July: A study in celebrations

I have always said that Fall is my favorite time of year, and while I think that is still true, summer is starting to give it a run for it's money.  Especially July.  

This year for Independence Day, we had an early morning breakfast with some friends.  This is a tradition my parents have always done, and is something I think we'll try to do every year.  It was fun visiting with friends and enjoying the beautiful day!

 Later that day, we went to another friends' house for a barbecue.  

 Our annual "4th of July" family photo.

 I was pretty proud of my ability to color coordinate the kids' outfits this year.  I think Claire's little dress is just about the most adorable thing in the world!

While we were at the barbecue, we got a chance to go tubing and jet skiing on Schmidt Lake.  I feel like I have the dumbest expression on my face in this picture, but I felt like I needed to document the most wild, crazy tube ride I've ever been on!

Here is a picture of Claire and I in July.  I just love this little girl, she is so sweet and loves to give her mom and dad lots of snuggles and hugs.

Apart from the 4th of July, the big event of this month was driving from Minnesota to Utah for the England and Sainsbury family reunions.  I wish I could have captured on camera just how long and difficult, yet also fun and interesting, the trip was.  We saw the woods and lakes of Minnesota fade to the prairies of South Dakota, to the sage brush of Wyoming, and finally to the mountains of Utah.  It was a really fun experience . . . that I wouldn't mind waiting awhile to repeat!  That being said, the trip was well worth it because we got to spend a lot of time with our wonderful families.

Our first stop on the Reunion Tour was England cabin in Kamas.  One of Mckay's favorite activities was painting with Grandma England and Cole.  He let me help him paint this mastery, and told me to title it "King Mckay".

 We spent a lot of time at the pool in Kamas.  This year Mckay was NOT afraid of the water, and had so much fun!  Logan also enjoyed himself, and was happy to splash in the toddler area, and Claire had her first exposure to a swimming pool.  It was so nice for us to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather, and I'm so grateful for the many aunts and uncles to helped watch my kids so I could relax too!

Claire and her Dad loved swimming together.  Claire especially liked being able to splash and splash.

We went to Temple Square one day as a family.  We had so much fun wandering around the Visitor Center and learned some great things about our heritage.

Claire was a little shy at first with all of these new people around her.  But, by the end of the visit, she began warming up to her usual, happy self.  Grandma England was especially good about breaking down the "stranger danger" anxiety.

We took family photos one beautiful evening.  Large family photos shoots are kind of hilarious events.  It is no small thing to get young kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time!  But we managed to capture some really beautiful shots of this wonderful family.

Time doesn't stand still when you move away.  It was fun to get to know Marina and Kelsey better on this trip.  I also loved catching up with my three fabulous sister-in-laws, Courtney, Chelsey, and Cassidy.  Family really is the best!  Sometimes, even though I really love where we live and what we are doing now, I really miss these people, and I wish we didn't live so far away.  However, I know that I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people to miss!  Thank goodness for family reunions:)

We loved this trip, and even though July isn't over yet, I think I will stop posting at this point.  I wish I could have put in every picture that I took over these fun days, but I feel like this post is bordering on too long, so I will continue with the rest of our July adventures in another post.  

June = Summer, and Summer = Party!

Let me just start out by saying that this post has a LOT of pictures. I tried to narrow down which ones I chose, but I just couldn't leave any of these out.  Sorry in advance!

I dreamed and dreamed of summer, and after what seemed like forever, warm days and blue skies came to Minnesota! It is so green and beautiful.

 One Friday night we went as a family to the Children's Museum, to be part of the grand opening of the Thomas Exhibition.  I mean, how could we not?  It was Thomas!  My kids absolutely loved the exhibit, with the exception of Logan.  He was completely terrified of these giant trains, and kept running away, saying, "They're scary!"  But there were lots of other things he loved in "Sodor."

