Alice darling

Meet our new niece Alice.  If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know if we can be friends anymore. Just kidding.  But isn't she cute?

You can see a few more here. 

Summer

This summer has flown by like no summer I can remember.  I guess having 2 boys who no longer nap means a lot more activity!  We have been free to do anything and everything, and we have been abnormally busy.  It is insane.  But at least it is with good things.  :)  I can't possibly blog about all we have done, but here is one long (but brief compared to all we have done) post about some of our summer fun.

Just everyday happenings.

The boys love to wear matching pjs.  Rawr!

 Austin has an awesome grumpy face.  I LOVE it.  Here he is being "grumpy" about some unknown thing at breakfast one morning.  He is actually a very cheerful boy so it is funny, and I can almost always make him laugh when he does this.  He also frequently puts his chin on his hands like this.  So cute.  Zach had to try a grumpy face too just to get in on the fun.

 If the boys aren't otherwise occupied I can often find that they have hauled toys or animals or pillows or something to one part of the house to play.  It means a lot of clean up, but they have a lot of fun doing it.  (yes, they have a lot of stuffed animals.  how did that happen?  it reminds me of myself when I was little)  :)

 Playing with the water table in the mornings.

Running through the sprinklers on a hot afternoon.  

Zach used to be pretty naughty with the hose.  He has mostly grown out of that phase, but Austin has happily stepped right into that role.  He is ALWAYS turning the water on...  It can be really frustrating, but it's hard to blame them, it is pretty fun.

Zach has grown into a fantastic reader this summer!!  Even in the last month it has taken off.  It is an amazing thing to hear your child read!!  So proud of him.

Something the boys play really well together is Trio blocks.  They both love them and most days I can find them in Austin's room building.  Here they have also hauled various blankets and spare pillows... into the room too.  It is wonderful to see them having fun together.  I am so grateful that they have each other.  Oz is really going to miss Zach once school starts!!  They have taken to calling each other "brother" or "brudder" instead of using their names.  "Hey Brudder!  Come see this!"

Austin is still a digger man.  He is quick to tell any stranger that he loves diggers.  And he does.  He also likes to arrange toys into families.  Here are some digger families.

We enjoyed a last minute quick visit from my freshman college roommate Cynthia and her family.  We have stayed close friends and it was so fun to get a few hours to visit while they were on their way from Texas to Utah.  They have 2 boys also so it is fun to get them together.  Come again!

Well this is getting long so I will have to have a part 2...