June

June was so good that 12 days into July I am ready to just repeat June instead. We had my birthday, a trip to Utah, and lots of baking. 

One night the kids decided they all need swimsuits, Adaline's cover-ups, and goggles to eat dinner. Why not?

Really getting better at this sourdough/wild yeast baking. 

We did absolutely nothing to celebrate my birthday, except for me buying this cheesecake at Costco. But I really love cheesecake, so I feel pretty good about it. 

Adaline has been begging to try on my wedding dress and she finally asked at a time that worked. I almost cried thinking about how quickly she is growing up.

We made a "quick" skirt for her one morning with leftover materials. I mean, it probably would have been quick for someone else to make this skirt. 

Look at all the improvement captured in the picture!

We rearranged the bedrooms (again) so that now Adaline and Alex share. For a while we kept finding Alex asleep or hanging out in Adaline's bed. 

Alex is so lucky to have all these older siblings looking out for him.

And then we went to Utah for Keller and Chantel's wedding. It was very back and forth about whether or not they would be able to get married, then we weren't sure if we would be able to watch. We feel so lucky that they were able to be married and we were there to see it! I am so happy for them and the power couple that they are. We were so grateful to be within driving distance so that we were able to go even after the back and forth early on. The first part of the drive is a little tough; first going back and forth on the river road and then winding through the Sierras. My kids are so great as far as entertainment goes in the car, but motion sickness is brutal for them. Michael threw up 5 times in the first 2 hours and Matthew and Adaline each got one in there. Luckily, after we got to Nevada, the rest of the trip was pretty smooth. We listened to audio books and talked about what we were excited to do/see in Utah. Leaving California felt like going to a different planet. Our county has been SO strict and locked down since shelter in place started back in March. It was weird to see so many people without masks on and so many things open. We spent so much time playing out in the yard/on the trampoline/in the sandbox at Andrew's parents' house which was exactly the break we needed from our little house and little yard of dead weeds and stickers. We got to visit with Andrew's brother's family, eat shaved ice, go hiking together, visit the horses, go fishing, and just enjoy the views. It was such a good break! I'm always amazed by how well the kids' much older cousins play with my kids. They are so good to them.  After a few days in Salem, we stayed a couple night's up at A&A's so we would be closer for all the wedding things. My kids wanted little to do with driving around for wedding events and really just wanted to play with their cousins and then bunnies, but it was so fun getting to see and visit with my family for a short time too. Not everyone was able to come thanks to the military stop-movement order. We really missed getting to see my brother and his family (it's been SO long since we've seen them we haven't even met each other's two year olds). Aside from that disappointment, it was fun to celebrate Keller and Chantel and visit with lots of family. We were supposed to leave Saturday morning to head back home, but after the busy wedding day on Friday, we didn't feel like that was a great idea. So we stayed one more day where we didn't have to make the kids drive anywhere, cleaned up our stuff, and tried to go to bed much earlier. My parents were also still in town and we got to meet up with them at a park down the street to eat some dinner and catch up. The week after my brother's wedding we were supposed to have a family reunion with Andrew's side up at Bear Lake. Well, that clearly got canceled. Even though we weren't able to have the trip that we pictured back when we first started planning for the wedding and the family reunion, we still had an amazing break from reality and so many good little interactions and conversations with family members. 

Where Andrew grew up is seriously gorgeous

the horses kept trying to eat Matthew's shoes since they were the same color as the carrots he brought

I guess I didn't get any pictures of it, but after hiking one way for a while, we went up to the Payson Grotto and played around in the water for a while. The water was freezing cold, but Alex amazed us all by hiking around the pool like it was nothing. His 17 year old cousin couldn't believe it. 

Hot dogs and root beer floats

Heading to the pond

After we got shaved ice-which I love, but we don't see much of in CA, we played on the trampoline with our kids and had a rap battle. Oh, and I need to remind myself that when we first got there Alex was scared of jumping on the trampoline, but by the time we left all he wanted to do was jump on the "jumpoline".

Adaline liked fishing so much (even though she caught nothing) that Andrew and his dad went fishing with her again the next time. This time she got a little nibble, but didn't notice until the fish was gone. 

More sno cones, this time with cousins!

Such a tiny little boy sleeping in such a big bed.

Andrew's parents kindly watched our kids while we went to the temple ceremony. They had a fun morning of art. 

So close to being Mr. and Mrs. Reeves!!

Married!! We're so happy to have you in the family, Chantel!

This girl! I just love her so much

Um okay, Alex. I cannot handle you with your button up shirt, your fancy shoes and your hands in your pockets. So just stop it. 

😍because what else can be said?

Playing at a park for the first time in at least 3 months.

And then we were back home. Luckily we still had a couple kiwi boxes in the closet and lots of laundry to keep us busy and not thinking about how much we missed everyone. 

Why are my kids always naked and playing in the mud? This time they took it to the next level by swiping some of my bowls and whisks and measuring cups. 

I had just read so many books to the kids that I could barely keep my eyes open. I told them I just needed a little five minute nap to get my energy back, but no such luck. 

I think I took this because they were watching their first Star Wars movie-A New Hope. They all loved it and Alex keeps talking about C-3PO, R2-D2, and all his other friends from the movie. They had an easy time following the storyline thanks to all the Star Wars books we've checked out from the library. In fact, we watched episodes 5 and 6 within the following couple of weeks and Adaline said we should take a break from reading Star Wars books so that it wouldn't spoil anymore of the movies. 

Homemade cherry ice cream (sort of)

I need to work on my braid a bit, but this was my first attempt and it tasted great! Still going strong with the wild yeast baking. 

I snapped this picture because these peaches from our tree looked especially tasty. We had kind of a bummer harvest this year thanks to some blue jays. Hopefully next year will be more fruitful.