This is the way we wash the car

wash the car

wash the car

this is the way we wash the car-

well...because we can!

{and also because he is his father's son} :)

p.s. the big guy is my brother-Uncle Fred. No, that's not his real name. Yes, it's a very long story.

What it is.

We're home. Back after 2 weeks of traveling, 4 8-hour road trips, 2 2-hour plane rides (one of which we were totally THAT FAMILY on. You know...the ones with the screaming baby you don't ever want on your flight? Yup. That was us.), 3 seperate trips, 3 states, more cousins than I can remember, not a whole lot of sleep, tons of pool time, and lots of fun.

It was worth every minute.

But I have a suitcase that still needs to be unpacked, shopping trips to plan if we hope to eat a decent meal tomorrow, and 2 photoshoots from last week to edit before wedding season starts for me this next weekend.

So, although I have some fantastic stories (several of which include finding my Small Son naked in various places....)

Just a couple pictures for tonight. Because summer is what it is...which is fantastic.

Crazy Busy

sooo..what have we been up to?

A little of this

and a little of that...

....some of this

and trying that for the first time....

...and this for the first time.

Playing here

...and pushing her ...

meeting him (at the zoo)

and climbing mountians with him.

Hiking with them,

and snuggling with him.

And now he's here,

for some of this

and lots of that.

all of which makes him do this

and me do this

and is it any wonder I haven't blogged in awhile? We've been too busy LIVING!!

Happy Summer!

Summer travels

At my little cousin's swimmeet: Jake, Pax, and Adam (the scene of Pax's first potty triumph!)

Yes, he got in the dog crate by himself....and no, we didn't let him sleep there :) or rather, the dog wouldn't let him...
Since we had...well, lots of time to do whatever we wanted this summer for probably the last time in a loooooong time, plus a kid who still flies for free (for 2 more months!) we made some last minute plans to do a little travelin'. A blessing in disguise, this no-job thing! The thought was that we could either stay in Ft. Collins and do....regular stuff, or we could take the opportunity to see some friends and family that we probably won't see again for a long time. D-town was our first stop, the only one that had been planned for longer than a week, for a family friend's wedding. The great thing about that was, of course, that we also got to see all of Adam's family, as well as some of our friends who were either at the wedding or in town. We got to watch the fireworks with our friends the Onions, and both Pax and their little girl (who is about 5 months old) LOVED them. Every time there was a lull, Pax quickly asked for "more!"The Smiley family: My cousin Janell, her husband Dennis, and their boys Jake and Joe.

Then it was home for a day to do laundry before taking off to see my cousins in California, which consisted of some In-N-Out Burger, a lot of pool time, and the beach. Oh yes, and the MONUMENTAL EVENT : Pax decided ( of his own accord, I swear!) he wanted to go potty on the big potty!! So wWe have officially begun the long road to potty training. He thinks it's pretty cool, so far, luckily...I'm praying that he will keep doing well and be fully trained (or at least close!) by the time the little peanut gets here. I'd LOVE to only have one in diapers! I know it's a big dream, but....The Waters family in San Fran- Ella, Seth, Maria, Ian and Levi (no I don't know which is which) and the travelin' Blegers.

We also got to stop by the Waters' house in South San Francisco for a quick lunch, which was great- we miss these fellow ex-River Church-staff friends!-and loved hearing about how well everything is going for their church plant out there. Pretty much Seth was glowing. I mean, the guy is almost always happy, but you could tell he was in his element. Pax and Ella closed themself in the potty while he "helped" her go potty by putting toilet paper in the toilet...it was good times for all. After another quick day home, we headed to Huston to see our friends the Husemans. Again, a fun, hot, HUMID time of helping them get settled in their new house and watcing kiddos play. Can I just say one thing? I HATE flying when I'm pregnant. Those little doggie bags? Yup. Used 3 of them. At least it was me and not Pax. I'm officially 15 weeks today, and finally starting to feel better on a consistant basis-woohoo! It's been a crazy, fun whirlwind of traveling .... but I'm ready to start settling in to the new "normal", whatever that ends up being. Adam starts school the 24th, I start doing some in-home daycare the 17th, and already had some tutoring going on. God constantly takes care of us, in all things and in some very cool ways- but that's a post for another day :)