June, July and a smidge of Aug

JUNE:

 Mr. O loves to brush his teeth, esp when Daddy shows him how it's done.

 Father's Day 2015

 O loves shoes, all of them!

JULY:

 He also loves to clean. I really hope it's not just a phase but a lifelong trait. {{fingers crossed}}

 In case you didn't know, and I didn't either, July 12th is apparently Christina Day. To celebrate, the girls made me breakfast in bed. It was such a feast I was happy to let the boys help me eat everything.

 I finally kept my promise and set up the giraffe pool. It was O's first time seeing it and for the first 15 min he refused to get in no matter how much sisters coaxed him. When he was ready, he had a blast. And he finally got brave enough to blow bubbles in the water, which he had refused to do during swim lessons.

 We puppy sat for Nana and anytime we couldn't find O downstairs, this is where we would find him.

 J's cousin got hitched and had a fun photo station at the reception.

 

At the end of July we went to a huge Family Reunion in Utah with 51 people staying in a Moose Lodge in the mountains. The weather was gorgeous and everywhere you turned there was something fun to do and family to visit.

 Uncle B helping B float. E's at the bottom of the pic practicing by herself. I was terrified that there was an indoor swimming pool since my littles aren't proficient yet. We made a rule that a grownup had to be in the pool room before they could get in and with Miss B she also could only go where she could stand up. Surprisingly they obeyed, they had fun and survived. whew!

 The game room had air hockey, foosball, table tennis and Xbox. Most of the kids stayed in this room for the week.

 Gma K brought paraffin wax for those who wanted smooth, soft hands. This is me getting a dip for the first time.

 Daddy helping O make a basket. We took him into the pool when no one else was around so it was quiet and fun to have some one on one time with him.

 E got chilly after swimming one day and her solution was to put her puffer vest on over the suit. I kinda loved it so I made her pose with cousin A.

 Lincoln log village was worked on by many.

 Miss B's favorite thing (of course) was playing games and once she knew your name she would run all over the lodge, calling out names to see who would be willing to play something with her. This is Go Fish with Tabby cat and cousin M.

 Checkers with cousin S.

 Trying to teach E how to play pool but there was a large screen tv in this room so needless to say she was distracted quite often but hopefully she will remember it fondly anyway.

 Lounging in front of the screen.

 Keeping an eye on Mr. O was quite the feat in this huge lodge, esp. since I couldn't section him off in any one area. It was a little exhausting running after him as he wanted to explore everything. These cousins (R and M) were a huge help and would take him down to the play area for bits of time to give me a break. They thought he was adorable and had fun chasing him. I was so grateful for them and the older cousins who took him also.

 Having an icecream snack with Aunt C.

After one night of not being able to identify anyone's cup from another we got smart and bought plastic cups and wrote names on them. Every time you wanted a drink it was a round of "Find your Cup" from the stash of cups. I thought it was hilarious.

 After the reunion we stayed in Utah a few days longer to visit with some old friends. E and the girl next to her, also an E, were born just 12 days apart so they grew up together until their family moved shortly after Miss B and their C had been born. Then we both had boys next. We love their family and it was so good to catch up.

 The Bean Museum is a taxidermy museum that we visited. It was interesting to see all these animals up close that you normally may not have access to, like a lion.

 We stayed with J's best friend from college and had fun playing and visiting with them as well.  The day we left, thier town had a local parade that everyone attended, while I showered (in peace) and started packing, hence no pictures bc Daddy isn't used to being the photographer. Oh well. I was told they threw candy and got a few toy trinkets to keep.

 Driving home, I just had to get his pic of B plugged into her tablet with her feet up by J's ears.

 O cried in the car almost the entire trip up to Utah but on the last leg home he did great so I needed to document the sibling snuggle love. The girls did a good job of trying to entertain him. It's hard not being able to shift in your seat; poor guy.

AUG:

Time to send my girls back to school. This is the first year they are at the same school and everyone was excited for the first day.

 Kindergarten for Miss B. Whaaaaat??? I know, I can hardly believe it myself.

 3rd grade for E. 

Riding the bus together for the first time. B was ecstatic that there weren't any seatbelts like in her pre-k bus. There may have been a few reports that she stood up when she wasn't supposed to. We all know it will take some adjustment for her. I hope it is a great year for both of them!