Week in Review...

Jacob loves to take pics of baby Griff!

Ashlyn and Jacob went to the Butterfly swim meet this week and Ashlyn got 1st place!! She was so fast and did an amazing job on the butterfly! She really gets the rhythm. Great job Ash!

On Friday I didn't have any daycare kids so I went and got some errands run, but we left too early and some of the stores weren't open yet. So we stopped over at the park and it was cool enough that Abby got to have some fun playing all by herself. She loved getting outside and playing again.

She was so excited that she could climb up the rope ladder.

Then we took the kids and Haley brought 2 friends to our favorite pool, the Mesa High Pool. We love it because it has a lazy river. Abby always gets mad when we have to get out of the pool each hour for 5 minutes for the safety break....

But she's always excited to get back into the water...

Let me in, let me in....

Jacob going down the lazy river...

Haley's friend Alyssa and Ashlyn going down the lazy river...

Haley with her friends Alyssa and Riley and Ashlyn's in there too...

I made this butterfly mobile out of toilet paper rolls for Abby's room...

We got lots of fruit at the farmers market to freeze for smoothies:) Yum!

Haley with baby Griff...

We found a rainbow in the cloud and Haley took a pic of it...it's hard to see but it's in the cloud to the left of the window...

I got to fulfill a bucket list this week! One of my favorite authors asked for beta readers on Facebook for a new book that she's writing. Somehow I missed her post, so I messaged her that I hoped that I wasn't too late because I really wanted to beta read her book. Beta read basically means that you read what she's written so far and critique it, give your opinion on it. So I messaged her and she said that she'd already picked her readers but she had been looking for my name because I'd been a fan from the very beginning of her books and so she sent me a copy just because she knows how much of a fan that I am!! So cool!! So I already read it and answered all of her questions, it was awesome!! I love how Facebook can connect us to people that we admire, makes the world feel that much smaller:)

This week we've been working on getting Abby to learn how to swim without her lifejacket. She's still in the learning stages but she's getting more and more comfortable. This week we worked on jumping into the pool and then swimming to the stairs and putting her face under water for a few seconds. She loves being underwater so she picked up this skill very quickly.

Rick is still experiencing stomach pain, we have eliminated dairy and gluten/wheat products from his diet but now we also have to eliminate tomato based products, citrus and fatty foods. He gets severe pains when he has spaghetti sauce/pizza sauce and cookies. This has been a really hard trial for us, but we are pushing through trying to find foods that he CAN eat and that won't upset his belly. His saving grace has been kayaking, it is a stress reliever for him and he loves it. We are grateful that we live so close to a river and lake that he can access.

Week in Review...

When Rick was Ashlyn's soccer coach the city of mesa had a soccer party at Peter Piper Pizza. A bunch of his kids couldn't make it so he ended up with lots of extra tickets for tokens and personal pizzas. We took a bunch of these to peter piper pizza this week and let the kids have fun. Ashlyn hit the jackpot on one of the games and ended up with 546 tickets! Haley went to Camp this week and had a great time! She said that they took the first years on a snipe hunt and she was the one who ended up scared! She tripped over a snake and started to run away and there was a girl behind her with a flashlight to her face and it freaked her out! Ah, the fun experiences of camp:) She came back with lots of sweet notes from fellow campers telling her how much they looked up to her and admired her.

I was able to go to Newsies with my good friends and it was amazing!! Best show that I've seen yet!

We bought these tickets over a year ago and we got some great seats!

When Haley got home she went in to get Abby when she woke up from her nap and Abby looked at her and said, "what happened?" What she meant was, where have you been??! It was so cute! She was holding onto her for dear life but I didn't snap the pic in time and she just wanted to get down. She is now in her swimming suit and goggles all day long! She refuses to wear much of anything else, although she still changes 20 times a day. She always ends up back in her swimming suit. I guess she figures she has to be ready at a moments notice if we go swimming.

Here is one of the outfits she chose for 30 seconds before changing back into her swimsuit...

