Summer and Firsts

 The girls loved participating in Clara's first time eating solids.

 Grace and Lily said they made a playground for the ants...their cheese crackers and veggie stick;)

 We did a big summer trip to Utah and Washington.  (I doubt many friends check this blog anymore, but I really apologize for not getting to visit all of you.  It has gotten really stressful to travel alone with three children-Jason did come towards the end of the vacation-but I hate making anyone feel bad, it is not intentional.)  My sweet dad offered to fly out and help me.  He was truly an angel.  It was so helpful to have an extra set of hands.

 Grace found my mom's first teddy bear when she was a child.  She called it a mouse and took it on tricycle rides for awhile.  She cracks me up.

 Uncle Travis and I wanted to take the girls to Goblin Valley, but the heat was horrible in Utah.  We opted for a hike up Price Recreation.  He was so kind and even caught two cicada sfor the girls.  And there was a smell in the air that I could not get enough of.  The breeze was just right and I could have stayed there all day just sniffing the air.  Weird, I know.  I wish I knew what it was.  I would capture it in a bottle and sell it as perfume.

 "Helping" Grandma put curlers in her hair.

 We went to the wave pool several times and a pool in Castle Dale.  Grandma Miller was so good at holding Clara so Lily and Grace could swim.  Clara was so good to just hang out with Grandma.

 Lily loves life.  She met a girl at the Price Dinosaur Park and they had fun running through the sprinklers that came on.

 Grandpa reading books before bed.  "Crazy Cat's Bad Day" was a hit when Uncle Travis was a child, and Grace especially couldn't get enough of the book.

 Our neighbors had this fun "car wash" sprinkler that the girls played in one afternoon.

 The girls were so excited to help Grandpa set up flags around the neighborhood on the morning of the 4th of July.  I love the skip in Grace's step.  It's such a happy bounce she always has.

 The girls loved the little 4th of July fireworks show we put on.  Their favorite part was the sparklers.

 Grandma loved feeding Clara the most.  Sweet, sweet memories.

 Grace did not like Grandpa at the beginning but she could regularly be found right by his side on this chair and as his "shadow" in the mornings when he'd wake up.  It was darling.

 Visiting the Hill Air Force Base museum with Uncle Ben.  I love that my girls get to enjoy his sweetness now.

 Family picture sans Jason.

 Aunt Gloria painting the girls nails with sparkly nail polish.  She is still so good to me/us.

 Visiting Jason's aunt and uncle and cousins.  I could have stayed there for a week if they'd let us.  They are so fun to be with.  And these cute cousins were content hanging out with Lily and Grace on their playground and showing them their bunny.

 Love Grace's problem solving skills of putting the blanket over her head to block out the sun.

 My cousins had a barbecue while we were there.  We had so much fun with these third cousins?  Not sure if that's what they are.  In fact, Lily and Xander could not get enough of each other.  They were having shoe fights, kicking fights, and at one point Xander said with a smile, "Oh, she bites."  They really did like each other.  They were both so grateful to find someone else who played the way they did.  I wish we lived closer.

 We took the girls to temple square, did a tour of the conference center, and went to the new children's museum which was so awesome.

 I couldn't believe how heavy the Book of Mormon plates must have been.  It made me appreciate what Joseph Smith did even more.

 I tried getting a sweet picture of the girls with Jesus but we were on the third meltdown with Grace and Lily kept making weird poses.  So, here's what I got;)

 Then we flew out to Washington to see Jason's family.  We went to the Oregon Coast and next time we want to stay longer.  It was incredible.  Even though we have beaches in Connecticut, I forget what a real beach is like.  I'm still dreaming of our time there.

 Jason brought kites with him since it is always windy.  They were the fun kites you can do tricks with.  His parents also drove so far out of their way to hang out with us.  It was so fun and so kind of them. 

 We also went to the fish hatchery with his parents.  Lily loved feeding the fish and was so careful about doing it one by one and at the end she left a little pile of food on ground for the birds.  I thought it was thoughtful.  She loves animals.

 Lily called herself "speedy bat" one evening.  I think this has the makings of a Halloween costume this year;)

 We also went on a picnic to the Columbia River with Grandpa Ard.  It was beautiful.

And after missing our flight...long story...we made it back to Connecticut and started swimming lessons the following week.  Grace always wore her goggles on the top of her head.  My favorite line of Grace's was when she switched teachers because the first one didn't know how to get her in the water.  I tried gently dropping her in but she screamed bloody murder.  It was embarrassing.  The older teacher, Miss Katie, came over and had Grace put her arms around her neck and she gently walked with Grace into the water and Grace was smitten.  She told me, "I want the mother teacher."  Out of the mouth of babes.  I loved that she could sense the motherhood in her.  Profound for me.

The girls also participated in the scripture camp my friends have begun putting on each year.  This year was the Book of Mormon!

I turned around in the car to find Grace like this.

Taking Clara swimming at a motel for the first time.  She loved it!

We went to this really neat Animal Embassy presentation at a local library.  Grace got called up to feed this turtle lettuce.  She put it on the ground for him to come to and eat.  Perfect for Grace who is like her mother...scared of animals for the most part.

Grace started singing "I Am A Child of God" with these cute hand motions during a family home evening.  It was all I could do to not laugh it was so cute.  Luckily I captured it on film!

Lily decided to use paint for make up since I really have nothing to offer.  Jason told her she looked "creepy."

A really cool splash pad right up the road from us that we had no idea about until this summer!

Grace loves going into Clara's bed in the morning to play, sing, read to her.

My friend discovered this incredible lake this summer that we will be using a lot next summer.  Warm, shallow, shady on some parts of the beach.  A great place to practice swimming!

Hiking Sleeping Giant with friends on one of the last days of the summer.

It turned out to be about a 2 1/2 hour hike round trip.  I was impressed with myself since I was carrying Clara in the back pack and I was not feeling well at all.  The girls were champs!

Grace hurt her ankle at the playground and Lily was playing doctor.

Pretending their books are iPads.

We visited a lady from church who has hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, dogs, cats, gerbils, etc.  Lily had a ball holding them.  Grace slowly warmed up to a few of them.

Climbing a light post while waiting in line at the food carts.

Lily's first day of school!!!!  This was really big for us as she's never done preschool.  I was very nervous but she has overall been doing well.  Some meltdowns at night and a couple of rough mornings but she's loving it and I am, too.  I'm so happy for her.  Grace is also finally adjusting.  She was averaging about three tantrums a day at first.

Another first:  Clara pulling herself up!  (She also started crawling a couple weeks ago, also a first.)

It's weird going on adventures without Lily.  I especially miss her when we go to the beach.  We went to Hammonasset Beach and checked out their new nature center.  Grace had the lady pick up every single shell for to hold.  It was a riot.  But the kind lady humored her.

Hamming it up at the ward party's photo booth!