Giant July Post

 This summer has gone a lot smoother than I expected after having a new baby in March.  The weather has been amazing and we've shared a lot of fun family times together.  The older kids have enjoyed earning money from their first babysitting & lawn mowing jobs with neighbors and I love seeing their responsibility/work ethic grow.
The cake decorating class that Becca hoped to sign up for was full... so I bought a basic cake deco kit, watched a few youtube videos and we hosted a cupcake decorating class for a few of her friends.

The thought of having a big pool in our backyard with Alyssa on the run scares me to death, so the kids decided to create this pool for her instead!

Princess Party :Take 1

 

 

 I signed the girls up for the library princess party & they eagerly anticipated it all day.  When we got there I noticed the date on the door sign was for the following week : (  So we headed to our local "castle" for some ice cream instead.

Princess Party: Take 2 - The Real Event

 

Family Fun Watching Dan's Final Football Game

Jared joined Rebecca on her Girls Camp hike this year.

A perfect evening for pictures before heading out for an evening walk to the park.

Jacob loves to get Joshua laughing!

Daniel's taken over Jacob's job mowing our lawn now that Jacob is earning big bucks doing the neighbors!

Just hanging out happily around home (in between a mess making endeavor)

No more diapers!  Alyssa takes a new approach to an old task.  I guess that makes it a little easier to reach the handle for flushing :)

About 4 1/2 months and still such a happy boy.

I think his blue eyes are here to stay.

Emily loves climbing trees.

 We took the 3 youngest kids on a little hike one evening and they were so excited.

Dipping toes in the river

Scaling a rock wall

Taking a rest