Ice Cream

 

Two Front Teeth!

 

It's been a growing up week for Joshua to start going to school all-day.  AND, to lose two teeth this weekend.  Yes, Greg pulled both of them.  Sometimes I can't believe the kids trust him near their mouths.  He assures them he's "just looking" and the next thing you know there's a tooth missing. 

Joshua shed tears of shock, until he was reminded about the tooth fairy.  And then Nathan shed tears of unfairness, because he's never been able to bring himself to part with his lost teeth (or even risk putting them under his pillow to see what would happen) and now doesn't know where any of them are to try it when he's now ready.  Oh, the unfairness of it all.  =)

 But, for now a pretty cute new smile.

 

Mommy's Little Helper

He's getting so big so fast!  I can honestly say that at some point in every day right now I wish I could just stop time...and keep him just the age he is.  He is such a pleasant little person.  I love these stages of learning and growing so much!  I feel like we're just starting to really discover the cute little personality inside him.

(However, I held a one month old baby for a while this week and I can also honestly say that I feel no current temptation to go backwards!) Maybe we can love him so much because he usually lets us get a great night's sleep! 

Mischief

This face and these little feet spell mischief.  Aaron is getting too mobile too quickly for me!  He's figuring out how to pull himself up quite well now and can make it up several stairs before getting caught.

First Day of School

The crew.

Nate in Third Grade

(Last year at school he chose to go by his full name Nathaniel.  This year he's trying out being Nate.)

 

Joshua in First Grade.

(It was hard to get a great picture of him because on this and each morning of school since, before we head out the door we crank up our two current favorite songs to pump us up for the day.  "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction and "Party Rock Anthem".  Joshua was too busy dancing to hold still for long.)

Elizabeth -- who get's to be my big girl at home this year.

 

Walking to school with some of the neighbor kids.

Labor Day

Finished off the summer with our last swim at the neighborhood pool, and our very favorite pizza. 

 

BBQ and Court of Honor

 

Greg is still the Scoutmaster in our ward, and he wanted to do something special for the end of summer Court of Honor.  We had the scouts and families over for a little barbeque and then did the Court of Honor in our backyard.

 

The picture on the top right is Greg leading the older boys in a silly skit.  You can tell he had them pretty roped in.  =)  Had to include the one of Elizabeth watching.  I feel like whenever Greg has had callings with the youth, our kids benefit so much from getting to be a part of it...and more to become like little brothers and sisters to these great young men.

Stake "End of Summer" Carnival

Our kids anticipate this annual church event like a second Christmas. =) It's the ideal evening for kids like ours. I feel bad Elizabeth even got to have her dream-come-true...a ride on a real pony. But, somehow the photos got deleted. =(

They loved the bounce house, giant slide, and obstacle course... 

Elizabeth held very still while she got her hand painted...

...a beautiful unicorn. 
(Have I mentioned we love all things pony?  We each even have our own "My Little Pony" names.  Greg included.)

 

Joshua and Nathan made sure to pack their swimming suits so they'd be ready for the dunk tank.

Greg even managed a picture of Nathan in the process of being dunked.  =)

A fire truck and hose...

 

And sweet Aaron, happy to be along for the ride.

Teeth!

 

Hard to believe that Aaron is 9 months old today!  He's rolling, going from his tummy to sitting, and can climb up from the family room (one step lower) to the dining room.  He's army crawling every where!  We'll take a more "flattering" picture later ... but for now we have to show off his four cute teeth!  What did we ever do without this big guy?!

American Ninja Warrior

 

We've hit every park nearby this summer ... more times than I want to remember.  I've been afraid that Nathan is getting old enough that being at a park isn't the same "perk" it used to be.  But, one night Nathan and Joshua saw a few clips of "American Ninja Warrior" and our stops at the park -- for better or for worse -- haven't been the same since!