Lovelies

A few lovelies from the past little while:

{YW's in Excellence}

{Whisper--who still thinks it's okay to camp out on our bed...}

 {Flashlight...who often retreats to our bathtub when she is sick of being hunted by Whisper}

{The Best Spider Flea you will ever see}

{Maylie's very first dentist appointment...she did great! She wasn't worried about a thing...except for laying back on the chair because "it will mess up my hair." She giggled the whole time they were polishing her teeth and sanding down her chipped tooth (because they told her the instruments were teeth ticklers and would make her giggle.) You know, this girl lights people up everywhere she goes. She had the hygienist in stitches laughing at every little thing she was saying and the dentist said he wished he could just sit down and talk with her for an hour. She really does have that much to say...}

Meet Maylie Johnson: Practically Perfect in Every Way.

July Reflections.

I'm sitting here today wondering where July went. How can August be 1/3 of the way done too? We anticipated that this summer would be busier than last, and it was. But I never dreaded it because there were so many trips and family activities to look forward to. What I didn't anticipate was how the summer would not only be busy, but would feel like a whirlwind. A very good whirlwind, but tornado-ish nonetheless. It was a flurry of activity and now it's over. Well not quite, but close enough. We have three more things planned before school starts--our Anniversary, the boys' Grandma/Grandpa camp, and our family olympics/back-to-school party. And school is just two weeks away...Enough about that. It's not time to pull out the tissues yet--we still have TWO WEEKS OF SUMMER LEFT!!! YAY!!!!

So here are the photos I found on my phone today. Bits and pieces of July's memories.

Our clean garage came about as a result of a Saturday afternoon. I should have taken a before picture--it was a wreck!!

 I love walking in our garage now. It's so clean and even beautiful!

We've been enjoying our CSA shares of fruit from Perry this year.

Another highlight of July is starting my "Take a Daily Question to the Scriptures for 30 Days Experiment." I cannot believe how incredible the Lord is. How He intricately places our answers amidst the pages of scriptures amazes me every time.

This is one of the brilliant sunsets I captured this summer. It struck me the other night as I was driving home from the store and watching the sunset, how each day the Lord surprises us with a new sunset. Every single day's sunset is unique and different. I think I take for granted how kind and generous our Father is in providing us with this brilliant gift each and every day. It leaves me wonderstruck.

And this is just Flashlight in one of her temporary favorite beds (my travel bag).

When we drove Easton up to visit Gram and Pop a few weeks back, Maylie latched on to Gram and decided she had a found a new playmate. (And I was not invited :) She reminds me of someone I know... ;)

This is our beautiful dog Pola (aka Pola Bear according to me, aka the Grim/Sirius Black from Harry Potter according to Papa)

 I love my wolf dog!

 One day Tate and Maylie and I discovered this sweet little movie series on Netflix based on one of my absolute favorite books...

Last Satruday the boys and Patrick went on an Elder's Quorum 4-Wheeler ride. It lasted all day and they had a blast. They came home grimy but they shined up nicely! (Meanwhile, Maylie and I went over to Logan to do some shopping...the beginnings of my new decorating project).

And lastly, this was the day of the very first "Messy Buns" for Maylie. She loved them. and I thought they captured her personality so well...

 I think doing hair is one of the best things about having my little girl!

 And someday, she'll have her own...

THE END

Glimpses.

Every few weeks I start feeling a bit unsettled for no apparent explanation. And then I remember all of the pictures stored in my phone that have yet to be blogged about, and that explains everything.

So to get "resettled," here are a few glimpses into February...

(wherever I am, you can always find Flashlight)

On this day, Tate lost his truck that Nana had given him. He was really worried about and after he looked around in the places I suggested, he ran right past me and into his bedroom. "Where are you going??" I asked him. "To say a prayer!!!!" he emphatically replied.

After that, I began helping him look deeper for his truck, so I could help Heavenly Father answer my sweet little boy's prayer.  After about 30 seconds, I found his truck under a dish towel and with that, he immediately ran back to his room to say a prayer of thanks.

And this, was a big mess. Like a really really huge mess that took me over an hour to clean. And I decided we're taking a long break from hot chocolate...

On weekends we have ice cream or popcorn. Maylie chose ice cream on this particular night. (And she had two cones...)

Tate decided his would be better if topped off with lettuce from his dinner. (And yes, he really ate it.)

One Saturday this month we had an indoor picnic to beat the long cold winter days.

For afternoon snacks, we've been making smoothies. This one was strawberry, pineapple, milk, agave, and kale. It was DELICIOUS!

Last week for Young Men/Young Women's, we had an "Un-Birthday Party."  We played party games like Balloon War, Musical Chairs, and Guess Who (with baby pictures). Then we finished off the night with birthday cake and ice cream. (I frosted each of their 75-80 names on this giant cake!!)

Another night I made Portuguese Soup and the smell made me cry, I missed it so much.

Lastly, Maylie, Easton, and Tate holding their little cousin "Baby Abi."

(She really does like Tate; I think she was just tired of being held by this point.)

P.S. Tate is a pretty good castle builder.