week 34

 On the way home from the lakehouse we thought we would explore and take the long way home. We found this awesome campground that we plan to go back to next summer to camp. It was so beautiful and had this awesome playground in the middle of it.

 Love this cute hairy man. I seriously love his beard. Especially the sprinkled gray hair in it. It just is a sweet reminder that we are growing old together.

 At the campground we found a little spot to play along the river. And it was just so beautiful. It was really smokey because of all the forest fires throughout the state.

 Oh midges! Actually they weren't as bad this year.

 Preparing to start another year of homeschooling I had to tackle this beast. This is what happens when I let my kids have free access. This is seriously their mess. Ugh.

 It took me nearly a week to get it cleaned out and organized. I threw away a two garbage bags full and got rid of a laundry basket of stuff.

 And the finished product! (And since I am posting this two months after the fact, I can happily say that it still looks like this two months later!)

 The kids planted these flowers at the begining of the summer and then my hubby installed an automatic waterer for them and they took off.

 We had Hubs's family work bbq. It was such a beautiful day and wasn't as smokey that day thankfully. The kids had a blast and once again they played for about six hours.

week 33

 Don't ask me why Mac is wrapped in pink crate paper but in this picture we were acutally having a spelling bee that the kids put on for the grown ups in the house. It was actually a ton of fun.

 We went to get the kids new tennishoes and they walked in the store and saw these and they both had to have them. I think they are the cutest.

 It was Mac's forever day and he wanted ice cream. So that this boy is forever in our family.

 One of the perks of living in the country and living right across the road from a cow field. Sometimes cows escape and come and leave a pie in your front yard. lol.

 We were heading to my husband's cousins wedding for the weekend which is near our families lakehouse. My husband has been very stressed with work so he made himself take a bit of vacation. He took some extra days off and we went to the lakehouse. He told me I had to leave all of my worrying and anxiety at home and he would leave his worry and stress at home. It was a deal. And he just fished and fished the whole time and it was so great to see him relax a bit.

 The weather was amazing and even better than when we were there in July. Oak was really bummed she couldn't swim because of her stitches. But we tried to focus on what she could do. We would wrap her leg really good and she did a lot of kayaking. And got really good at it.

 While we were at the lakehouse it was time for her to get her stitches out. Hubs's sister is a nurse and offered to do it so we didn't have to pay to take her in. Oak was terrified but Aunt S was awesome with her. She held the stitch and let Oak cut it and pull it out. Brave girl.

 I was so good ALL summer making sure I put sunscreen on my kids and they didn't get burnt once. Then I failed this trip and didn't put any on them and this is Mac's face. Poor kid.

 Oak with daddy's cousin's daughter. They are the same age and really hit it off.

 Oh and this girl,our niece. I have a lot I could say about her. She was not quite 2 years old when Hubs and I got married. And we lived in the same apartment as her and her parents for two years. When we were wanting and waiting for all those years to get pregnant she was the little one I loved on the most. And now she is off to college at BYU. This was the last time I would see her before she left. She has turned out to be such an amazing young lady and is so beautiful inside and out.

 I love my Hubs's family. They are so down to earth and outdoor people and they are just wonderful people. I just had to capture this photo of Hubs and his cousins and Uncle at the reception talking about boats.

week 32

The kids loved hanging out on the top bunk together.

We learned this amazing trick from Mac's birthmom. Everyone has their rubber band bracelets that they use.

We are a bit obsessed with the Target tshirts. These are our favorites.

Oak got a new bike for her birthday. When she was taking it out for the first time she lost her balance and fell in the gravel. She got a pretty big rock imbedded in her knee.

I took her to immediate care and she wouldn't let anyone touch her until Daddy got there. Thankfully his plans to be out of town were rescheduled. He was a huge help because we had to hold her down while she screamed. It was not fun.

She ended up with three stitches.

That is one big rock! All the nurses came out as we were checking out to see the big rock they had heard about.

Mac was pretty worried about her. When we decided that we needed to take her to immediate care we found him outside crying worried about Oak.

If you know Oak you know she never sits still for very long. It was not fun to have to make her sit and be still for at least a day. I gave up after that.

Oak turned SEVEN. I can hardly believe it.

Her grandparents and birthmom and birth grandparents came to spend her birthday with her. She also had a baseball game that day. She couldn't run but she got to bat and she got to at least be in the outfield.

Spoiled!

her birthmom got them these sweet bracelets.

She wanted a bear cake this year. I think it turned out pretty cute.