I did an internship this summer and realized how much I hate being stuck inside all day. So we spent a lot of time outside. If it was hot, we found water.
Me and Abby walked Emma's dogs one weekend while they were on vacation. Abby walked Scout a bunch. I was proud of her for being so brave! She's not always a fan of big dogs but she liked doing this.
Both the kids love our strays we feed: Lucita, Blockhead, and Baby. (Baby is the white one)
Abby brought the empty recycling can all the way up by herself
The kids have started to love hugging each other all the time. It's a focal point of almost all the games they play. Abby has started picking Calliope up and spinning her around!
Popsicles at Grammie's house
Abby and Ross riding Belle and Sally
More popsicles
The kids have started PLAYING TOGETHER! It started as just a minute or two, and over the summer the time has gradually lengthened as Calliope's comprehension skills have grown and Abby has realized she can make up games for them to play together. They don't always work out, but when they do it is the best thing of my life. It's a different kind of joy hearing my kids laughing together while they play without me there!!!!
We took a trip to Winder, and it was nice to see some of my peeps. Abby's favorite dog in the world is Sadie; she uses it as a benchmark to describe how much she loves everything else.
Picking maters with Aunt Shauna
Checking out Winder's new awesome park with Grammie
Chilling with Aunt Beck and cousins
We also got together with friends on occasion. A favorite was at the Kreher Nature Preserve, where they just installed a water pump with a bunch of split logs so you can watch the water run down and do leaf races etc.
One night Calliope screamed in her bed for about 3 1/2 hours straight and so we finally got her up at about 11pm. This was her reaction. She was very tired and went down again after some books.
Calliope riding a wooden horse that Ryan got for Christmas when he was little!!
Brushing up on our tumbling skills
Mason and I got a new game called Magic the Gathering. I love going on dates with him. It was nice that his schedule was super flexible over the summer so he could be with the kids most of the time I was doing my internship.
Abby participated in musical theater camp for the second year in a row. It's a one week camp where they meet every afternoon for a few hours. It's run by Melanie Brown, a lady in our ward. She grew so much over the course of the year, and it was fun to see the difference in her attitude this year compared to last. She was so excited to go every day and just had a blast every time she went. She came home and sang the songs she was learning and showed me the choreography. It was so fun to watch her perform on Friday night!
She also tried out ballet. It was not her favorite, but I am so proud of her for pushing through. There were parts of it she really liked, but mostly she's just glad it's over. She told her teacher on the last day that she was "just done with ballet because [she] wants to be an astronaut when she grows up." I loved seeing her interact with the other kids, and even hold their hands!
We went to the zoo when Mimi came to visit. It was very hot and humid but we had a blast until around lunch time when the kids let us know they were done. I think our top favorites were the elephants, giraffes, zebras, the two active jaguars, the marmosets, and the hippos. My favorite was the capybaras.
This vulture was so close to us!
The capybaras were my favorites.
Calliope continues to be her usual hammy self. She has started trying to say more words lately. She loves to make us laugh and will do just about anything to make it happen. She loves climbing and flipping and playing.
One day we met up with Mason for lunch at the Red Barn. We looked forward to it the whole morning. We love seeing him during the day! It is such a treat.
We went to McCall!!!
Airport. Calliope skipped her nap but you can't even tell.
Mason and I got to go away on a long walk. It was so fun!
Playing with cousin Brasen.
Abby swam like a fish in her floaty. She probably spent at least 3 hours every day in the lake. It was so much fun! She also learned to kayak all by herself!
A date to ice cream alley, just the two of us. Abby dropped her ice cream into the rocks almost immediately. We picked it up and picked out the rocks and she gobbled the rest up.
Catching a fish! This thing was over a foot long. Jess's fiance Austin helped a little.
Feeling silly with cousin McKinley
A flower from Charlie's Gardens, the most beautiful place on Earth.
Lots of Magic Treehouse reading time
Humming a swimming tune
Mason and I got up early one day to go get breakfast sandwiches for like $2 each from a mean guy at a gas station. Then we went frisbee golfing. I wore this hoody the whole time and never got hot!
Paddleboating with Abby
Mason, Abby, and Calliope kayaking
Watching the bike race (probably?) with Papa
Giant dandelions
Mason made me take this picture.
Calliope helped call the numbers out for bingo
This was when we were leaving. We headed back to the Boise airport at the crack of dawn. Abby was SO SAD TO LEAVE. She cried and cried tears of pure sorrow.
Mason was also sad to leave. His sorrow manifested in a different way.
Abby was a fantastic helper at the airport, and Calliope did great too. She enjoyed running at full speed in any direction except the one we needed to go, so she stayed strapped in the stroller for a lot of the time.
