Getting settled, and starting our FIRST Idaho summer!

This Summer was pretty low key.  It involved a lot of unpacking and settling and just BEING.

The living room was the first to get somewhat unpacked, although this was still without any artwork or decorations and was missing a book case.  But it felt good to see ONE room looking somewhat normal.

Claire got busy with paper and tape and "decorated" by her bed.  I was pretty impressed!

At this house I FINALLY decided to tackle the laundry issue of how in the world to organize and fold laundry for 7 people!  I put the 4 girls baskets, as well as a basket for Marty and I (his is missing in this picture) on a wire shelf in the laundry room.  Then as laundry comes out, I fold it right into their baskets.  Brody doesn't have a basket here, because I still do all his laundry separate with gentle detergent (the little prince).  But this system has saved me SO MUCH stress!

We got our backyard mowed and the trampoline set up pretty quickly, and the kids were in heaven!
(The tire on the patio is from the previous tenant...he left a bit of a mess...)

We got out our inflatable water slide over the 4th of July...and then it got a giant hole in it that was beyond repair and is now gone. :(  But we enjoyed it while it lasted!

 Brody is just THE CUTEST!

We had all the girls get their eyes checked, and Claire ended up needing glasses.  She has a VERY mild prescription, and doesn't need them all the time, but mostly for reading.  She loves them!

Finally, after years of begging (but not being in places where it was really possible) the girls had their very first lemonade stand this summer!  They did GREAT and made a bunch of money.  They're pretty sure making money is quite simple now.
I won't burst their bubble....yet...

In July I had the chance to sneak down to St. George with my sister Aspen to visit our little sister Emily who had her new baby, Maggie.  My mom was already there, helping Emily.  It was SO great and fun to spend that time together and meet the sweet new baby. She is precious...and I know I'm already her favorite.

The girls were getting ready to go swimming one day, and Brielle could not understand why I was laughing so hard at her goggles.  Even when I showed her the picture...

One of our young women activities was a personal progress night where we did "Taste the Rainbow" and had to dress up colorfully.  I went all out...and felt silly...but oh well.  It was fun! 

 Brody is trying to join in playing with the girls.  So while they play Barbies, he pulls their hair, throws the barbies around and basically pesters the girls.  But they don't seem to mind.....yet.

 Brody also loves to explore and get himself in tight spots.  Like on the bottom shelf of the changing table. 

And that will do it for the first portion of our summer pictures!

Hold on...there's still even MORE coming your way!

Brody turns ONE!!

Our little baby boy turned ONE back on June 29th.  I can't believe how fast the year went.  It was a very intense year, with a lot of change and challenges, but Brody kept us all smiling the whole way.  We absolutely ADORE this boy and are so glad he is in our family!

We had a nice low key celebration at home with just our family...but those are some of my favorite moments.

Before we got the party started, it was decided that rather than deal with a messy shirt and laundry, we'd just get him in his birthday suit.

After that we went outside for a minute.  I was hoping to get a few cute pictures of him while the lighting was so nice still....but he decided to just be a big goof ball, which is still fun.

So we moved the party back inside for some dinner.  I'm pretty sure the girls were FAR more excited for the party than Broday was.

Mmmmm....pizza

Addison kissing her muscles...

And then trying to lick her elbow.  She's a funny kid!

Molly being a princess.

And then her party hat fell off and she tried to put it back on by herself, which resulted in an interesting look. 

After dinner we moved onto present opening.  Brody's BIG present was a busy board that Marty and I made.  It has a bunch of switches and locks and fun stuff for him to play with!

Then Brody opened his other presents....with a little help.

 After presents, it was time for cake!  Brielle was with me at the store and chose this blue cupcake mix and orange frosting.  Brody was quite enthralled with the candle and the singing.

 And then we placed an offering of a cupcake in front of him.

His initial reaction was pure joy!

He quickly shoved the whole thing to his mouth.

And then regretted the decision...he did NOT like it.

In fact...he was a bit disgusted by the whole thing. 

So we fed him some ice cream...which he was much happier with. 

Brain freeze!

 

And there you have it....a fun celebration for a SWEET boy!