Full of blessings, to overflowing

June at a glance:

Lincoln rolls from front to back

Connie Irick (friend and babysitter) visited for the last time and moved back to Idaho

Hazel finished her first swim lesson session.

Our generous friends, the Dovers, gave us a bike and a kid trailer.  We were then equipped for a family bike ride, so we rode to the Spring Water Corridor Trail.  Most of the bike ride was spent getting there and getting back, and encouraging Hazel to keep going while she was worried about the cars next to her.  Still a great memory!

Kyle finished replacing the door in the duplex (it took awhile to get all the finishes done and seal it up).

Dillan "graduated" from preschool!  I'll admit, I'd been looking forward to it for awhile because I was tired of driving him to and from 3 days a week.

Road Trip!  To Utah: Aspen Grove family camp and seeing my family on the way. 

Hazel broke out into hives our first day home from vacation.  We now know that she is allergic to Pine Nuts.  Thank you Essential Oils for relieving her itching while it died down, which took 3 hours.

On the same day as the hives we found a frog in the yard.  The neighborhood kids played with it, Dillan made a home for it from a shoe box.  He wanted to keep it, so I told him he could until daddy got home.  When I wasn't paying attention he brought the box in the house in his room.  I told him to put it back outside, which he did, but when he checked on the frog the box was empty!  

Kyle got home way late that night.  I think he came in at 6:30 or 7, all of us having a "picnic" on the family room floor, Hazel covered in essential oils and hives, frog loose in the house somewhere...What an adventure!  (We found the frog hours later, in between our 2 sliding glass doors)

The next day our dishwasher broke.

At the end of the week Dillan had his half-Birthday Party (we played with balloons, Twister, and did a scavenger hunt for Hot Wheels cars).

The next day Kyle flew out to New York City for a business trip (where he got to see Les Miserables).

Next day: swimming lessons started.  (The craziness continues, but the month ends, so that's all you get to hear about!)

Very meticulous!  She had 2 sets of letters, one smaller than the other and perfectly stacked them!

She was just being silly.  Then Dillan copied her!

A lot of love!

Rebecca and Hannah Hulet watched our kids so we could go to the temple.  They were apprehensive about taking care of a baby.  They even looked unsure about holding Lincoln.  Lincoln is such a relaxed baby, I think he's great for the inexperienced.  When we got back from the temple their mom's car was there.  Hazel had swallowed a coin!  Poison control said pennies and smaller are okay, nickels and quarters would get stuck in her esophagus.  The challenge was, nobody knew what coin she swallowed!  We looked over her collection, only 1 nickel and 1 quarter, the rest were smaller.  So we decided she was probably fine and didn't need a chest x-ray.  We also prayed about it, and still felt fine.  Weeks have gone by, I haven't seen her poop out a penny, but she's fine, so I'm not worried!

I think this was a Saturday morning after they finished doing chores.  When I walked in the room the kids looked like they were in trouble!  But they just choose to lay there.

"Goody bags" from 2 different birthday parties!

This makes me smile.  Babies are good targets for stickers.

Lovin' his exer-saucer.

In Utah.

Aspen Grove, one week, so much fun!  It was a family reunion for Kyle's side and his dad's 60th birthday.  The kids had groups and activities and counselors.  Kyle and I got to play together.  Lincoln was sick, so he didn't get to go to his group (a cough that lasted 3 or 4 weeks).  It snowed while we were there!  But we still went out and had fun!  Hazel even chose to go swimming one day, the only kid in the pool!  She knows how to be an individual!

We enjoyed doing a ropes course, playing with the kids, visiting with family, having someone else cook for us, playing shuffleboard and badminton and Frisbee golf, a wheel throwing (pottery) class.  And a 24 hour stomach bug went around, must of us got to "enjoy" that too!

Dillan's Batman birthday cake

The New York City Temple

Can you tell his sock is in his mouth?  He pulled it off.  

Bowling with Mia Maids

In June we had a Mia Maid class activity: M&M Bowling!  We picked an M&M out of the bag, depending on which color you picked you had a different challenge for bowling down the lane.  Some of them were eyes crossed, backwards, granny style, left handed...

