The one with the ole' red, white, and blue

We hosted the 4th of July annual BBQ this year with friends. We had the Allens, Rigtrups, and Jensens over, and Joel Oneill made an appearance as well. We were a little concerned that we would end up with rain and have to squeeze into our house, but the weather couldn't have been more perfect, and the kids kept themselves occupied in the yard. Success!! There were 9 adults, and 11 kids. Full house for sure for us! Then of course after dinner, we headed to the Rigtrups for our traditional letting off of fireworks (they live outside of the city, so it's legal there). The kids had a blast, and there were no casualties. :) We always feel so blessed to have such amazing friends here. They really have filled that void of not having family in the area (although now we have my niece and her family here! But they were out of town, so it doesn't count lol).

"Hey Savannah, put your hands down!"

"Ok Mom!" 

Taylor was making them laugh. :)

Happy 4th of July!!

Some of the decor, sorry about the butt shot Kelly! lol

Work it Kelly!!

These boys played ball all evening. Bryant rocked Troy, but he still had a blast!

The drink station

Savannah, totally busted. Filling up her cup, then dumping it out! little stinker

Savannah loves Bryant!

With Auntie Stephanie

Apparently the flash was a tad bright lol

The one with some oldies, but goodies

When I downloaded pictures tonight, some old pictures came up that must not have ever been downloaded. I couldn't help but post!

Brooklyn is 3 1/2 and Troy is 2 1/2. My goodness, they change fast!

The one with the big 2 year old

Savannah turned 2!! And she is embracing her 2 year old age like a champ...err should I say maniac?! This girl is C-R-A-Z-Y!!! But oh man, can she make us laugh. Savannah is definitely the comedian in the family. I said that about Troy, but Savannah LOVES to entertain us, and will do pretty much anything you tell her to on the spot...which can be dangerous when you have a big brother. :)

Anyway, Savannah still loves to dance, especially on tables (we are hoping to quell this habit before teenage-hood lol), loves to drink her milk, LOVES her pacifier and blanket, loves to read books (and it is so wonderful to have a sister who loves to read to her!!), loves to swim and jump in the water (this girl has NO fear whatsoever!), loves her big brother and sister to pieces, and she loves her babies. Grandma Hill sent her a baby doll for her birthday and she just adores it! She likes to wrap her up and put her night-night. Savannah is also into EVERYTHING! She usually empties out my purse several times a day (you'd think I would learn to put it up huh? Well, she would climb to get it, so I don't even bother any more!), can empty her WHOLE dresser in 3 minutes flat...usually while I'm in the shower. And she does all these shenanigans in pure silence, of course. Her new favorite thing to do is to get into the fridge and pull out as much as she can, then proceed to throw tantrums when I don't let her eat say, the Sirache sauce (super hot sauce!). She is still my great sleeper, and goes to bed usually at the latest 7, then is up around 7. Although lately she has been waking up early around 5:30, but I bring her into our bed and she goes back to sleep for another couple hours. Love it. Her vocabulary continues to amaze me, and she literally repeats everything we say. She still says "Whatth" (and it still melts my heart every time!). She gives the funniest facial expressions, I wish I could capture them all on camera. This girl is super animated and definitely has a flare for dramatics! We love our sweet, spunky, energetic, smart, crazy, beautiful Savannah!!

For Savannah's birthday we ate lunch at the park with friends (after Brooklyn's last day of Kindergarten!), then had dinner at Red Robin. They came and sang to her, and she kind of freaked out. But the ice-cream they brought her calmed her down instantly. This girl will endure anything for ice-cream!

See? Dancing and singing on the table, even at the park!

Presents! Cousins Nicole (my niece) and her girls Annie and Shae dropped by with a surprise gift! We always love when they come by :)

Aww, Mom, I love it!

And there's a shot of her crazy/psycho side! lol

Brooklyn and Troy made the sweetest cards to go with their gifts. Troy even gave her one of his very own soccer balls. Sweet boy loves his baby sister.

Real stompies!!

Savannah's birthday ended with a movie night. It just so happened to be the last day of school too, so the kids were excited to stay up late and munch on popcorn and treats. 

The one with the fake snow

A few weeks ago, I looked outside at the kids playing and there was snow on the ground! In May!! Oh nope, just flowers from our bush. They sure had fun "making it snow!"

The one with chatter

Quick thoughts and goings on:

1. Summer has begun! We are loving not having a schedule and just taking it easy.

2. Brooklyn has sprouted a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and it is the most endearing thing ever! Love it. I remember hating my freckles growing up, I hope she never does because they are adorable. I tell her multiple times during the day.

3. Savannah turned 2! Since it was also the last day of school, we celebrated with lunch at the park with friends, then dinner at Red Robin with the fam. Erik swears we are never taking the kids out to eat again. Ha! Oh, and I completely spaced making her a cake! (poor neglected 3rd child). But they sang to her at Red Robin and gave her ice-cream. She was NOT thrilled with the singing, but came around with the first bite of ice-cream.

4. Savannah still has the cutest little lithp (lisp). My favorite words in the day from her: "Whatth?" (what), "Butth" (but).

5. Speaking of Savannah, she is quite the little conversationalist these days.

6. Troy finished Tee-ball. We had a fun little after season party with the team. He is already looking forward to the next season.

7. Brooklyn has already gone through most of her homework that was given to her to do over the summer (2 large packets). And she is keeping up with her constant reading...we log it on the scholastic site daily.

8. Savannah says her own personal prayers when I put her to bed at night, and it is the sweetest thing ever! "Dear Heavenly Father, thankful Mommy, Daddy, Brooklyn, Buddy (Troy). Thankful Day. Amen." A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

9. Troy is REALLY into basketball these days, and plays it often during the day. He can't wait to get a real basketball hoop someday (right now he has the kid hoop outside, and a little hoop inside hanging on his bunkbed).

10. I had my first swim for triathlon training this morning. It was pouring rain. But at least the water was warm!

11. Erik got a promotion at work!! We are so proud of him!! Definitely an answer to prayers. He is now Senior Financial Planning analyst (whatever that means! ha!)

12.  Our dear friend Brittany watched the kids all day Saturday for us. Erik and I went to lunch, then on a hike up Rattlesnake ridge (GORGEOUS views of the lake and mountains!), went to a matinee, and had a nice peaceful dinner. It was glorious! And just the refresher I think we both were needing. Thanks Brittany!!! (This was a huge sacrifice for her too because she is selling their house and had two showings that day! And her husband was out of town, so she was flying solo! She is a saint, and I am going to miss her tons!)

13. We are taking cookies to a firehouse today (another thing to check off our summer bucket list!), and the kids can't wait! I'm kinda excited too hehehe

14. The kids school is offering full-day kindergarten next year at no charge! We are hoping Troy gets in, but I am ok if he doesn't as well. We should find out by this Friday. Fingers crossed!

15. Savannah still won't say Troy's name, but will call him Buddy. Little stinker. :)

16. We are all looking forward to lots of pool and beach days!! If only the stinkin' rain would stop. July is right around the corner, and weather here usually turns a corner then. We had fantastic May weather, then June hit and it has been hit and miss. We are ready for summer weather!

The one with the ballerina

Brooklyn had her very first ballet recital this past weekend. Words cannot express how proud of this girl we are! She is such a light in this family. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. And she rocked her recital!

Cousin Nicole and Annie even came to watch!! We love having them nearby.

I mean, could you just die of cuteness?! 

Erik had to run Troy over to his baseball game after Brooklyn danced, so we took a few pictures after his game. Nothing makes my heart melt more than seeing a Daddy with his daughter. 

She will always be my baby girl!!!