July

Thus far I give this July two thumbs up. Here is what has happened for the Brown's in the month of July:

-A very exciting ultra sound that revealed the sex of our baby. For you non-facebookers it's a girl. 

-Swimming lessons for Warner and Olivia which has been a great success, especially for Olivia who can now swim all on her own pretty much anywhere in the pool. 

-Book Club for Olivia. Which has been so fun, and something she looks forward to all week. I got the idea from my sister Jude. Thanks Judy! It's been a great way to keep her reading through the summer. 

-A few free concerts in the Park with the kids mid-week. They love to get right up on the front row and dance and jump around to the music, and then run in the splash pads when it's over.

-A super fun date with Jaron and our bikes on Alki beach. The sunset was gorgeous, and the ice cream delicious and the company even better. 

-A plethora of outings to local beaches with friends we love. 
 
-Lot's of time with the sprinkler and the tramp and me with the garden in the back yard. Lots of laying in the sun. Lots of walks.

-A big huge party with our neighbors and all of their Cambodian family, in which we ate more fried chicken and egg rolls then any one human should eat, and in which all 20 or so of the little Cambodian children came over to our house to play on the tramp and swing set. For a minute there, I really thought we were in another country. I loved it. 
 
-Lot's of Daddy reading time with the kids. He has now finished the Voyage of the Dawn Treader with them and is on to The Silver Chair with the kids. 
 
-Lots of yoga for me, and skateboarding for Jaron. He has got some mad skills. I however, do not. My plank position is getting quite shaky and worthless these days. I think it's time I kissed my core goodbye for oh. . . a good year or so.
 
-A camp-out to Long beach with one of our most favorite families. 

-And. . . at the end of this month, well in three days actually, Jaron's little brother will be flying home from a two year mission to Guatemala. It's crazy to think how much has changed in the two years since he left, for I'm sure him, and for us. It feels a little sad to think that we no longer will have any missionaries out there on either sides of the family. I have loved reading all of the missionary letters of Jaron's brother's. They have made me cry, and laugh. But most always, they help me remember what's really important in life. I'm grateful that my kids have such great examples all around them on both sides of our families.  Now it's time for me to raise the next generation of missionaries. Wow that was a tangent.  

Needless to say, I think this July is going down in history as one of the best for me.

Ok, on to some pictures. 
 

 

 

 

 

Buried in the sand at New Castle beach. He wanted me to make him warm, so I buried him.

 

Doesn't the sparkly water remind you of that part at the end of Little Mermaid when Ariel comes out of the water as a human in that pretty, purple, dress. I should read this part to Liv. She would love that I just said that.

 

Buster's new love: sand. He rolls in it. He eats it. He inhales it. He smashes it. He poops it.

Liv with her friend Ava at New castle beach.

Our Cambodian neighbors nieces and nephews loved the tramp. They were giggling so much as they bounced.

 

Reading time.

Liv set up her tent and decided to camp out in there the last few weeks.

 

Warning. This post is totally conceded.

Conceded because I'm dang proud of our garden this year. Why? Not because it's actually that glorious, but just because it's sort of glorious which is alright for being first timers at this. This is our second year doing a garden, and it is so wonderful to watch things grow. I could see this becoming a passion. If we had a little more acreage we would have some chickens running around, along with a beautiful pile of compost and a HUGE garden with tons of fruit trees surrounding our borders. But alas, we cultivate whatever garden we have room to grow, and as such ours is tiny, but lovely none the less. 
Here is some of our garden loot.

Although we could have easily just gone out and bought a bag of these, for pretty cheap and way less effort, these snap peas from Liv's square foot garden were so tasty and sweet.

I was also so happy with all of our beautiful lettuce this year. We did iceberg, spinach, dandelion greens, and romaine, and they all grew wonderfully. Happy are we. 

 

 

And I had to post this picture, because when a salad looks this colorful and beautiful I just like to photograph it. :) 

And lest you think we are too healthy these days, we have our indulgences.
Here is proof.

Top Pot donut is all over his face.  Why he is not perfectly gleeful at that moment is beyond me.