 Nicole had a unique view of "granny style," pretending to be old as she bowled!

 I was introduced to "Selfies"

Outside Fun in May

Happenings in May:

Attended Emergency Expo

Planted Garden

Kyle put in a new door in our duplex

Mother's Day

Hazel Took Her First Swimming Lessons (which she got used to, but wouldn't let the teacher touch her)

Temple

Kyle and Dillan participated in Legos @ the Library

We attended The Sound of Music performed by a local teen group, including Shayden Nagle (cousin).  It was awesome!  Good music, good plot, patriotic, values, family-oriented, love, trying to follow God.

Kids biked the Spring Water Corridor Trail, while we walked.

Ward Talent Show.  Dillan did cartwheels and I played the music video the Mia Maids have been working on during their class activities.

Field Trip to Old McDonald's Farm (kind of lame when we go to a farm regularly for our milk).

Hazel got a twin bed!

Father/Son Campout: Dillan and Kyle got to do black powder rifles, tomahawk throw, knife throwing, obstacle course, paintball slingshot, service, walk on stilts.

Barbecue at the Howard's.

I also had a neat experience inviting the neighborhood girls to Activity Days.  4 of them went.  The topic was missionary work.  They got to meet the sister missionaries, hear all about missions, hear a lot about the gospel, write letters to missionaries, and received copies of the Book of Mormon and the Articles of Faith Card.  They told me the church is Beautiful!  And for 2 of them the card was their first picture of Jesus.  In the car on the way home I was able to talk to them about the Holy Ghost and baptism.  2 weeks later there was another Activity, and 2 of them were able to go.  They earned prizes for memorizing Articles of Faith.  In the car ride home they recited the ones they had memorized and I got to teach them what it all meant!

 Mt. Talbert Nature Park in Happy Valley, Oregon.  We had a picnic first, at the Trailhead.  Hazel hiked the whole thing herself!  Almost 2 miles.

Both Dillan and Hazel were into climbing every tree and stump.  Hazel learned about roots.  They criss-crossed all over the trail and she asked about every single one for 5-10 minutes: "Is this a root?  Is that a root?  What's this?  Is it a root?"  and then she would try to pull in out of the ground!  It was slow going, but we enjoyed the time together.

 The kids and Kaelynn Dover

 Playdate with Dylan (Dillan's best friend) at Blue Lake Park.  They are the teeny kids in the middle.  We were supposed to go to the Splash Pad there, which was closed, that's why Hazel is in a swimsuit.  The park is cool!  Tons of pavilions, grassy areas, playgrounds, a lake, paddleboats...

Life...is...good

 These kids have so much love!

 Dillan learned how to spike his hair.  He spiked it several times a day for at least a week.  He was constantly touching his hair and getting mad if anyone else touched his hair, because it might get messed up!  Then we made a rule that he could only spike it once a day.  Lucky for us, he fizzled and doesn't ask us anymore.  It was hard to wash all that product out of his hair!

 So handsome!

 The kids do chores as negative consequences.  They are getting really good at doing chores!  And good at Following Instructions and Accepting "No" Answers (which includes anything they don't want to hear).  Hazel has masted "Disagreeing Appropriately." I hope I get it on video one day.

They are standing on the legs of chairs, which are laying down.

 Dillan's playing with his laundry instead of folding it.

 Yes, that is underwear on their head!  They are very creative when folding their laundry!

 We went camping at Lake Merwin Campers Hide-Away for Memorial Day Weekend with the Dovers.  The Grandparents own a lot with a camper on it.  We totally enjoyed sitting around doing very little for 3 days!  It rained the last night, but those Oregonians were used to it and very prepared!  We ate normal camping junkfood (which we thoroughly enjoyed) and didn't feel good by the end of the trip, but we still had a blast!  Campfires, s'mores, camping, exploring, eating, good views, good people, our kids had friends to play with, card games, conversations, walks.  Thanks for the fun weekend Dovers!

 Batman Hazel

She sat still long enough to let me French Braid her hair.  She calls it "twisted."

 This is what happens when Hazel and a neighbor play unsupervised in the backyard.

 She's building something for Lincoln

:) Moments like this make me smile.