I taught Colby how to mow the lawn in the backyard, and one day after our beach/lake day with friends, I taught Brooke how to edge. I texted Kevin a picture and wrote, "Part Two of phasing myself out of yard work is complete." She did a great job!
Colby was most excited about the fishing, but despite their best efforts, they didn't catch a thing. We really need to go at like 6 AM!
Sunday Selfie to document a big day at church! During sacrament meeting, Colby leaned over and asked if he should go up to the pulpit to bare his testimony. I was honestly shocked because not many kids get up to do it, but he did a beautiful job sharing his sweet and simple testimony. "I know that Jesus loves me and I know that this church is true."
So proud of you, buddy!
It's really hard to get a picture of these two because they start over-squeezing each other and being silly, but this one was pretty cute...
Brooke started Invisalign, so wish us luck! The orthodontist opted for this rather than traditional braces because he said he could also move the jaw a bit more with Invisalign, so hopefully she doesn't lose her trays or tire of wearing them.
Brooke and Sydney (Sherry's daughter)...
After Nova, we had an impromptu date with Mandy and Jack at the Uptown Shops, so we stopped for the photo op.
One Saturday morning, Colby was helping Kevin clean his golf clubs, which then turned into golf balls. I walked into the kitchen to hear Colby creating a whole analogy about how it was like repentance because you can make them clean again. He said, "I didn't now you could make a whole church lesson about golf balls."
We went boating that afternoon, and the kids did an awesome job managing the GoPro and the rope, which meant that I could sit back and enjoy taking pics and videos.
We spent the whole day at the lake teaching the kids to get up on the surf board by themselves and they rocked it. During the week, Kevin was floating in the water with them to help with the process, but it was definitely safer for Kevin to be in the boat with us.)
I ADORE this picture of Zalaya and Brooke!
Brooke loved the balance beams...
Colby loved swinging off the rope into the foam pit...
Sydney, Brooke, and Jack
Jack wanted to do everything Brooke did...
Random Friday fun and a late night run to Walmart...
We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday morning since we were spending the day with family on Sunday. Can't beat donuts in bed when they're delivered by cuties with bedheads.
Colby was the first one that was able to drop the rope and surf the wave for a few seconds, but Brooke quickly followed. Kevin and I were so pumped!!
They even took a few videos and pics of me :)
Proof of Mom and Dad...
That night we made the yummiest dinner: steak with cowboy butter, potato wedges, and air fried zucchini chips.
Sunday was Father's Day and I just have to say that Brooke and Colby are the absolute luckiest! They love playing with him, going on adventures together, and morning snuggles. And above all, they know that he deeply loves them.
We enjoyed the afternoon with family and couldn't let the day end without a picture of the dads.
We finally redeemed our Christmas coupons from Uncle Tom to go see Little Mermaid together. These kids love to hang out, so it's fun when we can get together for something out of the ordinary.
We MELTED the night we met friends for pizza and hockey, but they sure had fun.
As per usual, Brooke took great care of Beverly.
Our friend's cat had a litter of the cutest kittens and I made the mistake of taking my kids over to see them. They begged and begged me to take one home, even if it was "just one night to convince Daddy." Colby even had me take a picture of him and his "puppy eyes" to send to Kevin.
Although they were sad we didn't leave with one, they sure loved hanging out with them.
A storm blew through last week right as we were loading up to head to the lake, so we spent the next hour or so in the backyard while we waited for it to pass. The kids loved our patio picnic and water balloons on the trampoline "since they were already dressed for it".
Lake Days have commenced, which is a tradition we love with our ward friends. I didn't take many pictures this day, but I did get one of Whitney Danielson and Colby.
One Friday afternoon, Zalaya and Braxton were at our house for a play date. It was getting close to 6 and I was packing up to meet Kevin for pizza on the boat. Kevin called to check in and suggested inviting the friends to come on our family outing. The kids were all super excited about the idea, their mom consented, so we swung past their house to grab swimsuits and towels.
They played hard and had a blast! I was worried that the dark skies would bring another storm through, but it couldn't have been more perfect.
We loved celebrating Aubrey's birthday at Buff City Soap. Colby was the only boy, but he's used to that when it's cousin time.
Brooke was Emery's helper with her bath bombs, which is a role she treasures.
My spent time with Grandma and Papa after the party and my niece Emery was giving me all the loves.
Grandma and Papa kept the kids for a sleepover so that we could go celebrate our anniversary. Can't quite believe that we've been married for 17 years!! Hands down the best decision I ever made and I'm incredibly grateful for the life we've built together.
The kids loved their special time with Grandma and Papa. When we showed up to get them, Colby was wearing one of Kevin's old shirts and he looked adorable. (Grandma has been cleaning out the attic, so we came home with a whole pile of Kevin's old clothes.)
Monday's play date involved a Barbie wedding and the boys were good enough to act as spectators, even though it meant taking a break from their battle adventure.
We went back to the library for "Cowboy Ken", who performed a mixture of trick roping, story telling, and singing.
We spent all day at Hawaiian Falls with cousins and had rosy cheeks to prove it, but the kids never get sick of being together and I love hanging out with Melanie, so it's a win for everyone.
We helped Kevin do the Costco run for the High Adventure, then helped him get everything organized at home.
It's been consistently 100 degrees and they're camping at the beach, so hope all goes well!!
I'm so thankful that my kids sleep in when they're tired! The sun zaps their energy and I love their sweet sleeping faces.
We had a pool day with one of my old YW (Allie Parr) and her three adorable kids. Safe to say that Brooke and Marlie were in heaven playing with baby Mabel and Junie.
Joanna, Allie, and I...
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I planned three water/sun days in a row, but I always love watching my kids walk along this path to the lake. We've been doing it since Brooke was a toddler and it makes me realize just how quickly they have grown up.
This is the only pic I took at the beach, but I had to document Brooke's little fan club. I reminded her a few times that she could go play with the bigger kids as well, but she assured me that she liked being with them and helping them.
While I was doing yard work, I noticed Colby working on something in the garage. Presenting...his makeshift goalie so he could practice taking shots.
Evening swim with my littles...
Tried something fun one day and it was a big hit!! The idea was not my own, but the kids loved blindly choosing between two cards for each activity of our day. (Cards dictated a snack stop (gas station), activity (bowling), lunch (Panera), activity (Hawaiian Falls), treat (7-11), and pizza place (Little Caesars) for our movie night. Loved spending the day with these two.
As they were picking treats at the gas station, Colby showed me the "Health" bar he found, haha. I had to explain that it didn't say HEALTH, but said HEATH, haha.
Brooke was super happy that she won the first game and bowled a strike in the second game.
It was Brooke's turn to sleep in my bed since Kevin was out of town, but Colby took forever to fall asleep and Brooke was already asleep when I came downstairs. I felt really sad that I missed out on our bonding time, so she gets first dibs next time Kevin is out of town.
The kids attended the Stake Primary Activity and had a blast!
Colby consumed way too many snow cones and had a VERY red tongue.
We had another amazing lake day with friends, including the Petersens, who drove down from Rockwall.
Katie and I were twinning in our pink suits :)
