More Washington...

 We went to play with Hayden and Lucy a few times. They are so fun to be with! Anderson liked wearing Lucy's bow over his hat. Nice and manly.

 Love the Washington views!

 I desperately need to learn how to use my camera. I have so many cute pictures that are blurry! It makes me so mad. I had to put this one of Anderson on here even though it's not the best quality. I love that smile.

 Juicy red popsicle lips!!

Jack ate more popsicles this summer than he has his entire life. Angie's awesome neighbor Christina seems to have a never ending supply. Every time I turn around, they were eating popsicles. One of the joys of summer time.

 We picked strawberries and made some jam. Angie has some really cute pictures from this, but I haven't got them yet. I will have to put them on later. Anderson was driving me crazy while we were at the farm and I couldn't figure out why he would not let me put him down. He cried off and on the whole time. He had a fever for a couple days and I took him to the doctor the next day and they said he had pneumonia! But they caught it early enough that the antibiotic took care of everything. After I found that out, I felt really bad for being annoyed at his fussiness. It is hard to deal with that though when you are the only parent and all they want is you. I was glad he didn't have to go to the hospital and do chest xrays and all that.

 My parents flew in on the Friday before Whitney's wedding and we had a bridal shower for her that same night at my mom's house. It turned out so cute and she got a lot of fun things.

 She wasn't excited to be getting married at all... :)

 Me and my Grandma Gorrell. 

Once again, super cute picture but a little blurry!! Darn it. It doesn't really help to have a nice camera if you don't know how to use it.

 The Rockwood girls! It was so fun to see them. And I was loving Claire's cute pregnant belly. We were lucky that they were all in town.

 My Grandma Brownell and my Aunt Suzanne, trying to keep warm with the sun going down. I thought this picture was cute.

 Cute McKenna with Erica's little Brielle. McKenna makes a good little mommy.

 All the girls after the shower. We were so happy to have my mom and dad there finally!! It was kind of fun that they were able to take a short little vacation in the middle of their mission. Everyone was together except for Justin. I was so sad that he was missing out on all the festivities, but excited for him to be starting his residency.

The week my parents were here was one of the craziest weeks. Friday they flew in and we had Whitney's shower. Saturday, Whitney went through the temple for the first time, which was very neat. We had everyone there (except Justin!). Sunday we all got together for dinner. Monday, we worked like crazy on wedding stuff. Tuesday we had a baby shower for Kelli, which turned out super cute as well! She was so cute. We had lots of homemade cookies and different kinds of milk. I feel really lucky to have been there for all of this. Wednesday we worked like crazy! Thursday was the wedding in the Portland temple and the ring ceremony at Kelli's mom and dad's house. Friday was the reception, which we worked like crazy on! The Brownell's don't hire anyone to do anything. We do it all ourselves! And Saturday, we left for the airport at 6:30am. It was a crazy way to wrap up our time there. We had so much fun. I loved to be with my family. I did not love being away from Justin for six weeks. In fact, I hated it. There were so many fun and exciting things going on, and it just wasn't quite the same without him. But now that we are back together, I look back at all the fun things we were able to do and I am glad to have been there. I would have felt so sad to have missed out on any of the things that we did. Most everyone in my family lives there and I am used to being the one who is far away. Anyways, I was happy to be a part of everything!

Next up....the wedding photos!

Bikes and Scooters

 Jack spent 95% of his time while we were in Washington, outside in the cul-de-sac riding bikes with the boys. Jack loved it! ...and so did I. He was entertained all day long. And with older cousins around, he could go out there with them whenever and I didn't have to be right there with him. Coming from a busy street in Cleveland, this is the most freedom he has ever had. It was good for us to have some space too. Now that we are in Mississippi and he can't go out and ride bikes ALL day long, he is a little bummed. He doesn't like waiting for me to come out there and watch him.

 This was his first time riding a big bike and I was very surprised at how good he did. He caught on super fast and hardly got off of it all summer. This was an old bike from one of the neighbor kids and it was "Jack's bike" all summer long. Now that we are in Mississippi, Gma Heaton got him a bike of his own for his birthday and he couldn't be happier. If Justin's parents wouldn't have got him a bike for his birthday, we would have had to buy him one. He is hooked.

 He learned some "awesome tricks" too!

Anderson would be trailing behind on the scooter. He had to wait for me to take him outside so I could watch him and he was always dying to get out and be with the big boys. He thinks he is one of them. He followed them around from the cul-de-sac to the trampoline. Angie's boys were so good to Jack and Anderson! And right now....I'm missing their entertainment.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

The Van Dam Dairy

 Ashley Van Dam is one of my very first friend's I ever had. We were in the same kindergarten class and we have been friends ever since. Her family has a dairy in Enumclaw that I used to LOVE to play at growing up. One of the things I had on my list of mandatory things that had to happen while I was in Washington was to take my boys there. We made it just in time for the 11am milking.

 We brought Riley along with us and the older boys were in heaven. They thought the cows were awesome. Anderson on the other hand, got so scared every time he heard one of them "moo". He would not let me put him down for anything!

 Here they are getting ready to feed the baby calves.

 These babies were thirsty! They drank that whole bottle so fast. The boys thought it was hilarious that they were sucking so hard and drinking so fast.

 Of course every good farm has to have a big tractor.

 One of my most favorite things to do when I would come to the dairy is play in the corn feed and the cotton seed. They don't have cotton seed there anymore because it's too expensive. But they did have plenty of corn for the boys to play in.

 They would climb to the very top of the pile, and then slide down.

They thought playing in the corn was so much fun. It was very nostalgic for me to be there. I love to see Ashley when I come home to Washington. And I loved even more to see her family and see my boys playing on their dairy farm. The Van Dam family is some of the nicest people I know.

 We went inside for lunch and they begged and begged me to have one more chance to play in the corn. I couldn't resist them. They were so cute and having so much fun.

 They got COVERED in corn from head to toe!! The dust completely covered their clothes and there was corn stuck to their scalp for a couple days. you can't tell in this picture, but Jack's shorts are actually plaid. They just look like solid corn.

Thank you Ashley for letting us come and play!!

Tennis Camp

We went back to Angie's house so Jack could participate in a tennis camp with Riley and the other boys that live in their cul-de-sac. Jack thought it was totally awesome, which I was happy about. I did not want to pay the money if he was going to be grumpy and whiny about it. Which, with Jack....let's face it...you never know!

 Getting some instructions and warming up the first day.

Stretch!!

A few action shots through the fence.

Good job! High Five!

It will be a sad day when Jack can no longer wear this Batman shirt. We are going on two years now and it's starting to get a little snug. He LOVES to wear it! I need to be on the lookout for a replacement because I'm afraid this one isn't going to last much longer. I bought this for him for Halloween when Anderson was born. I guess I have got my money's worth :)

Wow....boys will be boys :)

Drive-In Movie

 We were able to stay at the Hillman's house and we had a drive-in movie with the kids. We decorated some cute visors, and our "cars" with stickers and crayons.

 Jack, McKenna, Anderson, Madison, and Megan.

Getting in some time with the girls. :) Stephanie is the only one who has girls on my side of the family. It is funny to see how different they are from the boys! I love all of their cute hair, and cute little personalities.

They loved it! It was a good way to pass the time in doors while the little ones slept. I am so happy that the boys were able to get to know their cousins so well this summer. They still talk about everyone of them. Anderson and Megan got off to a rough start though. They were constantly yelling "Mine! No!" or just screaming in general. But by the end of our time there, they were warming up to each other. If Anderson sees a little girl with curly hair, he thinks it's Megan. :)