Misc. June Photos

Karly Loses Her 1st Tooth!!

She finally did it - she lost her first tooth!  At 6 1/2 years old, she was really starting to get a little impatient about when it would be her turn to lose a tooth!  She is a little like Bentley about teeth though. She doesn't speed the process along by wiggling it because she doesn't like the thought of the tooth being loose.  She just wants them to fall out.  No wiggling. No discomfort.  ha ha

You look so cute Karly!  And now you love to stick your tongue through the little hole.

She was so excited, and very promptly went and drew a picture and wrote a letter for the tooth fairy.  She couldn't wait for bedtime that day!

"Dear tooth fairy, I am 6 and I don't mind if you don't give me any money, but you can have my tooth anyway. From Karly"  with lots of smiley faces.   So cute.

She was so excited in the morning to find that the tooth fairy did decide to leave her a couple dollars anyway, and a whole lot of glitter under her pillow too.  What a surprise!

The Twins

We have really loved having these babies around!  It is so much fun to watch the bond that each of my kids have formed with them.  The twins definitely like my kids more than they like me.  You'd think I was still a complete stranger the way they look at me. ha ha

But one person they really love is Bentley.  He is so sweet with them, and they are drawn to him.

Olive is definitely the most nurturing and loving with them.  When they are around, she goes on full babysitter mode and is so good with them.  She can never get enough! I know Erin and Kike sure appreciate that!  She is very responsible and trustworthy with them so she is a great helper!

Love you Indy and Isla!

Having Dinner with Jaxon

We love our Sunday night dinners with grandma and grandpa, and the Murdoch family!  Tonight these three were sitting at the table outside and I could see they had something in the center of the table they kept talking to, so I had to go check it out.  I noticed this small framed picture of Jaxon and said, "what do you guys have there at dinner?" and they responded that they were eating with Jaxon tonight.   They were having a discussion with this picture and amongst themselves as if young Jaxon was really there enjoying dinner with them.  So cute!

I love these girls!

 

Getting Ready with My Buddy

Just a day in the life.  I'm getting ready for church, and quite often, Karly is in there hanging out and chatting with me while I do it.  Today she even took some pictures!

I love my little chatty buddy.

 

Swimming with Mays and Divetts

 The May family came through town this weekend on their way to be with family in Las Cruces.  I love that we can always just pick back up right where we left off. Today we joined them at the Divetts house for a great afternoon swim.  So fun to see all the kids having a blast together!

Bentley finally got some boy buddies!  yay!

So much fun!  Thanks friends!

Tortilla Challenge

 There a new trend with lots of videos floating around social media right now called "the tortilla challenge".  On a whim, I showed the kids a couple videos and then invited them to have a tortilla challenge.  It was such a random and spontaneous summer afternoon activity, but we all laughed so hard and got some great videos!

The rules of the game are whoever is playing has to fill their mouth up with water and hold it there.  Then you slap each other in the face with a tortilla and the first one to laugh and spit out any water loses.  Gosh, it was hilarious.

Highlight of the game with the kids - Olive was laughing hard, without opening her mouth and spitting any water, but it made her swallow a bit and then once she couldn't hold on any more, she laughed really loudly and then let out a pretty gross gag/burp.  Karly totally lost it.  She was so grossed out and annoyed (the sound alone almost made her gag).  So from that game on, she watched from inside because she didn't want to hear any sound affects. Thanks for playing along kids - that was pretty funny!

 

So at the next family dinner, they insisted we get it back out and include Lola, and some adults played along too.  So funny.

Bentley's Note About Storms

One thing about Bentley is that he hates lightening and thunder storms.  This has been a hard thing for him for as long as I can remember.  Sometimes when the storm is bad, he prefers to sleep in the movie room where it is pitch black and he isn't aware of the flashing lightening.  We have been working with him on thinking through the thoughts and feelings so he can feel less anxious.  I recently found this note on his desk, where I guess he was trying to work through some of those thoughts.  

The title says "Ten reasons NOT to be afraid of thunder and lightening" and then there is only one reason listed "you have like .000001% chance of dying".  Pretty logical, and those are pretty small chances so I can see how he was trying to help himself out there.   I love this boy so deeply and am grateful that he feels like he can talk to us about what his struggles are.  Fortunately, or unfortunately I guess, we don't have a ton of lightening storms here.  We've got your back though Bentley!

 

Hiking the Volcanoes

It was a cool and overcast day for June so off we went with Picketts and Haslams to hike the volcanoes! These kids needed to get out and burn some energy, so this was a great option.  I love observing their cute friendships and am so grateful for my friends, and that their kids are such good friends with my kids.  What a blessing!

We also made a new friend with this horny toad!

Lydia sat by Bentley in the car and they were singing imagine dragons together.  Bentley got a great video on my phone, which is also where this snapshot came from.  So cute!

Ok, I look at this picture below of all the kids together and one thing I notice is that poor Bentley needs a guy buddy, right?!  I just have to document the fact that I do try.  There are not a lot of boys his age around here for some reason, and every time we do these types of activities, we try to invite a friend for him but they are never available.   Bentley - you're a good sport, and a good friend to all these girls.  Don't ever think I didn't try!  ha ha

Thanks friends for the fun hike up the volcanoes!  And thank you beautiful, overcast summer day for making it possible!
 

Family Bike Ride

Why do we not do bike rides more often?!  This was a lovely way to spend the evening together.  We just need to get our little caboose going a little faster so we can somewhat stay in a group. It's pretty tough for anyone to keep up with Bentley though.  He is always moving fast to get from point A to point B.  

Also, you can really get a sense that this idea for the bike ride was a very spontaneous one given the nature of the outfits and shoe choices.  We have some onesie pajamas, some sandals, and then the tennis shoes of those who were prepared to really ride.  But hey, they all got the helmets so we were winning there!

 Thanks family - love you!

Finding Dori - the Turtle

Today we found a turtle!!   We dropped Eden off at her harp lesson and went to play at the park while we waited for her.  As we were leaving the park, I was pulling out of the parking lot as two young boys were picking up a turtle in the road.  I pointed it out to the kids, and we were all so surprised and a little jealous that they just found a turtle walking across the road!  So we turned around the corner and grabbed Eden from her lesson and then came back the same way on our way home, and we saw the same boys just a little farther down the road, but they were no longer holding the turtle.  So we quickly pulled off into the Walgreens parking lot and went on the hunt!  We saw them 5-10 minutes earlier with it along this sidewalk, and now they didn't have it so we knew it had to be close!   The kids were so excited, like the best kind of Easter egg hunt, just looking all up and down the road.  They were so giddy, it was adorable to watch.  And then - voila - Karly found it under a bush!  They all screamed and laughed with pure joy at this turn of events.  They couldn't wait to get it home, and they couldn't wait to surprise dad!

 

Because the turtle was "lost" and they were all hunting to find it, they decided to name it Dori. 

Welcome to the turtle sanctuary Dori!  We hope you like it here! And P.S. dad was very surprised and equally as excited about our new friend.