 Logan went through a phase where, even though it was a warm June month, he would have to wear his Thomas hat.  He also could never leave the house without a toy for each hand.  He took this very seriously, as you can see.

 Claire learned to sit up this month.  I love this phase of baby-hood.  They're so happy to be able to see the world, and she would play contentedly for hours on end.  She really is such a happy, pleasant baby.

 Our neighbors have a cool inflatable pool they set up in their backyard, and we spent many fun afternoons at their house.  The boys loved it when I would throw them into the pool.  I thought it sounded painful, but they loved and begged for it.

 We got a special visit on Saturday from Chase's cousin Melissa and his Aunt Judy. They were on their way home from a family vacation in Minnesota. It was so fun to see them and their cute kids!  Claire and her second cousin Margot are such cute little babies, and I hope they get to hang out lots more in the future.

 I just had to include this picture.  We are at Pink Berry in Mall of America, and Claire is showing us how dainty she is, while Chase is completely wrapped around her little finger.

 Here is a picture of our spectacularly ghetto basement.  However, it's perfect for kids to play and make huge messes in.  We did a lot of garage and yard sale hunting this June, and there were some great treasures to be found, including this train table and tracks, a kitchen set, and a pirate's treasure chest.

 Our June 2014 family photos.  I love these people!

Claire, age 7 months

Logan, age 2 1/2

Mckay, age 4

May and our Nauvoo Trip

The benefit of having Mckay's birthday on May 1 is that the month starts out with a bang!  This year Mckay wanted a pirate party, so I made my little pirate a cool cake and had way too much fun picking out fun party-ware for the event.  The best part of his birthday was having his Grandma England visit, along with his aunt Cassidy and uncle Cody.  They arrived late afternoon the day of Mckay's birthday, so we met them at Mall of America, rode a few fun rides, went to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, and then headed home for cake and ice cream.  It was so fun to watch Mckay during this whole day, because he knew that it was his special day, and he got so excited by the smallest things.  He really is a sweet, naturally happy little boy.  We love him so much!

 Cassidy, Jeannette, and I at the Rainforest Cafe.

We were sad to see Jeannette leave after two days, but were so happy that Cassidy and Cody were able to stay for almost an entire week.  While they were there, we went lots of fun places.  We took them to the Mill Museum, and, as you can see from the picture above, they were fascinated by how logs were sorted and floated down the Mississippi River.

In no time at all, Claire had wrapped Uncle Cody around her little finger.

This is a picture of Logan reading to Claire.  Being my current two-year-old, this little boy is often the main character in stories of exasperation and desperation.  I'm afraid that because of this, I don't always give him credit for his thoughtfulness and kindness. This picture is a good reminder of juste how amazing and sweet Logan is.

Towards the end of May, Mckay graduated from preschool!  This preschool was such a great experience for both him and I.  It took a lot of work planning and teaching these lessons, but I learned so much, and so did he.  I'm so proud of him and how much he learned and grew throughout this year.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we decided to head down to Nauvoo.  It was only a six hour drive, and  we figured we should go while we lived so close.  I'm convinced that going over Memorial Day weekend is the best time of all, because it's the weekend that all the summer events open, but it's not overly crowded and it's not too hot.  We had a great time.  Above is a picture of Claire and I enjoying the wagon ride tour of Historic Nauvoo.

One of our family's favorite places to hang out in Nauvoo is the section for little kids.  I can't remember what it was called exactly, but it's where they have replicas of toys that pioneer children played and used.  We stayed there for hours, and the entire time Mckay and Logan had a blast.

Logan decided to rock the old pioneer-styled hats they had for kids to wear.  He also liked the rope-climbing wooden bears.

I haven't been to Nauvoo since the temple there was dedicated.  I wish we could have done a session, or at least gone inside, but we were able to walk around the outside as a family and feel the spirit and significance of this marvelous building.

