June Birthdays

 A couple of the doctors I've seen have highly recommended a no sugar/low carb diet to keep the mold (in my sinus) from being too happy. I've taken a few days off here or there, but I've tried to be pretty strict with what I eat. Sadie and Nate were so sweet to make me something I could eat.

 Sadie turned the big 12!!! She waited a loooooong time to turn 12! She was so excited to go to Young Women at church and be with the big kids! Sadie picked a white cake with white frosting.

Lots of love for the birthday girl!

Summer Movie Day

Our theatre does a $1 day once a week for kids' movies. We decided to give it a try. Wow - that was the busiest "sit-down" movie I've ever watched! Anna and Audrey were interested some of the time, but then they wanted to explore the theatre. The kids had a blast but Mom went home exhausted!

Outside

 If Anna and Audrey are grumpy, just take them outside. They love doing anything outside.

 They love their little wagon and spend a lot of time in it!

 Having an intense tetherball match.

 If anyone comes to the door, they are right there peeking out to see who it is.

 I think that's Anna giving Nate a ride.

 The girls' wagon in the big wagon.

 Audrey and Anna

 Audrey picking some flowers.

 This isn't our dog. But boy, they LOVE dogs. Anna just sat there and watched the dog for a while. Then she would climb on him. He was very patient with her!

 One of Anna's favorite words is "buggy". It started as "bug" and then morphed into "buggy". The cute thing is how she enunciates it so well. They go crazy with excitement if they see a bug. They will point to a freckle on Dave's hand and call it a buggy.

 Dave, Nate, Anna, Audrey and I were out enjoying the nice day. Luckily rattlesnakes haven't come up to the house this summer or last summer (the first summer we had 9 right close to the house). I think they've learned that we moved in and I'm thankful. But...if you venture out the long driveway or up the hill, you might find one. Everyone was so excited to see this dead snake (except for me). That is, after Dave pulled out his gun.

 Disgusting!

 On a hike throught the ravine with Dad.

 Audrey and Anna on a walk with Dad.

In the Trenches

Last fall we had some landscapers tear out our pond and redo a few things in the backyard. We loved what they did, but were a bit shocked when we had basement flooding after a big rain storm. A very, very long story short is that the landscapers forgot (or we aren't sure exactly what happened) to make a drainage plan when they changed things up. It's been a huge headache since the landscaping company turned pretty ugly but in the end their insurance agreed that the landscapers are at fault...so at least we will get the damage paid for. 

 Dave spent ALL DAY one Saturday trying to dig a trench. It took forever. Sunday morning at church something came up about all the rain and Dave's friend chastized Dave for not asking for help. The next morning 26 people showed up to help us dig. It was incredible to watch how fast the trenches were dug with so many hands.

 Anna and Audrey working hard having fun while everyone else was working.

It was quite a muddy day! Nate and Rigdon had a blast in the mud. Can you tell?

Sleeping Babies

Can't get enough of all of their sleeping poses. We are amazed at how many new positions they discover. 

Father/Son Campout

This is the day Nate looks forward to all year. The Father/Son campout. I'm bummed we don't have any pictures of Nate and Dave together at the campout. They had a great time!

 Nate and his good buddy Rigdon buildling a fort.

 Of course the campout involved shooting with Dave in charge!

Nate and his friends posing their bow and arrows in front of their fort.

It's Been a While

I know it's been a while since I've blogged when we put our pictures on the computer and see snowy day pictures. I'll back track a little. 

 Ashlyn's school group spent months preparing for a mock trial. They had a real case and each prepared to act a few different parts in the court scene. Ashlyn was "Barbara", the murderer, and she did a great job!

 Audrey having fun on a tire swing at the park.

 Nate is a great big brother and thinks it's pretty fun to be a big brother after being the youngest for so long.

 A quick snapshot after church. Not sure what yummy thing Nate was eating but it looks chocolatey!

 Anna and Audrey love going on bike rides or walks outside. Sadie is wearing her Shakespeare shirt from the Shakespeare play she and Ashlyn did with their classes.

 Ashlyn and Sadie wokring on a quilt for baby Tess. Nate caught the sewing bug and made two stuffed animals for Anna and Audrey. One was a teddy bear and one was an elephant. He also made me a pillow for my birthday.

 This is one of their favorite drawers: paper goods!

 Having fun on top of the fridge.  Anna and Audrey (for those of you still guessing who is who).

 Kiddos going for a walk.

 Our friends had an outdoor movie night. It was a bit chilly but we had a fun time!

 Stories with Dad.

 Oh my. Anna and Audrey love animals and reptiles as much as my older kids. How did this happen? I'm so outnumbered! I can't remember exactly how the snake ended up on me but they were so interested, I had to leave Rollo around my neck...for a little while.

 For years Dave would pile the 3 oldest on his back and take them to bed. One day he wanted to see if he could still do it. He could, but barely.

 Helping with the laundry.

 They felt SO FREE playing with their high chairs when they weren't buckled. Audrey is in the highchair we've used for all of our kids. Anna is in the high chair we inherited from my Grandpa Hatch. My mom was a baby in this high chair, so it's pretty special to have. I often think of my Grandma Hatch when I clean the high chair and I wonder how many times she did the same thing with her 5 babies.

 As I said, they are SO INTERESTED in reptiles.

 Anna and Audrey had the best time spinning around in Dad's chair at work...until Audrey fell off.

Audrey and Anna.