 We are so grateful for the fathers in our lives! I woke up early to make Rick some gluten free/dairy free banana blueberry waffles and a Raspberry, banana, blueberry smoothie:) We are so grateful for him and all that he does for our family. We are also so very grateful for both of our fathers! We love them both dearly!

 I changed up our ceiling fans in the front room to make them a little more my style...Here's BEFORE

 Here's After...

While Haley was at camp I switched the kids rooms around. Haley had the biggest room all to herself, so I moved Ashlyn and Jacob into her room and Haley into their old room. In the process I broke the kids bunk bed, on me! It fell when I was taking the top bunk off and broke, right on my upper thigh. I have a big bruise and a cut. Luckily I was able to find a metal bunkbed for super cheap the same day. So here's the before pics...they're terrible because I always forget to take pics before I start moving stuff..
This was Ashlyn and Jacobs room...

 This was Haley's room..

I found these pics that were taken by the kids...

 Here's the new bunk bed and room switch ups...Ashlyn and Jacob's new room..

Here is Haley's new room...

I have plans to paint the green room, but I just don't have the energy right now. Swapping rooms took a lot out of me. I'll get there eventually:)

Week in Review...

We had another busy week here for summer break! The kids had swim team each morning and their first swim meet on Thursday night. Abby got sick on Thursday morning, she threw up and then was acting fine all day long. Friday she woke up and was fine until about 11 a.m. when she started burning up with fever and then threw up again, then had a fever all night. Saturday she started feeling better.

I found some pics that the kids took while camping before they all got sick...

One project that I wanted to get done during summer break was painting Abbys room. The only wall I painted in this room was the dark blue accent wall because it used to be Jacob's room. The other walls are a pale blue. These are before shots...

I got my first pair of new glasses in a few years! I wear contacts so I don't wear glasses very often, but mine were starting to bend and I was scared of them breaking.

This week we went and saw a play at the library, the kids really enjoyed it. It was put on by a children's theater group.

Here are the after shots, I painted her room the same color that the rest of the house is in, Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter because I love it so much. It's a very neutral gray. Yes, Abby is still in her crib. She has yet to try and climb out so I'm holding out as long as I can. She sleeps so good in it!

I got some new curtains for her room and got some wallpaper cutouts to accent the curtain color.

She loves to play in her crib whenever I'm cleaning her room.

Here is my Dad with his two brothers on my Uncle Bob's birthday. Uncle Herb on the right and Uncle Bob sitting in his wheelchair. My dad has been faithfully driving up to Jackson almost weekly/monthly to check on Bob for the last several years, taking him out to eat/visiting with him/running errands for him. Jackson isn't near by, so this has been a sacrifice on my dad's part. My dad has a very selfless/generous heart. I've never met a kinder, more giving soul. I am so grateful to call him my dad! I'm sure his parents who are in heaven are just feeling so grateful that he is taking such good care of his brother/their son. Love you Dad!

I found this table at goodwill for $5 and had to have it!

We found a "free" bag on the side of the road and it had a ton of books and this cute princess sleeping bag in it. Abby was loving it!

You can't see in these pics but she's obsessed with wearing swimming goggles around her neck. It's hilarious!

Haley's been helping to make these mail carriers for camp. Girls camp is next week and she is very excited!

Rick's sister Becca gave birth to a new nephew a few weeks ago! August Elias Stratford. He was a big guy, 9 lbs! Here they are before leaving to get induced...

More camping pics...

Trying to fish...

Here's the new nephew August with his big brother Clark, so cute!

Grandma Johnson was able to go up and help for 2 weeks.

Last night I was able to attend a wedding reception of the daughter of my old "preschool" teacher that I used to work under at Bush Elementary. It was fun to see her and see her new grandkids. She helped me so much when I was pregnant with Abby! I'll forever be grateful for her! Mrs. Beecher:)

Also on Saturday Rick and I went on a date to Pei Wei and then we both got pedicures! It was so fun to sit in the massaging chair and be pampered! Rick was very hesitant to go with me, but I think he secretly enjoyed it:)