Summer Lovin'

 We had a busy day today, but ended it with a relaxing afternoon. Hyrum wanted out in the sandbox at 7:00am but I figured our neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate that, so we got dressed and went grocery shopping instead. The store was pretty empty, and the littles were super well behaved. The cashier asked me if Camilla and Hyrum were twins and she wasn't the only one to ask that today. We spent all afternoon in the backyard soaking up the sun and running through the sprinkler.

Camilla was pretty excited to play in the sprinkler! 

Hyrum was a bit unsure at first, and mostly just liked to play with it and figure out how it worked.

Joseph just followed their lead and giggled his heart out!

He got pretty into it near the end.

After they had enough with the water they moved to the sandbox. Seeing them caked with wet sand made me cringe a bit since I knew there was no way of keeping it out of the house, but they had so much fun!

 

The sun was super hot, so I threw a sun dress on Camilla and put a picnic blanket under the shade of the trampoline. We snuggled under there for a while laughing, and playing together. I love their little pretend voices. I went inside to visit when Daddy got home. I couldn't help but giggle when I looked out the window to see Joseph's chubby toes resting on the blanket as they all played pretend together.

Acreage Adventures

 We have just returned from a very fun filled weekend at the Acreage with family. It's always nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, even if it's just for a few days.

Hyrum fell asleep before we even left the city, Joseph babbled and complained for 3/4 of the drive and Camilla watched for cows and other interesting things to take pictures of.  I love driving the back highway and admiring my favorite view just a few minutes before we pull into town. We've made this drive enough times that Camilla recognizes when we get close and excitement builds.

 Hyrum helped Gramma make pancakes on Saturday morning and we all enjoyed them with whip cream and homemade syrups. My Mamma's a pretty great cook!

 The kids took to the sandbox first thing in the morning just as it started to warm up. 

 Daddy did some cutting and crafting with Grampa out in the garage.

 They pieced together a little sandbox for our backyard at home. 

 My Uncle stopped by for a quick visit and the littles lucked into a short motorcycle ride.

 The littles took turns collecting eggs with Grandma. Fresh farm eggs are always a treat.

 We enjoyed a lot of time outside, as well as some storm watching! 

 Joseph tripped and banged his head on the cement, but it looks much better than I thought it would. 

 We also helped pull the patio bricks. Camilla was such a trooper. She carried one block for every two blocks that Daddy carried and cheered us all on the whole time. 

 On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed visiting Great-Gramma and Grampa next door. It's such a treat for them to be able to spend time with their Great-Grandparents. Hyrum also loved that he and Gramma were matching.

We left Sunday evening after dinner and made the long drive home. All of the kids were asleep before we left town, tired from a weekend of fun and play. I enjoyed chatting with Mr. Stannix until Joe woke up just outside of Calmar and screamed the rest of the way. Because of the late nap, no one fell asleep until well after 10:00PM.

Rainy Days

It rained today. Again.

Sleeping at it's Finest

I know I post a lot of pictures of this kid sleeping, but when I went into his room the other night to check on him before bed, I couldn't help myself. He always falls asleep in the funniest places. Since today is the third cloudy, rainy, cold day this week, I think we will all be napping this afternoon! Maybe, if I'm lucky.

It's Official

Sometimes throughout my day I will send Mr. Stannix e-mails with pictures of the kids. Today he sent me a picture of his own. Mr. Stannix has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this piece of paper for a few months now! It's official!

So proud of this handsome guy, he's worked so hard!

Quiet Moments

Today Joseph and I got to share a few quiet moments outside together, just the two of us. 

The sun was bright and warm on our skin. 

He has morphed into this little man recently and I can't help but wonder where time has gone?

He enjoyed his raisins on the swing and I captured the moment with my camera.

I couldn't get over how much he looked like his Daddy!

 

He had a hard time going to sleep at nap time.

I think it's his teeth.

I gave in and cuddled him to sleep on my shoulder.

When he was finally still and asleep I went in to show Mr. Stannix.

"I needed this," I said.

"I think he did too," he replied. 

 

Joseph's First Haircut

After a lot of convincing from Mr. Stannix, I attempted Joseph's first haircut today.

This last week he was called a girl more than once by strangers, so it was time.

I will miss those curly locks in the back, but it doesn't look half bad overall.

I will spare you pictures of the front since it's a little on the short side.

At least the back looks good!

I am kind of pleased with myself incase you couldn't tell.

Fine, blonde hair is super hard to cut since you can see each cut you make.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Seize the Day

At 5:00am I was joined by our big boy for some morning cuddles. Less than a minute later everyone else was up. I'm pretty sure Joseph is teething or something because we've had some rough mornings lately. Everyone's bellies were pretty hungry so I poured them a bowl of cereal. Joseph screamed (and almost choked) as he ate. Darn teeth. While they ate I looked up some public swim times. Camilla has been begging to go swimming all week and I figured if we went early this morning we might be able to nap this afternoon. After Daddy left for work we quickly got dressed and ready to go!

Camilla wore her suit under her clothes and changed herself. Hyrum pretty much got himself ready, so I only had to really worry about Joseph. They were super good listeners and we had a great time there! When we were finished with swimming, we made our way over to the indoor play place and ran into a few friends. We didn't end up leaving until shortly before lunch.

Joseph fell asleep on the way home despite my valiant efforts to keep him up. I was super bummed. My body had been begging me to sleep since the moment I woke up this morning. I knew the other two would want lunch as soon as we got home, so my plans of sleep were pretty much foiled. Joseph's eyes opened as soon as we pulled into the garage, and he hasn't slept another wink since. After lunch I dozed in and out of sleep on the couch for a few minutes. We then spent the rest of the afternoon outside enjoying the sunshine! I would love to know where they get all of that energy!

I may or may not be counting down the hours until bed time...

Blonde Blue-Eyed Boys

These boys are constantly fighting over the little Lightning McQueen car in the backyard.

The second one of them gets off, the other gets on, and screaming begins.

So you can imagine how much joy I felt as I watched them play together today!

Hyrum is such a great big brother and I love watching their relationship grow.

Also a funny side-note. 

Camilla blessed the food at lunch today.

"Please bless Hyrum will be a good example for his little brother, and that his Sis will be too."

After she informed me that she didn't want "Joe not to eat like Hyrum was doing". 

Such a cutie.

Sleepin' Like a Baby

Shortly after I put Joseph down for his nap today I thought I could still hear him playing around. I opened the door to put him back in his bed and found him sleeping away with his favorite book resting beside him. He has honestly transitioned easiest of the three into his big boy bed. I paused for a few minutes to admire his still little body and snap a picture. He is getting so big!