kept putting it off and putting it off and I felt really bad because he'd always be grabbing at our food. He was clearly ready. Still, he was not a fan at first:
He's gotten the hang of it now and eats pretty much everything:
Of course that means we're now dealing with stinky diapers and green and orange spit-up.
Not a fan of that.
He's a rolling fool now. In fact he just rolled off the couch tonight. I know--I'm terrible. I wasn't planning on leaving him there but something was bubbling over on the stove and I forgot.
Here is some early rolling:
So proud of himself.
Nate joining in:
He also got to try out the swings for the first time. He loved it!
Sometimes he lets me snuggle him and melts my heart:
Nate is growing and surprises me all the time with the things he can do. He is my little helper. I love it and I'm really hoping he doesn't grow out of it. He does a great job getting his jobs done. He is the best at brushing his teeth of all our kids. He is actually quite a neat kid and doesn't like to be too messy for long.
Now don't get me wrong--he can make messes with the best of them. Before we moved he managed to dump out a whole big box of Cheerios all over the sunroom. I got out the wet vac and told him he needed to clean them up. I figured he would suck up a few of them and then I would do the rest. I was so surprised when he kept working and working until he got basically every Cheerio in that room. It was hard work for a 3 year old.
He's a sweetheart, too. He is pretty sensitive and has been known to start sobbing when he's been reprimanded too harshly. I love his soft heart. I loved when he would run in and bring me roses from our old yard, too:
(Way better than dandelions! That's one benefit of having tons of rose bushes.)
He's an early reader like his sisters, too. He still has a hard time blending sounds sometimes but he is getting it. Of course with all of our craziness it's been months since I've had him try to read much. I need to get back on that.
Once again--refrigerator reading, courtesy of the word whammer magnets: (Buy one!)
One morning I found myself sitting up in bed with my two boys asleep on me.
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