Summer odds and ends and our new family member

These swimming pictures are from the very beginning of the summer when my sister Chery was home for a few days.  We had so much fun!  Scott was on a backpacking trip in Havasupai (Grand Canyon) while Chery was here so I took the boys and stayed at my mom’s house.

That is Scott in front of the waterfall...I promise.  :)

For me and my sisters it was like a three day slumber party!  Chery and Celsea helped me entertain Stephen and Boston, we did pedicures, watched movies, and ate a LOT of desert!  I love my sisters!


Stephen and Boston love their Aunts too.  You can’t see in these pictures but they were pelting Grandpa with the water balls. 



Lovely summer sunset...

There are only two ways to play in Arizona during the summer: wet or indoors.

So here is wet: my little piggies playing in the mud outside.  This was actually a reward for Boston during his early potty training efforts.  They literally roll in, throw, and splash to their heart’s content in that mud!


Here is our indoor playground:

Who needs a playground when you have Daddy?



Scott did a lot of handy man work this summer.  He does a lot of work for a friend of his mom - she pays well, but mostly he fixes things for his mom and my mom. He says he likes doing these things for them.

One night he literally got stuck inside my parent's garbage can drawer thing while he was fixing it...he he!  Did I help him, no, I took pictures.  Don't worry he got free very soon after this.

I had to include a picture of our newest family member….drumroll please…we got a minivan!  Wooo hoooo!!!!  (Does anyone else count their cars as family members?)  I am so thrilled to have this minivan!  As I drove it for the first time I was giddy – literally bouncing in my seat and singing at the top of my lungs.  (Luckily, I was alone so no one had to see that).  For me, it represents freedom because up until now we were a one car family.  It came to us…right after we moved we found out that a family in our new ward was selling their Honda Odyssey.  My first thought was that it would be trashed since it was an ‘04 but we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was in excellent condition.  Seriously, I could not believe how good it looked.  They took meticulous care of the van and it even has a year left on the warranty!  We snatched it up just in time for Stephen to start school.  It has been such a blessing because I would have no way to get Stephen to school if we didn’t have it!  I know it is a terrible picture.  I actually took this to show my mom that we finally cleaned out the garage enough to fit a vehicle in there….  It is definitely not Scott’s dream car, in fact, he swore that he would NEVER drive a minivan but he does.  He he!  He looks very cute doing it too, I might add.