whobody had the best summer?

I have decided that I am just going to throw the rest of the photos from this summer into one big post....I have no clever title....and really not a lot of stories....but these are just photos from the summer that caught my eye and I wanted to share.

 

We really did have a great summer. Cruz has been extremely tolerant and portable...and I think he even has FUN with us!  The kids LOVE to play with him and ask me to have him play in their rooms all of the time!

 

Getting to wear a 'bucket hat' is one of the perks of being the youngest of four.

(do you think we have enough toys?)

 

 

 

This is a picture of our family (and Colton & Lily) minus Nash at a movie at the park. (I think Nash took the picture? or was on Jeff & Nikole's blanket...either way, he was there.)  Someone...not sure who....sets up a screen and a sound system at the park...and then they play a movie. It was pretty fun! We watched Chipwrecked (an Alvin & the Chipmunks movie)...the kids LOVED watching a movie outside and had lots of fun eating the free popcorn and hanging with their buddies.

 

 

 

 

When Keaton is feeling kind....and Nash is feeling tired...he asks Keaton to carry him to his room for nap time.  (Sometimes this summer Nash would actually let Keaton put him down for a nap too! This involves saying prayers and snuggling....and made Keaton feel pretty important!)

 

 

 

 

When Cruz first started his army crawling (did I mention he is crawling now?)....anyway he was playing in Keaton's room...and backed himself under the bed! Funny!

 

 

 

 

Of course...we have been working on Nash dressing himself...I figure if he is going to put his own clothes on, he might as well be picking them out.....(when appropriate)....here was a favorite outfit of mine...camouflage shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

 

 

This summer we did have a lot of help from our babysitter "Rachee"....sadly, she has chosen college over my children. (I guess she doesn't just want to babysit the rest of her life :)  Anyway, she came and spent almost EVERY Wednesday with the kids.  I mowed lawn, ran errands, and got other things done that are not as easy to do with 4 'littles' helping....and then of course, Wednesday night IS taco night!  She was also the reason we were able to go on the river without the kiddos!  Big thanks to Rachel for all of her help. The kids LOVED having her here....she baked cookies, played kickball, told great stories....and even brought her guinea pig! Of course, when she put flowers behind Cruz's ears I had to take a picture!

 

 

And I couldn't resist putting a sleeping picture of Cruzie....isn't he sweet???

 

 

 

Keaton spent the summer WITHOUT his 2 front teeth. He still managed to eat sweet corn (somehow!)

 

 

Of course, a silly picture of Lola too...I am not sure WHY she had her gum on her nose....

 

 

Nash and Cruz are best friends....Nash is always in Cruz's face like this!

 

 

After a particularly tiring day of playing outside, Nash actually FELL ASLEEP while watching the post-lunch/pre-nap cartoon. This is unheard of in our house.

 

 

Lastly, a picture of all 4 kids playing together.  I love it when they do this (and it is streaky)....I am so very blessed!  It is funny...sometimes having 4 kids feels like SO MANY....things are crazy and chaotic and loud and unorganized and, well, out of control.  But then other times (like this picture below) it feels totally manageable...and I find myself looking around for our other kid. Maybe that is just because I am so used to having to chase someone down!  The older they all get, the easier it seems to be!

 

Well, Fall is officially here. Harvest has begun so it is pretty much just the kids and I until Thanksgiving. (Aside from rain days.)  We all miss having Jason around (especially at bedtime!) but the kids adapt very easily and act like it is completely normal to see him just a few minutes a day.  So far things are going very, very well.  When he is working like this, we usually don't do anything away from home that we don't have to do.... so soccer games and delivering meals are the only outings. When we stay home it really helps me keep the routine under control...and keeps the kids more well rested and manageable!

 

I hope you enjoyed the rest of the pictures from our summer!!!!