Just a Little More June

 We enjoyed a lovely evening of live music at the capitol- I love perfect summer nights like this one when you can't even remember the months when the weather is so cold and miserable that you can't leave the house for days at a time, and certainly not without a coat, hat, gloves, socks and boots to keep you safe and warm.  Give me summer, bare feet and sunburns and bug bites and all!

Emma used the umbrella to hide from the elementary school band teacher. 

We made a trip back up to Ankeny to visit our favorite childhood pool and conquer those lily pads! What a walk down memory lane- my brain equates this pool to non-swimming children, so it was a nice change to stay on the side catching up with friends rather than keeping my babes within arms reach at all times. 

Laney is the best lazy time companion any of us could ask for. 

Star Wars Oreos! 

We thought the whole box was Jedi Oreos, but it turned out the ones we sent to youth conference with Leah and Adam were all Sith!  

Big kid on a little kayak at youth conference- 

Leah and Adam have both had dating/boy-girl interactions this summer that have ushered in a new era of parenting- reliving all of the ups and downs of teenage relationships and trying not to freak out about any of it!  This is new for me. 

Time for a haircut! 

Sleep Hack

There are two little monkeys who I shall not name that have figured out a little sleep hack. One likes to sleep in my dark and cool west-facing bedroom rather than their east-facing with pathetic-non-light-blocking curtains because otherwise "the sky is awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play", and the other little monkey has never slept in a room alone a day in their life (except when they slept in a crib) and is just willing to keep me company whenever I might need it, which is really so very thoughtful.  

And while these two little monkeys would be completely mortified to ever admit this to anyone outside of our immediate family (pretend you aren't reading this if you're not), they are both hopeful and willing most nights to kick Daddy down to the basement and take their own turns in the big bed with 'the best pillows and the softest sheets'.  And I don't mind one tiny little bit because these days are so numbered that I can almost count them on one hand.  

And he'll never admit it but Jason actually loves sleeping in the basement, where he can toss and turn and cough and snore and stay up as late and get up as early as is his heart's content. We've got some musical beds going on in the house this summer and I kind of love it, mostly because I know it's not going to last forever. While I still can, why should I refuse these cute, well rested smiles!?

Predictions for the Future

This lunchtime conversation had to be recorded for posteristy's sake

Most likely to have a blog- Noah or Leah

Most likely to have a greenhouse- Noah because he’s mostly overcome his fear of butterflies

Most likely to get married young- Emma 

Most likely to get married old- Noah

Most likely to have a life similar to the life that we have- Leah

Most likely to get famous- Emma or Adam

Most likely to have a dog just like Laney- Adam

Most likely to become a model (according to Noah) Emma

Most likely have the most kids- everyone pointed to Adam. Emma wants five kids, Leah wants a maximum of four kids, Noah wants max four kids, Adam wants 4 kids plus or minus so 3 or 4 or 5 kids

Most likely to have a cat- Emma because she loved Gwenny and picked her up when no one else would

Most likely to marry somebody from another country- Emma, who agrees she would travel abroad to meet a hot Brian. 

Most likely to marry an old man for his money and accidentally kill him off- Emma

Most likely to dress up like a Santa for the workers for Christmas party- Adam

Most likely to drive a minivan just like Marshmallow- Noah or Leah 

Most likely to drive a truck- Adam

Most likely to live in the city- Emma 

Most likely to serve a mission- everyone!

Most likely to voice act in a cartoon movie- Noah 

Most likely to win a prize for drawing comics- Noah

Most likely to win a Nobel prize- Adam according to Leah, Emma according to Noah, Noah according to Emma, Emma according to Adam

Most likely to become a meme- Noah because he’s hilarious

Most likely to have an inspiring movie about them- Adam

Most likely to let Mom live with you when she's old- Adam (after a solid 3 seconds of silence from everyone!) 

Most likely to live in his mom's basement until he gets married- Noah, who said "No! I don’t want to be Uncle Ted" 

The Zoo

 With just six months to go before Noah can officially join us in the temple, we decided to close this season of life with a bang and renew our Omaha zoo memebership again!  It has been our favorite way to include some fun in our trips to the temple, besides Zesto's, that is. Now we've got 12 months to enjoy the zoo whenever we head to Omaha! 

In classic "things aren't as easy as they once were" fashion, we had to take two cars to accomodate an evening babysitting job that Leah didn't want to turn down.  But we still had plenty of time to check out some of our favorites for the first time in a few years! Including exploring the desert dome- 

recreating this classic cactus photo- 

heading down to the depths of the Kingdom of the Night- 

and exploring in the aquarium- 

This cute shark smile!

These beautiful girl smiles!

Contemplating the fish patterns- 

and checking out the Lied Jungle- 

This baby monkey stole our hearts!

Bah, these four monkeys steal my heart every day. They make everything such fun!