Handsome

Handsome/Grumpy

Summer Days

Ready to swim at the beach. 

 

Taking a break from the sprinklers to help with dinner. 

Layin out. 

Fraternizing with hooligans. 

 

 

Happy in the sand with friends. 

Warner, happy to play alone and bury himself in sand. 

Saving his ear drums from the loud fireworks. 

Anxiously awaiting the firework show. 

 

Buster with some loving and caring plugs. 

A Few of my Favorite Things Today

We are home from a trip. We are getting back to our routines. We have had a full day of cleaning, chores, and regular meal and nap times. Even though its hard work, it feels good to get the house organized again, the laundry organized, and the kids on a routine again. It really does bring happiness to my life.

After the work was done, the kids ran outside to play. I decided to wait on folding the laundry and go play with them for a little break before I start back at the cleaning again. I'm so glad I did. I pushed Buster on the swing, and he laughed every time I pinched his toes when he swung towards me.

I walked over to smell the roses, they were practically beckoning me with their gorgeous color and full bloom. Mmmm.  The smelt so good. They are so beautiful and full this year. They make me happy.

Then I heard whispers. And that's when I grabbed the camera. I captured a scene that happens often. Liv and Warner playing under "Liv's tree", having a little pow wow. I love that they are such good friends. Upon further observation I realized they are pretending they are Jack and Rosalinda. I dont' know where the story goes from there, but at least they are having fun with their characters.

I decided to take a picture of our garden too, because it makes me happy to see things grow. Our carrots, lettuce, strawberries, rhubarb, blueberries, parsley, snap peas, and mint have done awesome. Our onions, peppers, tomatoes, raspberries, and pear trees have not done so awesome this year, but there is still time.

Happy Friday to you friends and family, or the one person that actually still reads my blog (Hi Momma Brown, thanks for reading still!)

Trip to Utah

Lake Powell

Mapleton

 

Wildwood and other Visits

Blog Catch Up in one Fell Swoop

Buster's Birthday Celebrations: 

Buster watching the pigs at Fox Hollow

Warner loved the big Momma pig. 

Warner was fascinated by the peacock. 

So much so that he decided to chase it. 

Buster liked the little tractors that were just his size. 

But he didn't like riding on it with his older brother. 

Hayden and Warner LOVED the Wheeler's. True boys I guess. 

Warner was a little hesitant about the pony ride, but in the end he loved it. 

Warner's favorite was the train ride, can you tell by his face? 

Buster is not so happy in this picture, because that little sheep behind him, was seriously chasing him for like five minutes. I let it go on for awhile because it was so hilarious, but finally when tears started coming out of eye balls, I decided I better save my son from the sheeps. 

Opening presents on a beautiful day of a beautiful birthday boy. 

FATHER's Day

Warner and Liv excited to take breakfast up to dad, me nervous that the glass will somehow slide off the medal tray, but not too nervous to snap a quick picture. 

On the menu: Waffles with buttermilk syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs. As a drink a special Orange Julius type drink that we concocted.

Dad was impressed. The kids were hungry though and couldn't keep their hands off his food, so after we took this picture he actually joined us all downstairs for seconds. Liv wanted to serenade him with some classical music so he felt like a king. He deserved it. I love this man.

Olivia Graduates from Kindergarten

We loved Mrs. Fivecoat, Olivia's kindergarten teacher. She was so great with Liv and loved Olivia a lot. She said that Liv was always ready to help others and never had a problem completing assignments. Olivia said that her favorite part of kindergarten was Math. She is obviously her father's daughter. Her second favorite part, which I would actually say is a close tie with math center was her friends. She is a social little butterfly.  I thought so hard about homeschooling Liv, but public school was the right thing for her. She loved the school atmosphere of sitting at a table with her colleges, and being surrounded by friends who love her. She learned so many things this year. It has been a good year. And now  I have a first grader! 

Olivia's Violin Performance for Kindergarten from Jessica Brown on Vimeo.

Look at how much she has grown in the last year:  

Whew. Big post. Now on to our Lake Powell trip. . .