Jeremy's Birthday

Jeremy's birthday fell on a Saturday, so he got to sleep in (one of his favorite things to do)! Meanwhile, the kids drew pictures and wrote birthday messages for him, and I prepared a fancy birthday breakfast. Here are some not-great-quality pictures to document the occasion:

Sleepy 32-year-old 

Excited twins 

Trader Joe's helped with the breakfast feast by providing the scrumptious croissants. I got their frozen ones that rise overnight and bake into beautifully flaky, fresh pastries in the morning. They were quite a hit with everyone, and if I didn't tell my secret, Jeremy would have thought I was a baker extraordinaire!

We also had fresh berries, eggs, and sausage.

Clara scrunches up her face for photos and is just too cute and funny:

Unfortunately Clara made Jeremy's birthday too exciting by flipping off our dining room bench and splitting the back of her head open on the tile baseboard. Thankfully we were able to get her stapled up at urgent care and avoided an ER ordeal! She was such a trooper. Jeremy held her for the shot of lidocaine and the actual stapling (she got five), and she only whimpered--no crying. (She did cry plenty at the time of the accident earlier, though.)

She loves Daddy and loves to give kisses, even if she didn't understand about his birthday! Of course, she was happy to share in the celebrations. She likes to do everything the big kids do, so participated in "singing" and--of course--eating birthday dessert (homemade ice cream cake). Once Daddy's birthday was over, Josiah, Abby, and Lydia eagerly asked how soon their birthdays will come. Those dates feel like an eternity away to them, but to me--oh, time just goes too fast.

When Daddy's an Engineer

Jeremy has kept the kids well-supplied with scrap paper from stacks of discarded plans at his office. In July he pleased everyone with huge roll plots after a public meeting! These provided lots of fun as roads for the kids' cars and as huge canvases for collaborative art. It was a nice diversion when we were stuck inside day after day in July.

As you can see, the kids also built garages for their cars, and then some houses and towers.

 Lydia

Everyone tried to guard carefully against Clara the Destroyer, but she caused a few disastrous crashes.

Abby 

Lydia 

Flagstaff Fourth (of July)

My sister Hannah came to visit us for a week in early July, and her then-fiance (now husband) Luke joined us for the July 4th weekend. We decided to ditch the Phoenix heat and spend a few days in Flagstaff, thanks to the generosity of my in-laws (who were away but allowed us to stay at their house).

We drove up after church on Sunday and hiked the lava tube, which was colder than I remembered and definitely took longer with children! Clara objected to the dark unknown and only wanted Mama. Lydia (and Abby, sometimes) wanted to lead the pack and often knocked her shins or tripped herself because she went beyond the beam of the flashlights. Kez was a trooper the whole way and even hiked a good bit herself. Justin met us on the way out (Anna had to leave earlier) and we all left with tired kids.

Abby and Kez 

Blowing a dandelion

Monday we hiked near Shultz Pass, skirting the tank and taking a trail to a little meadow, where we stopped for snacks. We enjoyed the lovely weather and the good company! The kids especially enjoyed having Kezia along again. They fought for turns holding her hand.

Anna and Justin brought exceptionally good snacks, which thrilled the kids. They wanted to camp out on that log and stuff their mouths for a while!

Lydia loves cherries! 

Trail mix! 

Poor Willow was so tired 

Clara trying to eat and make a camera face

The kids all did a good job hiking. They enjoyed exploring various knots of trees for fort potential, and of course, we ended up with a couple potty adventures.

We finished out the day with the guys working on Justin's retaining wall (and Josiah and Lydia pitching in) and a salmon dinner at Anna and Justin's house. On Tuesday we packed up, cleaned up, and headed down the mountain. Luke flew out that afternoon.

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but we really appreciated the chance to get to know Luke more. We had only seen him for a few days the previous summer (and talked a few times on skype over the year). The kids always love having aunts and uncles around and pressed both Aunt Hannah and Uncle Luke into service--swinging them around, playing games, chasing them, helping build Lego, etc.