April and Easter Vacation

I probably should have added this minor detail in March's post (because we technically moved March 28th), but this spring we bought and moved into our new HOUSE!  After driving all over the Twin Cities Metro, we finally decided to buy a house not more than a half mile from where we rented.  We just love the location, the ward, and the commute to work that we found in Plymouth, and are so excited to be able to stay here.  

Our new home.  And yes, this picture was taken at the very first of April.

One thing we did all during March before we moved in, was put up interior walls in our unfinished  basement.  We wanted a place for the kids to run around, but worried about the furnace and other equipment being damaged by curious hands, and we especially didn't want our little ones to get hurt in the process.  So with the help of a friend, we were able to put up walls that made this place a safe (and necessary) play place.

In April, we were able to fly to California to spend Easter week with our England family!  It was the first time since last August that we'd left Minnesota, and after a long winter, we were more than ready for palm trees and family.  Above:  Claire and her cousin Garrex (only 2 days older than her!) are meeting for the first time.

 One morning in California we took a walk to a doughnut shop nearby.  Mckay thought Cole's wheelchair was a great place to hang out, and I think Cole liked it that way too.

 Grandma and Claire are hanging out, being buddies.

One of my favorite memories of this trip is taking the kids to a cute little farm/carnival place (I can't remember it's name).  The kids loved petting and feeding the animals, but the biggest hit of the day was playing in the corn.

These were the grandkid's Easter baskets, but they doubled as hats for most of the week. Mckay, Logan, and their cousin Jax loved hanging out in "Grandpa's Crib", and spent hours watching TV and playing there.

 This picture really captures Logan.  He's a sweet, although very mischievous, little boy, who has kept me on my toes ever since he turned two.

 We had a fun Easter egg hunt Sunday morning.  Mckay loved sharing his candy with his Dad.

 We were lucky enough to be able to see Seth and Julie's family for an evening while we were in California.  We hung out, swam, and watched Walter and Logan hit each other (it was mostly Logan, who was in a hitting phase).  We had so much fun!  (And Logan passed that stage and he and Walter are great friends now!)

We left California and returned to Minnesota the Monday after Easter.  There, we were invited by some friends in our ward to do a post-Easter egg hunt.  The Gauthier's did an amazing job of hosting a fantastic egg hunt, and our kids were in heaven.  I loved it, too, because they got enough chocolate to share with their mom!

One other highlight of the month was visiting the Kid's Workshop at the Home Depot.  There, the kids got to use hammers, nails, and wood glue to make a fun racing car.  The boys absolutely loved it.  

March 2014

This March brought the first warmish rays of sunshine to our family.  I was so excited when the snow and ice began cleaning from our driveway!  Below is a picture of Claire the first time we took her outside just to "be outside."  I think she enjoyed herself even though she could barely move her arms and legs.

 One of my favorite things we did this year was this co-op preschool with some of our friends.  It has been a great learning experience for both Mckay and I, and it's been so fun to get to know some families in our ward better, and to invite them into our home on a regular basis.  As you can see from the costumes and artwork, they are all creative, fun-loving kids.

 Each month our co-op tries to go on a field trip.  In March we went to the New Hope police station, and there Wendy gave us a tour of the police station.  She was a good sport to handle all of our little kids, and they enjoyed their time getting their mug shots taken and walking through the holding cells and riding in the cop car.

 Bath time is never complete without us wrapping our kids as tightly as we can and then laying them on the floor.  They love the challenge of trying to get out of their towels.  It's a silly tradition, but every time we get them out of the bath, Mckay and Logan say, "wrap me!"  So we do.

 I couldn't resist dressing Claire up for St. Patrick's day.  As you can see, she's  still a thumb sucker.

Even though the snow melted off of the roads and driveways fairly quickly, there's so much snow piled up in drifts to the side that we are constantly getting puddles from the snow melt.  Logan loves it, though.  I had to decide not to mind that every time we went outside he would immediately go straight for the puddles and get soaking wet.  He was so happy splashing around, though, that I think it was totally worth it.