A Morning at the Lake

For playgroup on Tuesday morning we went out to Lake Lowell.  It is close to home and on weekday mornings it is very quiet.  We've been there a few times already this summer, but I usually forget to bring my camera.  This time I remembered.

Gideon cuddled with me.  I dipped his feet in the water, but he was content to cuddle and smile on my lap.  He then fell asleep which made it easier for me to take care of my girls.

 He sure is a happy little man.

His hats are all starting to fit him, which is great because we need to protect his sweet little head from the sun.

 When we go to the lake my girls spend most of their time playing in the sand.

 This time though Lily spent a great deal of time looking for sea shells.  In the end she collected rocks and called them sea shells.  Someday we'll go to a beach where she can really collect sea shells, like her dad.  The only souvenirs that we brought back from our honeymoon were sea shells.  Tyson would pick a couple up on each beach that we visited.

I'm not certain what this game was.

She just filled up the star with sand and then went and dropped it in the lake one shovel-full at a time.

  Charlotte watered the water.

And had a great time doing it.

 Sweet and happy children, at least at time these photos were taken.  They were tired on the way home which meant crankiness from all.  Thankfully the next item on our agenda was naps.

Lakeview Pool

Last Tuesday the girls asked if we could go to the pool.  I decided that we would wait and go in the evening after Tyson got home from work.  He came home to find the girls in their suits waiting at the front door for him.  I had packed a picnic dinner so we waited for him to change his clothes and then we were off.

 We love this little local pool, the girls always have so much fun.

 This is how Charlotte swims.

 Lily swims the same way.  Next summer we will do real swimming lessons.

 Because Tyson has worked evenings for the last four years I usually take the kids to the pool by myself.  It was great having the help and he enjoyed playing with his little girls.

 We put Gideon's feet in the water, but for the most part he hung out in the shade and slept.

Grandma and Grandpa's 60th Anniversary

This last weekend the kids and I drove to Blackfoot to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary.  It was so wonderful to get to see so many aunts, uncles, and cousins and of course catch up with my amazing grandparents.  I'm lucky, my grandparents are wonderful people who have set such a great example for how we should live our lives.  They have worked hard, attained an education, given service all of their lives, been devoted to their faith, and more than anything raised a large family of wonderful people who have all gone on to have great lives of their own.  They are my role models.  When I grow up I want to be just like my grandma.  I don't think that I can ever live up to that, but I'm sure trying.

It was fun to get to introduce them to my baby boy.

 My girls didn't feel like posing for a picture, but that's okay.

Two Months

Our little man continues to grow and grow.  Today he is two months old and he has nearly doubled his birth weight.  He is measuring 24 inches long and 14.6 pounds, which puts him somewhere around the 90-95th percentile.  My babies have always grown well and gotten chubby rather quickly, but Gideon here is setting new records for growth.  That's okay, we love our little chunk!  

Gideon is starting to coo, smiles fairly regularly (though not when mommy was taking pictures this morning) and in response to my smiles and talking to him, and holds his head up well.  He isn't a huge fan of tummy time, but he tolerates it and is starting to push himself up.  He is a fairly good sleeper, he usually gives me a good stretch from about 11:00 to 4:00 but then he likes to squirm around from 4:00 to 6:00 and that is what leaves me so tired.  Good thing he's so cute!

Gideon is certainly a little cutie.  He is absolutely adorable and such a good little cuddler.  I love laying on the couch with him cuddled up and laying on my chest.

We are just so thankful to have this little guy in our family.

Family Resemblance

I really don't know who Gideon looks like, but he certainly does look like one of our children.  Some days he looks like Charlotte, other days like Lily, and sometimes I'm sure that he does't look a thing like either of them.

Who do you think he looks like?

Boating with the Family

We spent the afternoon yesterday up at Lucky Peak with my family.  Our girls love the water and really love being on a boat.

Charlotte was thrilled to hold the flag and Lily just wanted to watch behind the boat.

My girls were daring and took their first tube ride

 and they loved it!  Grandpa was taking it easy and going slow so Charlotte felt comfortable trying to get up and move around the tube.

 We went tubing all together and this was the first time I had been behind a boat in 11 years.  I don't like behind behind boats.

 The girls loved it! 

 Charlotte LOVED driving the boat!  She was pretty sure that I should let her drive it on her own.  I'm not sure that grandpa would have appreciated that.

Fourth of July 2013

We spent the days leading up to the Fourth of July in Garden Valley at the Kesler Family Reunion.  When the ladies in my family get together, we tend to get a little crafty and this year we made Independence Day shirts for our children.  They turned out rather cute!

 I think that Gideon might just like his Captain America inspired shirt.  I know that his daddy does.

 The girls sure like kissing him.

In the evening our friends the Jenkins family came over for some grilling, water play, and fireworks.  Our kids love playing together and we like hanging out so it works out well.

 Here's my handsome husband and our handsome son.

 The kids chose to watch the fireworks from the hammock.  I was jealous, had they not taken the spot I would have!

 Lily likes to pose, but not look or smile at the camera.

 It took a little while, but Charlotte really enjoyed the sparklers.

 We took a little break from fireworks and the kids went back to playing.

 Tyson has always had to work on the Fourth so he really enjoyed getting to be home and do fireworks with his children.

 This is why we don't spend a lot of money on fireworks, sparklers are much more fun and exciting then the bigger ones.

 And Gideon slept.