Excuse me while I squeeze the love out of you. 

That was all we had time to explore before it was time for lunch and a quick baseball game.  Don't let those gray clouds fool you- it was SO hot without a raindrop in sight. 

After that we said goodbye to Daddy and Leah and the rest of us headed over to the much-smaller-than-it-used-to-be Kids Kingdom for some sliding and running and budgie adventuring. Our parakeet guide was just like Napoleon Dynamite. 

Then over to the orangutangs and gorillas- 

This was one dramatic boi!

Smoudler!

It was seriously so! hot! outside, so we wrapped up the day with an IMAX movie

before heading over to the temple for some quiet and peaceful service. Daddy stayed on the phone with Noah, who watched a movie in the car. 

Then off to Zesto's and back home to Iowa, with a tornado warning following us the whole way home.

  Like so many things, going to the zoo now is much easier- in some ways- than it was when everyone was little.  No strollers, no diaper bags or changes, no meltdowns and no naptime to work around.  But in other ways, accomodating everyone's schedules gets harder as we all get older.  As it should be, there is more going on now that prevents us from being together all the time.  Either way, it was still just as fun.  We decided the zoo is a great place for everyone to enjoy, from little familes to dates to pushing grandparents around in wheelchairs.  According to Noah, the zoo is always awesome and definitely not boring!

Best Friends

 I realized a long time ago that there is a super special, memebers only club in this house.  I'm not qualified to join it but I am lucky enough to witness the frequent laughter, love, and joy that comes from it. 

I've written about it before, but it still stops me in my tracks regularly when I see just how much silliness and fun and acceptance and encouragement comes from this little club.  I am so incredibly grateful that I get to see it in action.

I'm sure lots of parents say this, but I am amazed at how much these four love each other and take care of each other and choose each other. As an adult I realize that the likelihood of this exclusive club lasting forever is pretty slim.  In fact, it's facing the potential for big changes starting just next year.  I hope over time this club grows to include spouses and children, and I pray it never fractures. 

Because this kids L.A.N.E. club is just about the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed. 

June Days and Nights

 One day all of the kids were laughing their heads off, gathered around a computer. I assumed they were watching funny videos, but they were actually making one. Silly kids. 

We had oppresive heat for a few days, so it was no surprise when a storm full of billowing clouds rolled in to cool everything off.  The sky went from this- 

to this- 

to this with nonstop heat lightning that lasted about two hours before the storm finally dumped on us.  

Heat lightning, as it turns out "refers to the faint flashes of lightning fom a distant thunderstorm that are visibile but don't seem to be accompanied by thunder. The flashes are actually light reflecting off of higher-level clouds. Thunder can only be heard from a lightning flash for about 10 miles, so it's often not possible to hear it when the storm is far away." That was exactly what we were experiencing this night, and while we were originally watching a show, we eventually turned off the TV and gathered around the window to watch nature's show.  It was adorably very Berenstain Bears-esque, and I love that Jason and I get to listen to the kids chatter about all of the facts and theories and thoughts that they have about planets and stars, space, and the role that God plays in this crazy earthly experience that we are all having. 

One of our favorite, hardest working missionaries went home in June, and his sweet comp was transferred too.  We have a feeling he'll be back. 

Some church members are currently employing an old school bus to get all of our Swahili friends to church.  These kids are amazing!

We spent one 105+ degree afternoon in the theater watching Inside Out 2 and we all loved it. 

Nothing says simple pleasures like hanging out at our very own Lego store in DSM!

Youth conference was in June so Adam, Leah and Daddy headed south to Morrell Ranch.  

I joined them there the first evening and Emma and Noah did a fantastic job of taking care of each other until Daddy and I got back home right at bedtime- they even had a sleepover in Emma's room!

These two worked so hard at summer strings- a two week program that ended with a fantastic concert. 

We are all so glad that Jeff Bass-o's is back in our house after his long visit to the repair show, but we definitely enjoyed his temporary replacement too. 

After their orchestra concert, the three of us went to Chick-fil-a and Barnes and Noble and the pool- a perfects summer day! Emma was delighted to learn that there is a classic book named after her.  ;)

Our favorite new game of the summer is Sushi-Go- I don't wanchya dang chopsticks!

We also went to see a community theater production of The Sound of Music!  It was cute and sooo long. 

And Leah's summer camp started in June! She opted to host a few camps for kids rather than try to make her schedule fit an employers and she did a fantastic job of planning and prepping and engaging these cute kids with science!

It hasn't been all fun and games this summer- my annual dose of poison something hit me smack on the face this year- 

Possibly the best day of my summer, Laney and I went stand up paddleboarding together.  She knew just what to do and waited until I said go to jump off the board and swim back to Adam and Noah on the shore! 

Our June was filled with lots of perfect summer days.