I can SMELL Fall!

Today was a perfect Fall day, even though it's still August. It was a bit cooler, super sunny, and a hint of a breeze. I LOVE IT!!!! I took the kids to the park because we have been sequestered to the house long enough. I just don't like going out when it's so hot and I'm still trying to catch up on housework and laundry from our travels. We went to a new park I found by the Clark County Fair Grounds and just love it. The play structure is big, there's beautiful trees and a great view of the valley below.

A cute pic of all three siblings!

Come, Fall, we welcome you with open and waiting arms!

7 years and 6 months

On August 12, Ethan turned 7 years old and Jordan turned 6 months old. Busy time. We had a party for Ethan week later with some of his friends. I'm always a little stressed with parties not because of the preparation but because I don't want the kids to be bored or think my games are stupid. I know, dumb huh? But everyone had a great time and Ethan was thrilled to have all his school friends at his house playing Star Wars. He was so kind to everyone, very thankful for all his gifts and made a couple boys that weren't from school feel welcome and get to know the other boys. I was so proud of him and what a sweet young man he is turning out to be.
Miss Jordan is continuing to be our shining delight. She is such a HAPPY baby, I just can't get enough of her happy arms and legs. At 6 months old she is 17 lbs. 1 oz (77th %) and 27 in (88th%). She has started eating solid foods and although it's only been rice cereal and green beans, she loves them. She's also had some Cheerios here and there. She can hold her head up really well when on her tummy and rolls more consistently. She cut a tooth the first week of August and I'm sure there are many more to follow. She is definitely my child that is most attached to me. She loves her mama. We are having some stranger anxiety but I try my hardest to leave her with different people so we won't have trouble in the future (church nursery, grandma, babysitters).

I'm ready for the summer to be over but for the most part it has zipped by what with all of our trips. I'm still trying to get caught up on all my housework and laundry but that will come in time. On another note, I'm still plugging away at my pregnancy pounds and I'm pleased to announce that I only have about 9 pounds to go to get to my prepregnancy weight. I'd like to shed a few more after that but small goals are good. This is the fastest I've lost the weight and I'm feeling really good and it's nice to wear my cute clothes again. :)

Precious snuggle time with my baby. It only lasts so long.

California Friends!

We just got back from an amazing trip to see our wonderful friends, the Hogues. They've got 4 girls and we just spend the week together as families hanging out. There aren't many people in life you could do that with. Tim and Tabi used to be our neighbors and we just clicked with them. They now live in central southern California, much to our sadness, but we try to go out and visit them every summer. This year we took a little trip further south with them to Sea World for the first time. The weather was gorgeous, the company was great, and we had an awesome time. After two days at Sea World we spent the rest of our time at their house hanging out, staying up really late and playing games. So fun.

An impromptu last minute surprise was Nick's desire to go home via San Francisco and catch a Giant's baseball game, his favorite team. He's never gone to a game so he was beyond thrilled. It was a great game, a bit chilly, but the Giants won in the 11th inning 4-3. After that, we drove through the night to get home. We were exhausted. But it was well worth it. Here's to the end of our summer travels.

Tim, Tabi, me and Nick