8/8/13

June and July in pictures

Believe it or not, these are the ONLY pictures I took ALL of June and July!!  I hardly pulled out my camera for two months.  The first of June brought us a few extra residents.  The Yangs moved in, and on their way here they picked up Leah.  For a week or so, we had Eli (he's been with us since Christmas), Leah and the 6 Yangs living here with us.  It was a party every second of the day.....and night.  Leah started the "Tunnel Trio" series (a nightly bedtime story, that was obviously hilarious from all the laughing we heard from downstairs).  Don't ask, I'm not privy to know what they are about.  I get tidbits from Noah on occasion, but all I know is that the kids LOVED it.  Noah still talks about it, and has asked for a "Tunnel Trio" birthday cake.  
 Leah had to go home and Eli moved out the middle of June, so it was just the Yangs and us left.  I am really impressed with how well the kids did living together. Don't get me wrong, there were moments when I thought I was going to strangle one or more of the children (I had 7 to choose from, so there were a few to spare). With a couple extra chefs in the kitchen, we ate very well. Mary and I learned quickly how to tag-team the herd (yes, I just referred to our children as cattle). 
 Charlotte and Mary putting on a puppet show for the rest of us.
One of benefits of having another adult around is that one of us could run an errand whenever we needed to without kids.
 Even though there were times the kids couldn't stand each other, they loved having a playmate whenever they wanted one.  We watched WAY TOO MANY movies, didn't open the scriptures once and didn't hold one FHE (all things Mary and I vowed to remedy once our offspring were under different roofs), but what a fun summer these kids had together. 
 Noah's kindergarten class.
 Noah graduated from kindergarten a couple days after the cousins arrived.  
Noah getting his certificate from his teacher, Mrs. Melvin.
 Look how big he is!! Makes me so sad. 
 Some of the boys from his class.  For the most part, Noah loved school, and he learned so much.  I can't believe he can read.  I don't think we learned how to read until the middle of 1st grade.  It's crazy to me what they require them to know now. 
 Char came with us to Noah's graduation.
 Noah's buddies (Calli and Evan)

 Noah showing me the spot where he used to play a lot at recess (his secret spot).
4th of July  
Watching the fire works.
Sparklers
Sparkler lighting station  
The kids have been living in their swimming suits this summer.  They hop in the pool a few times a day, thus the reason Ava's hair is green. 
 Ice skating for Char's birthday

 Noah photo bombed the birthday-girl-with-her-parents shot.
 The big 7 year old.
 We met up with our friend Mike (from Guam) in San Fransisco a couple weeks ago.  We had never met his wife and kids yet, so it was fun to meet them and play for the afternoon with them. 
 We played at the beach and then went this awesome park in San Fran.  When we hung out with Mike, he was single living on Guam, so it was crazy to see him as a dad (that's not his daughter standing next to Noah). Mike and Jenny moved back to Guam and currently live there.  After talking to them it made me really miss living there.  Maybe we'll move back again someday.  Don't worry mom, it's not on the agenda for quite awhile.  Australia is calling my name though. :)
 My mom sent us some bird houses to put together.  The kids loved them.  Our is painted camo and hanging in the tree.  The Yang's took theirs to NY for their birds.  That's saying a lot, since they didn't take hardly anything to NY with them.


 Elders Quorum family party.  We were planning on 50, and had 70 show up.  Yes, we ran out of food! Oh well, those that came an hour late had to eat the scraps. :)
 We had people and kids everywhere.
 No one drowned, so I consider it a success!


 Speaking of swimming, look at that cute swimmer's bum.  I love when babies sleep like this.  I always had my babies sleep on their tummies (I know, that's not what we're supposed to do these days), so I always laid Rosie down on her tummy if I was holding her.
 So sweet.  Look at those kissable lips.  My kids really miss this baby.
 We have made a few trips to the lake this summer, not as many as we would have liked, but anytime we get to go boating we're all happy.
 My babies tubing. Ava's not a big fan of the tube.  Grant's starting to like it more each time.
 Last trip to the lake in this boat.  Adam had me take the camera out in the tube to get this picture so we could sell it.  Who wouldn't want to buy this boat after seeing it in the water, on a beautiful lake and kids having fun?  It worked!  We sold it a couple days later.  Yes, we bought a new (new to us anyway) boat.  I don't have a picture of it right now.  For most of the summer, we had both boats, our two cars and the Yang's two cars (and sometimes Eli's car) parked in the drive way.  It was quite a site.  We couldn't sell the old boat until we got the new one registered, and the title from the previous owner took over a month to get here.

 I love this picture.  Daddy helping Noah put on his skies.












4 comments:

Mary said...

What a great recap of the summer...my favorite part is your reference to strangling children with plenty to spare:) I love you!

bethany said...

I am semi jealous of all the goings on with you guys. Can we come live with you for a few months? It looks like a blast. But I'm serious. I way want to now.

mammasweet said...

I love the reference to cattle. Did you ever strangle Eli? He's always been fun to beat up.

mommaquincy said...

It must seem very tame and quiet around there these days!