Second Half of Our Summer Vacation!!

 The Martin & Meyer families came to visit us this summer. 

We all had such a blast! Here are some pics of our shenanigans....

After a long day of playing........

My attempt at waking up Charlotte.
Ended up falling asleep next to her. 

The babies playing a beautiful duet. 

 Enoch was baptized while they were here.

 It was great to be able to experience this together!!

A trip to In N Out was necessary.  

The Fourth brought on some great hysteria. 

The babies weren't too big fans of the fireworks. 

Ellie had to stay inside most of the time.  

This was the only picture I got. Kinda lame. 

But we swam all day long & had a great BBQ!

Charlotte suckered everyone into giving her popsicles all 2 weeks. She probably ate a whole box by herself. 

The kids enjoying the pool. 

Then came the trip to Santa Cruz! 

So much fun staying at the Airth's home. 

The weather was beautiful. Kids buried each other, 

played in the waves, dug holes, fought, made new friends, 

ate a ton of chips, & burnt a bit. 

Jared was more than content to stay under the shade with Belly. 

Our group photo. 5 women, 20 kids, one Jared. 

Laurie with her girls!

We had free passes to Crocker Art Museum. 

They had a great children section. 

Trips to Sam's Club were frequent. 

So many people eating so much food. 

We made the best of it.

Can't wait for next time they all come to visit!!!

Grantman turns 7!

I cannot believe I have a 7 year old!

He lost his 2 front teeth. 
He loves the Wii.
LEGOS are his game. 
Karate is his defense.
Swimming is a no brainer.
Second grade can't come fast enough.
Chapter books are a cinch. 
His jokes are hilarious.

We love you our Grantman!!!

Hasleton Quote

Nate: "Mom, I know how to make hot dogs."
Mom: "Oh? How do you do it?"
Nate: "You buy a box of corn dogs, peel off the outside, pull the stick out. You have a hot dog!"
Mom: "Wow, impressive....."

Our New Home

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A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine, Holly, announced she was moving super far away to El Dorado hills. 

I.was.crushed. 

She is one of my favorite people to see at church, the anchor at our book club, & one of my greatest friends. 

But wait, she said I could live at her house. 

Um, I was totally torn between hatching a plan to kidnap her & keep her in my house. Nobody would ever find out. 

Or, supporting her so I can live lavishly in her awesome home. Hmm........... 

So you know I chose to support her. Also because she had a new born baby, 2 other children & a husband that would notice her missing. So we packed & moved out. A little suddenly I might add. But thanks to some other awesome friends, it went very smoothly!

 Charly on the first night. She was loving it!

 Everyone running in all the new space!

 Me at the end of the day. Totally wiped out. 

And with so much more work to do!

Thanks to Jimmy for letting us use his tow truck.
 That's most of our stuff right there!!

I've enjoyed decorating a bit. 

Although I realize I really don't know what I'm doing. 

This is a wonky wall in the master bedroom. 

 My new kitchen that excites me so much that I have done some embarrassing jigs in it. 

The little nook that our table fits into. Nice & snug. 

 Ahem. One of my favorite things. The pantry. 

No more food on a terrible book shelf, or stored in the garage. 

The kids also love to hide in there. 

 My second favorite thing(s). My house warming gifts. I got to unpack all my books & put them on my nice, new shelves. 

They look great. Thanks to Melissa for putting them together. 

 Two views the middle room. I don't know what you call it. 

But the kids love to run around, dance, play & build in the open space it provides. 

What I get to see from the kitchen sink! 

I love having a window in the kitchen. 

 Back yard & inside the gazebo. 

I can't even tell you what all the fruit trees are. I know there are lemons, oranges, cherries, pears, apricots, purple plums, nectarines, pomegranates, apples & a few others. But they almost all look the same to me. 

I'll figure it out when they ripen this summer. 

The green house. It's fantastic. My seeds sprout in there better than ever! Also, I love having a spot for the lawn mower. A shot of the garden side of the house. Holly was huge on gardening. I get to reap her rewards. (i.e. look at those berry bushes)

We started planting before we even moved in. 

 Cherry tree & other side of the house. 

And my third favorite thing. (yes you can judge me for how lame I am) 

A hanging fruit basket! We eat so much produce, having it all around on the counter has always bothered me. 

But now it can hang around. It's not even a tacky 70's one. Black & modern. 

Sweet Elles. Enjoying her new spot to eat.

I'm so grateful to be in a quiet area. No drug dealers (that I know about), on a court so the kids can play outside, fruit trees, an extra room for crap, a real size garage, a hot tub, great garden area, windows everywhere so it doesn't seem we like live in a cave,  & I get to live in the essence of my good friend Holly.

Feel free to come visit me. I'd love to show off my newest blessing!