Summer Time!

I can't believe summer vacation has already come to an end.  The boys start school tomorrow... Yes, boys... Tyler starts kindergarten this year.  I can't believe it, another one of my baby's heading out into the world.  Needless to say, Tyler is much more ready to take this big step than his Mom is.  I have loved having that little boy at home with me.  He is great at keeping company because he is a non-stop chatter box and always has some creative idea to share.  Okay, before I get too sentimental, back to what we did with our summer...

Well, summer vacation kicked off with a last day of preschool here at our house.  I had to get some pictures of these three sweet boys before they all finished pre-K and got ready to start school.

Linden striking a pose.

 Tyler flashing a smile.

 Oh, and Chasers had to get his picture time in too.

 Carter excited to start summer.

 The next day Jay finished 2nd grade and we welcomed him home with a fun sign to kick of vacation.

 Summer vacation treats to celebrate.

 Tyler showing his preschool diploma (designed by mom).

 With summer officially underway, here is what we were up to...

Chase graduated to a big boy bed.

The boys played with box forts...

Which was fun unless you got stuck in one.

Baseball season ended with Jayden's team clenching 2nd place in the minor league.

 They were pretty excited about their trophy.

 Tyler's team had a fun party to celebrate the end of their season... And the cake was beautiful, until a certain little brother (ahem, Chase) stuck his fist in it.  :-)

 Jayden had his first scout camp experience... and LOVED it.

 Chase learned to eat and love corn on the cob.

 Brothers read together.

 Chase practiced for his baby brother with his own "baby".

 Chasey turned 2.  (More on the fun party we had in another post.)  He loved the cupcakes, though!

 The 3 brothers liked to hang out and hide out together.  Check out those 3 sets of feet.

 Danielle and I shared the first 8 months of our pregnancies together before we had to say goodbye for the Monson family to head to Utah.  (More on that for another post too.)

 We had some fun dance parties, complete with congo lines.

 There was lots of board game playing.

 Lots of cute grins from Chase.

 Indiana Jones was a hit... both the movies that the boys watched and the reenactments that followed.

Tim was my hero and helped out so much around the house.  Look at this hottie folding my laundry!

 My belly grew bigger and bigger.

 Can you have summer without ice cream cones?  I say, no way!

 We got a new deck box/seat to store patio toys in... or to be used as Chase's personal hiding spot.

 Tim got to be a member of the honor guard at the baseball all-star game in Phoenix.

Here they are practicing.

 Then, the real deal.

 More cuteness from Chase.

 We squeezed in a family day at the waterpark just in the nick of time before Owen came.

Three boys in the wave pool.

Mom and Chase

 Drink break.

 Check out these two pirates.  Jay didn't realize till afterward that he was posing as a pirate girl.  He wasn't so happy about that.  ;-)

 Jayden competed in his first swim championships.  He absolutely loved swim team this year, and Tyler is excited to participate too next year.  

Jay after racing.

 Tyler built us some cool block towers.  He says he's going to be a contractor when he grows up... so I guess the building practice will come in handy down the road.

 Owen was adored by all... especially mom, who just LOVES snuggling with her newborns.  I mean really, who can resist those cuddly little bodies and sweet dreamy faces?

 Chase loved all the balloons we blew up on his actual 2nd Birthday.

 Owen started staying awake a little more during the day.

 Jayden started football for the first time.  Look at that boy all ready to go in his pads.  I know I'm biased, but that's a pretty cute boy if you ask me.

And there you have it.  Our summer was pretty low key, with me being 8-9 months pregnant and then having a baby.  It was nice, though.  Lots of family time.  I loved watching all 3 of my older boys spend hours together playing every day.  I loved the absence of schedules and the freedom to do what we wanted when we wanted.  I loved watching the boys swim, on swim team and at swim lessons.  I loved seeing Chase grow and hearing him talk more and more, and we all had a blast celebrating his Birthday. And I loved welcoming our baby Owen into our home and enjoying the past few weeks with Tim home too, adjusting to life as a family of 6.  It was a good summer.