Hot

We have had an insanely hot summer!  Many from around the Nation may scoff at our temps but keep in mind most people in this neck of the woods don't have air conditioning so when our bedrooms are all in the low to mid 80s it is not too pleasant.  The kids slept on the floor with a fan to help cool off.

Jaydon Cam

It's been awhile since I posted a Jaydon or Lucy cam shot (probably because our two older cameras are broken and my good one is off limits).  I did give Jaydon permission to use my new camera for a quick pic and this was what we got.

By the way those two bottom front teeth are loose!  I can't believe it.

Visit with Jenny and Etienne

We had a wonderful visit with Auntie Jenny and Etienne.  They came and stayed for a couple of days and we went to an animal farm, spray park, playground one day the zoo another day and also had fun hanging out at home another day.  The kids really enjoyed getting to play together and it was great having a 2:4 ration instead of a 1:3 ratio as Jeremy was out of town for the second week in a row.  The only downside to the visit - I forgot my camera everywhere we went!

Jenny got these pics of E and Kate enjoying the spray park

So stinkin' cute - he is absolutely precious.

Having fun in the laundry basket!

The older two decided to surround the younger two with a plethora of toys!

Thanks for coming Jen and E, we loved having you.

Kate tries the slide

This little slide has served us mighty well the past 5 years and hopefully has a few more good years in it.  Kate tried it out for the first time and enjoyed it!

Smiling getting ready

Woah, those tights help go fast

Let's do it again!

 

Smoldon party of 53 ;-)

Jeremy's brother and his family came down from AK to spend a weekend so we got together with his Sister and her family too.  It was truly a wonderful couple days and we only wished we had longer to spend time with everyone. 

 

We did a trip to the zoo!  Party of 18 but it felt a bit like 53 :-)  For 18 people in one picture the zoo photo turned out really well.

 

The ' kids'

The adults

We then came back to our house to have a fun taco dinner.  I love that if you look closely in the above and below pic Micah above and Tory below are giving pretty much the same expression.

Not great pics but just trying to show everyone having a great time.

Grandma's birthday ride with Higgins

To celebrate Grandma's birthday and just to enjoy and adventure we took the kids on a bike ride to the duck ponds and playground.  I think Jaydon or Lucy mentioned bringing Higgins so we decided to toss him in for the ride.  He had a great time - he has been hiking and camping so why not biking and playgrounding :-)

 Kate was thrilled that Higgins got to ride with her in the Chariot

 Lucy taking Higgins down the slide

 Swinging

I didn't get a photo in time to show the awesomeness of Higgins going down the big slide backwards with Lucy holding on tight, this was as close as I got before the ride was over (I love the shoes on the wrong feet)

 After sliding Higgins joined Kate for some swinging, I posted way to many pics of it but it was truly so cute I couldn't decide!

 

I mean seriously, so sweet he is resting his head on her shoulder

 Lucy 'took' Higgins for a walk before we headed home.

Visit to Silver Lake

Grandpa and Nana came back into town and we decided to go to Silver Lake.  Nana unfortunately had to head back to T-town because her parents had both fallen and needed medical care but Grandpa was able to join us at the lake.  We had a good time enjoying the sun and since it was one of the cooler days (though still nice and warm) the beach wasn't very crowded.

Making sand castles

A bathing beauty

ahhh, playing together nicely for 5, 4, 3, 2... let's just say sibling rivalry has hit the Smoldon house :-)

Grandpa was tired from traveling to Spokane so he decided to take a nap

Jaydon playing with the warm sand

Lucy is my water girl!

Kate is 9 months!

Wow, 3/4 of a year gone by already - blink!  It has been so fast and so wonderful.  Kate is such an accommodating baby (except for sleep but that will soon change - tough love approaches), she smiles, she plays, she loves to sit and watch what is going on around her.  She weighs in at 18lbs 9oz and is 27.5inches putting her right around the 50th percent for both.  Her big milestone this month is crawling, she has finally figured out she can be mobile and it is so much fun to watch.  She also eats very well, she enjoys now eating most of the stuff we eat as a family and enjoys family meal time. Clapping and waving good-bye have also been new skills she has learned recently.  We are so blessed and it is crazy, we just had dinner recently with Lucy being at Grandma's and I kept thinking, we aren't complete without the 5 of us!

First time pulling to standing! She wasn't so certain she liked it but it was pretty cute.

My big girl crawling around

clap, clap!

Small Group Reunion

We love getting together each summer with our old small group.  It is great to catch up with the adults and get a chance to see our kids grow and play with each other.  This year was the 12th anniversary of the group starting (Jeremy and I joined 11 yrs ago)

A blurry photo showing the kids having fun

We finally got a picture of all the kids together - just give them food!

Blakely and Kate were enjoying some quiet time in Kate's room