Summer Life

On the first day of summer break, Isaac asked if he could sleep outside. We set up our little 2 person tent in the backyard. Annie thought it looked like fun, so she moved her stuff in with him. They ended up sleeping outside for 3 weeks until it started to be 90 degrees at bedtime and I declared it too hot for this nonsense. 

Isaac was bitterly disappointed to return to his boring old bed. He asked if he could sleep in the laundry room instead. He has been there for 3 months now with no desire to move back. He's got a nice set up with a camping mat and pile of blankets, and the more I bring up the topic of him going back to his bed, the more he digs in that sleeping in the laundry room is cooler. Elliot is thrilled to not have Isaac bunking above him, so we've let the matter drop. 

 

Elliot's hammock is now set up outside. He slept in it for a week or so, and let Isaac sleep in it a few times. Now it is a book reading spot when it's not boiling lava hot outside. 

Felix is all to eager to join Elliot whenever he is relaxing. 
The other siblings are less welcome, but we all have a soft spot for Felix these days. 

Aaron celebrated turning 37 with some baklava tastefully decorated by his adoring children.

We also got him a yummy breakfast in bed on Father's Day

The first weeks of the summer were busy with camps. We had VBS, a Stake Primary camp, and swim lessons for Isaac. Aaron was able to flex his work schedule to help bring the the kids to the pool, which was deeply appreciated by my hugely pregnant self. It felt soooo good to float in the pool, even though getting out triggered contractions every time. 

Elliot attended his first sleep away camp at Camp Geronimo! He reports that it was the best week of his life so far. He had an absolute blast working on his game design, chess, and cooking merit badges, and eating candles and all manner of treats. They did service projects, hunted crawdads, played gaga ball, built fires, and had a polar plunge. He came home dirty and delighted. I'm so glad that he's found a great group of friends in the Scouting program. 

There was an at home portion to the cooking merit badge. We were very pleased to have him cook several meals for us. 

Marble race videos were a popular pastime for a while. Mimi donated a cardboard box, and Elliot made an awesome marble run for us! They purchased "skittle" marbles on Amazon and have run many excited races since then. 

The racetrack in action! It has a built in award podium for the winning marbles. 

The kids had quite a few sleepovers when I thought I might be going into labor, and later once Heidi was actually here (spoiler alert!) The kids loved cooking pancakes with Mimi, making playdough, and generally having a great time. They are always happy to be going to Casa Johnson. 

Elliot on a Breezy date to try many exotic foods

He opted to start with a nice slice of provolone

Felix loves playing autoharp with Breezy! The cutest is when he echo sings "No rainbows" in the song "Where rainbows never die" by the SteelDrivers.

Here's a pretty standard breakfast lineup. Felix refuses to stay in his high chair a lot of the time, and Elliot usually sleeps in and gets himself breakfast later. Isaac typically rejects utensils and tries to eat all foods with his hands. 

This gal is ready to strike a pose anywhere, anytime. 

I think this picture really encapsulates Isaac's essence. This is his trademark happy prance with plenty of elbow action. 

I just want to eat him sometimes. He's such a cute little buddy!

Someone in our ward opened a business called MindForge. You can play board games and build lego and STEM toys, or do art. They have special events too. We bought a punch card, and it has been a favorite place for the kids to hang out. 

I love it when these two are being buds. 

We crashed Ranch Ward's summer party with inflatable water slides. Note Isaac horizontal in the air on this one.

My friends wanted to have a baby shower for me, but since I already have all the stuff I need, I asked for the theme to be "float in the pool and please nobody give me presents." We had a lovely time in the Casa Johnson pool, and I forgave the people who gave me presents anyway. Some people couldn't come, so they secretly turned a planned drop and swap activity into another baby shower! I went home with lots of cute baby girl clothes, and some pink cupcakes in my belly. I have the best friends.  

Sad to be getting a shot, but his hair was on point

One time, Annie asked us to count how many cartwheels she could do in a row. She got 20. She told us to watch because she thought she could do better. She proceeded to do 350 CARTWHEELS IN A ROW. WITHOUT STOPPING. I thought she would stop when she got to 50, then again when she got to 100, but she just kept on going! I started to video when we were somewhere in the 200's. It was absolute insanity. This girl is an athlete, and she can definitely be tough!

I hope I always remember how frantically happy Felix was playing in the roof runoff at Casa Johnson during a lovely storm.

It's safe to say that we enjoyed this monsoon season!