Asleep. #themostprecioustimeofday

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Oh Daddy.

I'm not so sure Miss May liked being in the dryer...

...but I thought it was pretty cute!

Friday's Surprise...

During after-lunch story time on Friday afternoon, there was a knock at the door.  When I looked through the keyhole, I was so surprised and excited to see Gram and Pop!!  I didn't tell Tate who it was but had him open the door and see for himself.

And so we spent the afternoon, cuddling, playing, reading stories, and eating prunes...

{Tate asked Gram and Pop to bring him "a basket" of prunes a few days before. His wish was granted}

Gram and Pop,

We just want you to know that we treasure the time we had to spend with you over those three years of graduate school.  The only way I survived being cooped up in a basement apartment was driving over to your house nearly every morning so the boys could run around your beautiful yard and we could pick tomatoes, apples, peas, prunes, currants, and raspberries...

We really miss those days.

I hold them so close to my heart and tear up every time I think about the precious memories we made.

You've both shaped our two little boys more than you will ever know.  And they still talk about you every day.

It broke my heart back when we lived in Honeyville and Tate would ask every single day if we could drive over to your house.  It had been our daily ritual for three whole years--his whole life, and he just didn't understand that we were too far away...

I hope you know how much we miss living two miles away from your cozy red brick house.

When we moved away, we left a piece of our hearts with you, and that void in our lives will never ever be filled.

We love you so much more than words could ever express.

Thank you for sharing your lives and your hearts with us.

Love,

all of us

{Jamie, Patrick, Easton, Tate, & Maylie}

Just a Little Cuddle Time.

A Grueling Saturday.

I dreaded this day for a long time.  And before I was ready, it was upon us.

And we spent all day from early morning till evening, trenching with Dad on the big Diesel DitchWitch, and Patrick on the Mini-Excavator (and me and Mom as navigators).

{I also got to ride with Patrick a lot...}

We began our yard expedition with a Mt. Everest of ugly dirt and 60 million dirt clods, rocks the size of softballs, and boulders the size of small station wagons.

We raked and hauled and moved and cried and Phase 1 was complete by the beginning of July.

Then we had to make 3 substantial retaining walls (with many of our newfound rocks).  That wasn't fun.

Now we have close to 2 dozen stations, many manifolds, what seems like a thousand trenches, and a garage packed full of sprinkler supplies.

Everyone keeps saying it will be worth it when it's all done.  And all I can think of is how many more backbreaking days it will be till what they say proves true.

Because our yard has never ceased to overwhelm me.  Me, who was always been such an indoor, read-a-book type of girl.

But I think that all of this work only leaves me with a completely new paradigm shift.  When, IF we ever get this yard to actually look like a yard and not a chalky, rock graveyard, I will expand my horizons.  I will gladly go out and plant and weed and garden and harvest.

You see, after all of this overwhelmingly intenseness is over, yard "work" won't really seem like work at all.

It will be beauty.  And faith-building, and glorious.

I think perhaps I'll become an outside girl after all....

Summer Was...

Practicing new hairstyles on the little Danish princess.

Making lots of Raspberry Jam...

Sunsets.

Swings and parks...

...and plenty of picnics.

Walks in our hills.

Completing the parking strip and lots and lots of backbreaking yard work.

Dresses and curls and nursery for the first time.

And a family anniversary celebration.

Our first sidewalk chalk on our very own driveway.

And lots of green, delicious apples.

Lagoon.

And the sweetest Anniversary trip. (until next year of course)

Playing in pools. (And Downata too, but I failed to get any pictures there)

Playing with my Young Women.

 A Happy Birthday.

The birth of a gentle rhythm and ponderings at the creek.

A stupendously perfect family vacation to the cabin.

 A Family Home Evening Lesson about unity and harmony in our family.  (Each person in our family was an ingredient to making Homemade Peanut Butter Treats...you can guess who you think each ingredient was)....

And a lot of time for reflection.  About life.  And my precious family.  About change and seasons.  About introspection, letting go, living well, loving, feeling, and trusting ourselves and our Father above.

Goodbye sweet Summer of 2013.

Thank you for all of your gloriousness.